Auburn Avenue

Landscape of Memory on Auburn Avenue

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At a Glance: The Contested Identity of Auburn

New businesses, taking the place of the Odd Fellows building.
New businesses, taking the place of the Odd Fellows building.

City planners have always been recognized for creating cities that are livable, beautiful, and inclusive. Almost anyone who knows about Atlanta knows about the skyline, the instrastructure, and of course, the traffic, but most people don’t look close enough to see the history and implications of the environment. City planners and creators of the built environment do more than just create a physical space that evokes these characteristics. Through decisions concerning the remodeling or preservation of certain elements in a given space, city planners have the power to likewise remodel or preserve the memory of a place, event, person, or even an entire movement. I intend to explain the many ways that the city influences memories of landscape by explaining the current dilemma of Auburn Avenue, the landmarks of the street, the mixture of historic and current buildings and businesses, and the hidden truths implicit in the landscape.

Fighting to Keep History

One largely fought over piece of Atlanta is historic Auburn Avenue. The street has been credited as the birth home of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home and grave of Martin Luther King Jr. and his family’s church, Ebenezer Baptist. Some people believe this street should stay true to its historic roots and that the buildings should be maintained to reflect their past glory and to honor the movement. However, the street has been in a spiraling decline since the white flight of the area with the introduction of highway infrastructure. Therefore, there is a push to modernize the street to make it economically viable. Both sides of the argument admit the role the street has played in the city and both present pressing evidence for their claims. However, what both sides fail to understand is the role the city has played in the creating of the street. The city planners of Atlanta have crafted Auburn Avenue to highlight its role in the civil rights movement as well as its more appealing functions, but neglects to tell the entire story. By emphasizing the past, the present is forgotten as well.

The Function of Landmarks

This is a sculpture of John Wesley Dobbs. He once described Auburn Avenue as being home to the three keys to liberation: "ballots, bucks, and books." The sculpture is titled "Through His Eyes" and can be stood behind in order to see what he sees. Sadly, now all that can be seen is the highway overhead and some traffic lights.
This is a sculpture of John Wesley Dobbs. He once described Auburn Avenue as being home to the three keys to liberation: “ballots, bucks, and books.” The sculpture is titled “Through His Eyes” and can be stood behind in order to see what he sees. Sadly, now all that can be seen is the highway overhead and some traffic lights.

Landscapes and the built environment have many functions. They are practical in that they are created to be used, experienced, and inhabited. However, they also have imbedded memories and histories, and the way an environment is built is an intentional practice. It does not just happen. Just like history textbooks, the way the world is constructed is not entirely truthful. There is always a bias. The environment is constructed based on how the geographers and city planners choose to write history. The way we imagine ourselves is linked to how we remember ourselves and our identity. There are many debates about what and who should be remembered and forgotten. However, opinions about these things change over time and are ultimately battled for in the landscape “arena.” The landscape is important to public memory because it is affected by the memory as much as it creates the memory. For this reason, the landscape of the built environment must be more thoroughly examined for the truth, as many landscapes do not acknowledge all points of the past are represented. This call for investigation applies directly to my research on Auburn Avenue and the King District.

Remembered and Forgotten Auburn Avenue

I found this sign on Auburn Avenue extremely interesting. Most of the historic buildings on the street are kept looking old and old fashioned, while also large enough and apparent enough to grab the attention of passersby. However, this sign is modern and small. In fact, this third trip to the street is the first time I have ever noticed it.
I found this sign on Auburn Avenue extremely interesting. Most of the historic buildings on the street are kept looking old and old fashioned, while also large enough and apparent enough to grab the attention of passersby. However, this sign is modern and small. In fact, this third trip to the street is the first time I have ever noticed it.

The Historic Site and surrounding area produce a story of the civil rights movement that glamorizes the integration of history but ignores continued legacies of racism. In making the site, Atlanta provides a story of positive social change to market a progressive southern city. It also presents an interesting example of the street naming system that supposedly commemorates historic leaders, but also symbolically keeps racial groups separate and labeled. The renaming of streets and other areas of cities after Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders in the Civil Rights Movement is done purposefully. There is a trouble faced by the African American population that is primarily responsible for the street renaming in these instances and it is done as a way to create a new geography of memory in a white dominated cultural landscape. Certain problems include the politics of place-naming as a way to inscribe exactly what is wanted as far as ideology and values, politics of constructing a cohesive history through commemoration, and the issue of spreading the message outside of only certain “black” areas. There is a call for violent pasts to be commemorated so that the full truth may be exposed. This will be a part of the peace and reconciliation process.

Auburn Avenue, specifically the King District, has worked to shape Atlanta’s characterization and the way it is remembered. Specifically, “the memorials along Auburn Avenue are powerful sites to interrogate the intersections of race, nation and the cultural landscape as they encourage us to remember certain aspects of US history and to forget others; the monuments dedicated to Dr. King become ‘selective aids to memory’ and are related to the production of hegemony.” Memory is expressed through memorials such as King’s in a certain way that communicates specific economic, cultural, and political ideas. King’s site is utilized to emphasize aspects of non-violence and unity, while ignoring more radical aspects of the movement.

Delving into Auburn Avenue

Mural on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Hilliard Street.
Mural on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Hilliard Street.

“The study of landscape should move beyond mere surface readings and delve instead into the gritty, often ugly, sometimes energizing social history of specific places.” Marginalized groups can take advantage of the geography of landscapes that shaped their history to make statements and give them a voice. Sometimes the built environment is misused, but it can be changed and utilized to effectively portray the true history.

There is a counter-public nature to Auburn Avenue. It was once a social hub for the black community to get together and organize change when they could not interact in the usual public spheres. Auburn Avenue was one of the most influential counter-publics for the civil rights movement, but Auburn Avenue is far from its hay-day. There are many opinions about what can and should be done with the remains of such a prosperous and historic street. The development project for Auburn Avenue, Big Bethel, is emblematic of contemporary black counter-public spaces and links its identity to African American identity. Because the street has not only been recognized in the past as a black neighborhood, but also as a richer black neighborhood, there is also intersectionality of race and class and the two groups affect one another.

The issues that Auburn Avenue faces are not black and white. They are not merely a racial issue of what African Americans want versus what white Americans want, but are rather issues of what various groups of people want regardless of race. There are conflicting interest groups within the Auburn Avenue community that are adamant about their stances on what should happen to the street in the future.

 

 

Sources:

Atlanta’s historic Auburn Ave. again at crossroads | Fox News
CONSTRUCTING AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN SPACE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Contested Memory in the Birthplace of a King
Forum on Social Justice in the South: Introduction
Creating a New Geography of Memory

(P) Built Environment Description

jcarpenter11 Images, Images around Auburn , , , , ,
This large sign or piece of architecture is situated near the sidewalk, announcing the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. This is across the street from the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and in front of the New Horizons Sanctuary of the new Ebenezer Baptist Church. The quote beneath the picture of King seems appropriate not only to be broadcasted sandwiched between two church buildings, but also on the street of Auburn Avenue.
This large sign or piece of architecture is situated near the sidewalk, announcing the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. This is across the street from the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and in front of the New Horizons Sanctuary of the new Ebenezer Baptist Church. The quote beneath the picture of King seems appropriate not only to be broadcasted sandwiched between two church buildings, but also on the street of Auburn Avenue.

(P) Built Environment Description

jcarpenter11 Images, Images around Auburn , , ,
This is an image of Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood home. I have walked by this site multiple times in the past 3 months and it has never been open, due to ongoing repairs. However, I find that the adjacent building, the bookstore and giftshop, is always open.
This is an image of Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home. I have walked by this site multiple times in the past 3 months and it has never been open, due to ongoing repairs. However, I find that the adjacent building, the bookstore and giftshop, is always open.
Bookstore/Giftshop
Bookstore/Giftshop

(P) Built Environment Description

jcarpenter11 Images, Images around Auburn , , ,
I found this sign on Auburn Avenue extremely interesting. Most of the historic buildings on the street are kept looking old and old fashioned, while also large enough and apparent enough to grab the attention of passersby. However, this sign is modern and small. In fact, this third trip to the street is the first time I have ever noticed it.
I found this sign on Auburn Avenue extremely interesting. Most of the historic buildings on the street are kept looking old and old fashioned, while also large enough and apparent enough to grab the attention of passersby. However, this sign is modern and small. In fact, this third trip to the street is the first time I have ever noticed it.

(P) Built Environment Description

jcarpenter11 Images, Images around Auburn , , , ,
This is a sculpture of John Wesley Dobbs. He once described Auburn Avenue as being home to the three keys to liberation: "ballots, bucks, and books." The sculpture is titled "Through His Eyes" and can be stood behind in order to see what he sees. Sadly, now all that can be seen is the highway overhead and some traffic lights.
This is a sculpture of John Wesley Dobbs. He once described Auburn Avenue as being home to the three keys to liberation: “ballots, bucks, and books.” The sculpture is titled “Through His Eyes” and can be stood behind in order to see what he sees. Sadly, now all that can be seen is the highway overhead and some traffic lights.

(C) Built Environment Description

jcarpenter11 Images, Images around Auburn , ,

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This is the top of the building that was built for a sort of frat, known as the  Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. Membership has always been open to people of any race, though it has remained a predominantly African American Order. In 1979 there were 108,000 members. Today the space is used as office spaces. To learn more, you may visit http://sweetauburn.us/oddfellows.htm

Built Environment Description 2: Auburn Avenue

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For my second visit to Auburn Avenue, I decided to analyze the entire street, along with its intersecting streets, to observe what this area’s character is. Historically, it is well known to have been a wealthy, influential neighborhood in the times of the Civil Rights Movement. But today, it has lost its glory in many ways.

IN A NUTSHELL

Screenshot of collaborative map from my Mapping Atlanta Class. Blue line indicates the street route I took.
Screenshot of collaborative map from my Mapping Atlanta Class. Blue line indicates the street route I took.

The street blocks of Auburn Avenue that are located between Piedmont Avenue and Howell Street are sectioned off by their history and their culture. Though the area was once entirely a street of commonalities and social progressivism, it now has divides. Some parts are willing to change and adapt to today’s culture, whereas other parts are dedicated to keeping the history alive, and honoring the culture of the past.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END: Between Piedmont Avenue & Jesse Hill Jr. Drive

I walked east down Auburn Avenue from Piedmont Avenue. On the first block, between Piedmont and Jesse Hill Jr. Drive NE, there were about ten or so people walking along the sidewalks, mostly because of the transit stop there, but also because of the few restaurants and shops that occupy the space.

Martin Luther King mural and quote on Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.

At the corner of Jesse Hill Jr. Drive and Auburn Avenue, there are two large murals: one of Martin Luther King Jr. with his famous quote, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” and the other is of John Lewis, with the quote, “I appeal to all of you to get into this great revolution sweeping this nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete.” These murals are facing one another, as if in constant communication and alliance. It is especially fitting for these two murals to be placed at the intersection of these two streets, since . Jesse Hill Jr. worked for the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and, as a man with great authority, instructed his company to quietly underwrite certain civil rights initiatives, such as bailing out individuals arrested for participating in non-violent protests. This intersection commemorates and encourages friendship, speaking out, and community involvement in today’s culture.

John Lewis's quote, by his mural, on Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.
John Lewis’s quote, by his mural, on Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.
Mural of John Lewis, across from the mural of Martin Luther King Jr.
Mural of John Lewis, across from the mural of Martin Luther King Jr.

 

NOW IS THE NEW THEN: New businesses occupy the spaces of old.

Boarded up, Atlanta Life Insurance Company Branch Office
Boarded up, Atlanta Life Insurance Company Branch Office
New businesses, taking the place of the Odd Fellows building.
New businesses, taking the place of the Odd Fellows building.

Walking past this intersection, on the adjacent corner on a light post is a sign, “DRUG TESTING OFFICE 1ST FLOOR.” Well, that was quite a change in morality from one street to another. This sign is situated on the corner, right in front of an abandoned building that is boarded up, which just so happened to have been the Atlanta Insurance Company Branch Office, whose title is visible, though faded. Across the street, there are various offices of small businesses, occupying the historic building of the Atlanta Chapter of the Grand Order of Odd Fellows (a fraternal organization supporting and networking the black business community),  who built this substantial building as their headquarters and to provide much needed office, retail, professional meeting and entertainment space for African Americans. Going to the corner, there is a restaurant called “Wok n Roll” which also occupies the building of the headquarters for the Odd Fellows.

Mural on Bell Street.
Mural on Bell Street.

Across the street, on the left-hand corner of Auburn Avenue and Bell Street, there is another mural, and this one is of Evelyn Gibson Lowery next to a painting sign for the SCLC women, and the words “Championing the rights of women, children, and families, and responding to the problems of the disenfranchised regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or religion.” Upon trying to find out what this building was originally used for, I was unable to find any site to propose a special purpose, and only retail listings as office space, and a recent history of being the Black Lion nightclub, and then the Connect Lounge. The space is currently boarded up.

HISTORY: Don’t let go, Auburn!
AUBURN: I’ll never let go!

John Wesley Dobbs Plaza at the beginning of the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District
John Wesley Dobbs Plaza at the beginning of the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District

Next, I continued walking, past the bridge, and across Fort Street, to the beginning of the King Historic District at John Wesley Dobbs Plaza. There are only a few people around this immediate area, mostly homeless, but there is a lot of traffic down Fort Street because of its vicinity to the highway, so it gets a lot louder around here, but it quickly became quiet as I walked further down. The plaza did however have a sign, explaining the decline of Auburn Avenue. It also explains how the culture of the buildings and people between Fort Street and Bell Street were thought of as less important than the new era of highways and urban development. Between Fort Street and Howell Street, there is a mixture of boarded up, closed businesses, historic sites and organizations, as well as new businesses which seem to alternate up and down the building space. There is the Southern Christian Leadership Conference building, then an Escape the Room recreational business, and then a Women’s Southern Christian Leadership building.

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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference building was influential in the times of the Civil Rights Movement.
Escape the Room is an entertainment business that is becoming popular now, especially among those in their mid-teens to mid-twenties.
Escape the Room is an entertainment business that is becoming popular now, especially among those in their mid-teens to mid-twenties.
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The Women’s Southern Cristian Leadership Conference building, next to the original Southern Christian Leadership Conference  Building.

 

 

 

Mural on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Hilliard Street.
Mural on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Hilliard Street.

 

 

 

 

 

There is another mural across Hilliard Street, which highlights the white flight era and one of the main reasons for the decline of the street. But it also speaks culturally, as the area is still a black neighborhood. From this area on, up until Howell Street and Old Fourth Ward, there is the King Center and other churches. The area is almost entirely the same as in the past, besides minor renovations to the buildings, and the addition of statues and commemorative landmarks. To learn more about the Martin Luther King Historic Site, you may visit this web address to learn more. You may also check out my first built environment description about the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Built Environment Description 1: Ebenezer Baptist Church

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For my built environment description, I chose to visit the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jackson Street Northeast. I went on a Friday afternoon around 2:00. This was not the original building for the services of the church, but was built in 1914 by the second pastor of the congregation of Ebenezer, Alfred Daniel Williams so that there could be more seating for the congregation that he grew. I went to this site with no true prior knowledge about it other than that it was Martin Luther King Jr.’s home church.

img_8770I saw no other people around the building as I walked up and inside the sanctuary at the time of my visit, there were only about ten other visitors. When I arrived, I saw a state park officer standing outside of the building seemingly patrolling the area while also inviting passersby to walk through the church and sit in on a lecture that would be going on downstairs in the next 5 minutes. Talk about good timing! Below are two videos I took during the lecture. It is important to note that the location of the lecture was below the church lobby. NOT THE SANCTUARY.

As I walked into the lobby area, I was caught off guard. It was unlike any church lobby I had ever stepped foot in. It felt more like a Boy Scouts meeting house due to all the national park signage and the information desk. I suppose this is because it is no longer used as a church, but rather as a historic site to visit to learn and feel its history. img_8776img_8775

To my right were stairs leading up to Fellowship Hall, where services were once conducted. At each and every turn, on the walls were pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. and/or his family members. There were also multiple postings about the mission and vision of the Nation Park Service. Once I walked up the stairs and into Fellowship Hall, I was immediately taken back to a distant time.img_8779 The sanctuary was unlike any that you would see today as it was so symmetrical and minimal. There were only two plants in the front for decoration, and one picture of Jesus situated at the top middle part of the stage area. img_8798There was also one organ, a replica of the original one where Mrs. King was shot just six years after the death of her son, surrounded by red rope to signify its importance. The pews, arranged in three columns with about twenty rows each, were of cold, hard dark wood. There is one pew that is damaged from a ricochet bullet on the day Mrs. King was killed. The carpet is a bright red. There is also a clock located at the back of the church in the center of balcony that is stopped at 10:30, which is the time at which Martin Luther King’s funeral took place.img_8797 The sanctuary walls were covered with tall, ornate stained glass windows. img_8802I then descended the stairs that were opposite the stairs I walked up, and the floor separating the sanctuary from the lobby had a small fountain and plaque. The plaque shows that the fountain is the “Fountain of Love” in memory of Mrs. King.img_8785 After walking around Fellowship Hall and then back down to the lobby, I went downstairs where a man was giving a lecture about the King family and their involvement in the church. He also did a reenactment of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. He talked about the significance of the artifacts in Fellowship hall, such as the organ and the clock, and he talked about the lasting impact that the King family has had on the church, even though it is no longer active at this site, but rather at another site across the street known as the New Horizon Sanctuary.

Overall, I could definitely feel the importance of the site, but I feel that I should also mention that the updates, renovations, and replicas of the artifacts took away from the experience because it detracts from the authenticity of the space. However, the way that the building was transformed from a historical church with great leaders of influence that taught the word of God, to a national historic site solely used to commemorate those leaders is strongly illustrated through the artifacts and wall decoration throughout the interior of the building.