- Public housing
- Segregation
- 1935–1968 (Black only)
- City of Atlanta
- General area only
Beaver Slide to University Homes and John Hope Homes
The first federally subsidized public housing for Black families, built on the cleared Beaver Slide area next to Atlanta University. University Homes opened in 1937 and John Hope Homes followed in 1940.
The record
Beaver Slide, a poor Black area documented as early as 1882, was cleared under Charles F. Palmer's program. The first families moved into University Homes (675 units in 42 buildings) on April 15, 1937. John Hope Homes, first planned as an extension of University Homes, was finished in 1940 with 606 units for Black families; it replaced 425 dilapidated dwellings. A survey quoted in the HABS report found 78 percent of those units substandard, 44 percent without toilets and 22 percent without running water. The pair served as the Black counterpart to white Techwood, and HABS notes that segregation 'was still perpetuating overcrowding and substandard living conditions in Black neighborhoods'. Clark Howell and Capitol Homes were built for whites and Grady, Eagan and Herndon Homes for Black families (Atlanta Housing).
Today: University Homes' residents were relocated in 2006 and the 675 units demolished in 2009; the site is being rebuilt as Scholars Landing. John Hope Homes is now The Villages at Castleberry Hill.
Where on the map: John Hope Homes (HABS): Larkin St, Dora St, Spelman Ln, Leonard St, Peters St, McDaniel St. University Homes adjoined it by the AUC.