- Public housing
- Segregation
- 1934–1968 (whites only)
- City of Atlanta
- General area only
Techwood and Clark Howell Homes: public housing for whites
The nation's first federally funded public housing, opened in 1936 for white families only, on land cleared of the 'Flats' next to Georgia Tech. Its neighbor Clark Howell Homes (1940) was also restricted to whites until 1968.
The record
Techwood Homes, bounded by North Avenue, Parker Street, Williams Street and Lovejoy Street, was dedicated by Franklin Roosevelt on November 29, 1935 and opened to tenants on August 15, 1936. HABS records 604 units, restricted to white families. Accounts of the cleared 'Tech Flats', also called Tanyard Bottom, differ: HABS counts 197 substandard dwellings housing 279 families on the site, while Wikipedia describes a de facto integrated area of about 1,611 families, 28 percent African American. Wikipedia adds that income limits put the new units out of reach of many former residents. Clark Howell Homes, the first project finished by the new Atlanta Housing Authority, was bounded by North Avenue, Lovejoy, Mills and Luckie streets; Wikipedia says it stayed white-only until 1968.
Today: Both were demolished before the 1996 Olympics. The site is the mixed-income Centennial Place.
Where on the map: Techwood: North Ave, Parker St, Williams St, Lovejoy St. Clark Howell: North Ave, Lovejoy St, Mills St, Luckie St.