Archive Atlanta

This week, we’re talking about Italian artist Athos Menaboni. In 1950, Time Magazine declared Menaboni the heir of James Audubon, because of his bird paintings that spanned over 150 different species. But this isn’t just a story about art and animals - it’s also a love story, a story about finding your calling after the age of 40, and the unsung roles of spouses or partners in someone’s success. 

W...

This week, we’re talking about Waffle House. Opened in 1955, in Avondale Estates, we’re covering the two men that started it, the first locations, franchising, expansions, controversies and legal issues and even the Waffle House Index.

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In 1911, Atlanta’s population was only 150,000 people and the idea of Commerce Schools was new - only two operated in the South; one at Louisiana State and the other at Washington and Lee. Georgia State was born from Georgia Tech’s idea of starting an evening school, was later part of UGA and fought hard to become an independent institution. In this episode we’re covering how that idea took shape, who was behind it, when did the na...

Spring is here and if you’re in Atlanta, everything has just started to bloom. I decided it’s the perfect time to re-release my episode from 2021 about the history of the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta. This year’s festival is happening April 12-14th, and so you have time to listen in for a deep dive into this blooming tree, why it’s associated with Atlanta, why we celebrate it, when it was created, who came up with the idea and why?

This week, we’re talking about Georgia’s only remaining velodrome - the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point. We're talking about what a velodrome is, Atlanta’s first velodrome, Dick Lane and the decade long efforts to open this velodrome in East Point.

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March is Women’s History Month, and researching women is my very favorite thing to do. So while I was brainstorming an episode idea, I realized I had this huge collection of women on my list whose stories were very short - in terms of research, not the length of their lives or quality of achievements.

This week I have collected these shorter stories into one episode about three different women; educator Bazoline Usher, artist Kate...

This week, I am sharing my conversation with Antar Fierce, a graffiti historian, educator and archivist to learn about the history of graffiti, especially writing. Graffiti is loosely defined as words, drawings, or writings in public view - something that humans have created since the dawn of time. Writing developed first in the 1960s in Philadelphia and then New York City. We cover that early history, Antar’s start as a writer, hi...

This week I am re-releasing an old episode from the archives, but I also wanted it to coincide with Black History Month. From the summer of 2021, this is about Lincoln Country Club and the fight for Golf Course Desegregation. Born at the start of the Great Depression, from the need and desire of middle and upper-class Black Atlantans to not only play golf, but to establish a recreation place where they could have parties, and socia...

This week, I had the honor to sit down with Dr. Rhana Gittens Wheeler to ask her about her research of Blandtown, a historically African American neighborhood on the westside of Atlanta that dates to the 1870s. We talked about the neighborhood’s history, the wrong history that had been out there, annexation, zoning and developers' efforts to rebrand the westside of Atlanta. 

Pre-order her book here and her email is rwheeler@ogletho...

This week, we’re talking about The Rap Map with Georgia State's Professor Brennan Collins and student Panther Lattimore. The map chronicles a decade’s worth of rap lyrics referencing different Atlanta locations, connecting popular culture with local history and pinpoints the lyrics of Atlanta hip hop artists to create a map of the city based on narratives from historically marginalized communities rather than the traditional maps c...

Atlanta is home to 242 different neighborhoods that each have their own names and history, but this week, we’re talking about the smallest - Just Us. Consisting of two streets sandwiched between the neighborhoods of Mozley Park, Ashview Heights, Hunter Hills and Washington Park, Just Us has a short but fascinating origin story that includes some of the most prestigious Black Atlantans, African Methodist Episcopal history, HBCU hist...

This week’s mini episode is an Atlanta-adjacent topic but one still very intertwined with the city’s history. If you’re new here, Georgia is the peach state, but in this episode we’re going to delve into the history. Why peaches? Where were the peaches? And the most important question of all - why is it named Peachtree Street and why are there so many Peachtree-named streets in Atlanta?

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If you’re listening in real time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, and while many know about his birth home and church, there are so many other places in Atlanta connected to Dr. King and his family that I want to share. So this week I want to go through those sites, give you the addresses, a little history and hopefully allow everyone to do a little DIY tour of all the sites with a deep connection to Martin Luther King, Jr. 

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This week, I am tackling a giant of Atlanta history, the famed soft drink Coca-Cola. There is, understandably, a lot to cover so I am breaking this out into two parts and this week we’re talking about Pemberton, Candler, cocaine, caffeine and the only historic Coca Cola building that still stands.

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It’s my last episode of 2023 and I thought why not take you along on a highly specific, random rabbit hole that I’ve recently fallen into. I loved the story of the Alkahest Magazine, because it includes the history of magazines, Lyceum lectures, Chautauqua, the American enlightenment and so much more.

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Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com

This week’s episode is about the Junior League, specifically its origins in Atlanta. Who started it, who were members and what did they accomplish in their history? Starting with the Butterfly Ball in 1916, the Junior would open a domestic science school, a speech school, two tearooms, fund a ward at the children's hospital, volunteer at Grady, step in for drafted bank workers during WWII and host two movie premiere balls. And that...