Techwood Homes

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Techwood Homes Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Techwood1.jpeg
Techwood Homes, late 1930s
Techwood Homes is located in Atlanta
Techwood Homes
LocationAtlanta, Georgia
Coordinates33°46′4″N 84°23′30″W / 33.76778°N 84.39167°W / 33.76778; -84.39167Coordinates: 33°46′4″N 84°23′30″W / 33.76778°N 84.39167°W / 33.76778; -84.39167
Built1935
ArchitectBurge & Stevens; J.A. Jones & Co.
Architectural styleColonial Revival
NRHP reference No.76000632
Added to NRHPJune 29, 1976[1]
Techwood Homes, late 1930s
Family in Techwood Homes apartment, late 1930s

Techwood Homes was an early public housing project in the United States, opened just before the First Houses. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, it replaced an integrated settlement of low-income people known as Tanyard Bottom or Tech Flats. It was completed on August 15, 1936,[2] but was dedicated on November 29 of the previous year by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The new whites-only apartments included bathtubs and electric ranges in each unit, 189 of which had garages.[3] Central laundry facilities, a kindergarten and a library were also provided. Techwood Homes was demolished in advance of the 1996 Olympics and is now Centennial Place Apartments.[4]

History[]

The complex was designed by Georgia Tech alumnus and architect (later Stevens & Wilkinson),[5] and organized by Charles Forrest Palmer, a real estate developer who had become an expert on public housing and would later head up both the newly created Atlanta Housing Authority and the Chamber of Commerce.[6] The landscaping was designed by Edith Henderson, who also designed the neighboring Clark Howell Homes with her partner Grace Campbell.[7][8]

The name came from Techwood Drive, in turn named for nearby Georgia Tech. The project included a 300-student dormitory for Georgia Tech, McDaniel Dormitory, commonly referred to as Techwood Dorm. It was run by the Atlanta Housing Authority. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s the area was synonymous with urban blight in Atlanta.

Techwood Homes was built on land cleared by demolishing the Flats, a de facto integrated shantytown adjacent to downtown, home to 1,611 families, most poor, 28% African American.[9] The Public Works Administration replaced the shantytown with 604 units for white families only, with income qualifiers out of the range of many former inhabitants.[10]

The neighboring Clark Howell Homes was built in 1941 in a less institutional style. A. Ten Eyck Brown was the architect. Clark Howell was also reserved for whites until 1968, with an all-black counterpart at the University Homes project (built 1938) near Atlanta University Center.[11]

Except for a few historic buildings, Techwood Homes was demolished in 1996 before the 1996 Summer Olympics. It and neighboring Clark Howell Homes are now a mixed-use area called Centennial Place.[2] The first phase opened in 1996 just before the Centennial Olympics, hence the new name. Former residents were relocated to other areas, given Section 8 vouchers to assist with rent. Only 78% were able to move back into Centennial Place, which had far fewer subsidized units than Techwood Homes.[12][9]

See also[]

  • Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta

References[]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Techwood Homes". The Atlanta Housing Authority. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  3. ^ Sams, Gerald W. (ed): "AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta", page 153. University of Georgia Press, 1993.
  4. ^ "Old Atlanta by Charla Johnson June 9, 2020".
  5. ^ McMath, Robert C.; Bayor, Ronald H.; Brittain, James E.; Foster, Lawrence; Giebelhaus, August W.; Reed, Germaine M. Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885–1985. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
  6. ^ Biographical note, "Palmer, Charles F.", Emory Library EmoryFindingAid
  7. ^ "Edith Henderson Papers". The Atlanta History Center website. Accessed Oct. 13, 2015.
  8. ^ Catron, Staci L. "Biography of Edith Harrison Henderson". The Cultural Landscape Foundation website, August 11, 2015.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Holliman, Irene V. "Techwood Homes." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 26 August 2020. Web. 28 July 2021.
  10. ^ Rothstein, Richard (2017). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. pp. 21–22. ISBN 9781631492860. OCLC 985448400.
  11. ^ Sams, page 154
  12. ^ Portwood, Jerry (2002-02-06). "Techwood turnaround". Creative Loafing Atlanta. Creative Loafing Media. Retrieved 2007-12-01.

External links[]

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