The Great Fire of 1917
The Municipal Market started as farmer’s market on the land left over from the second major Atlanta fire. The Great Fire of 1917 was near the current Old Fourth Ward, a historically Black neighborhood. It destroyed over 2,000 homes and businesses in only a few hours, luckily only one fatality was reported. 
Atlanta Woman’s Club Fights For A Market
In 1923, the Atlanta Woman’s Club started a campaign to build the Municipal Market. The building was designed by A. Ten Eyck Brown. It was designed to be simple and durable, yet fireproof. James Key said, “These women understand better than anybody else the real need of this market.” The Cornerstone was laid on January 15, 1924. It was inscribed as, “This building bears the testimony to the unselfish public service of the Atlanta Woman’s Club and is a glorious achievement to the work and wisdom of the Woman’s Club, Deryl H. Sharp, chairman market committee. Atlanta public market, dedicated to the service of all the people and to the encouragement of agriculture has been erected under the authority of the mayor and general council of 1922 by the Municipal Market company.” The committee that helped to create the Market believed that there needed to be unity in the city and the country. Walter Sims said that the, “interest of the country and the city are so interwoven these days we can not have a successful nation if these interests are separated.”
The Greatness of the New Market
Housewives were the target clientele for the Market and they were excited for the grand opening, which was held May 3rd, 1924. It was a huge event. An article said that “the Atlanta housewife a place where she may go…” At the time of the opening, 3/4th of the space was devoted to truck farmers. For the next few years, the Municipal Market was the place to shop. 93% of the items sold at the market were Georgia raised. Quickly, the excitement faded. By 1927, the city was already developing better ways to use the space. Charles M. Ford, an alderman complained that the market was costly and did not serve its purpose, he proposed the market be converted to a jail.
