Tag Archives: Georgia Commercial Architecture

Milan, Georgia

2 Replies
Seaboard Depot and abandoned storefronts, Milan

Milan is located in Dodge and Telfair Counties, one of many Georgia towns with such a distinction. It was settled in the 1880s due to the arrival of the railroad in the area. It was named for Milan, Italy, and of course, has a Georgia pronunciation. It’s “My-lun”, not “Muh-lan”. Many people have asked me over the years why Georgia has such unusual place names, and it’s not just Georgia. The reason is because common names, especially surnames, were already in use and the post office department wouldn’t allow towns with the same, or even similar, names.

Milan became the focus of unwelcome national attention during the summer of 1919, known as Red Summer. The story is graphic, but as Black history is being officially censored in Georgia and many other states, it should be told. And to be certain, Milan was not alone in regards to such atrocities.

On 24 May 1919, two white men, John Baptiste Dowdy, Sr. (1894-1919) and Levi Evans, attempted to break into the home of a Black woman, Emma McCollers, with the intent of raping her two young daughters. Dowdy’s father, Rev. William Dowdy, was the mayor of Milan. When the family refused to allow them in the house, Dowdy fired his gun.

The girls fled to the nearby home of Emma Tishler and were followed by Dowdy and Evans. During the chaos, Ms. Tishler hid in a well. Berry Washington, a 72-year-old Black sharecropper, heard the commotion and attempted to defend the girls. Dowdy fired at Washington, and after a struggle, Washington killed Dowdy. Washington turned himself soon after the shooting and was transferred to the jail in McRae.

The next day, Deputy Sheriff Dave McRanie handed Washington over to a lynch mob who removed him from the jail and in the early hours of 26 May 1919, hanged him from a post at the site of the shooting and riddled his body with gunshot. His mutilated corpse was left in public view for at least a day, no doubt as an ominous warning to the local Black community.

Fitzgerald High School Gymnasium, 1950s

2 Replies

This rather plain mid-century gymnasium stands behind the site of the old Fitzgerald High School, whose loss is still a great pain to the community. After World War II, when the high school outgrew its original building, newer structures were added to the campus, including the gymnasium*. It replaced the much older wooden gym at Blue & Gray Park, known far and wide as “The Shell”. Basketball was at peak popularity in Fitzgerald in the 1950s, so this was a regular gathering place not just for students but for the community as a whole. The amateur wrestling circuit made many stops here over the decades, as well.

I began high school in the 8th grade and well remember Coach Gibbs’s p.e. classes meeting here, playing dodge ball and other intramural sports. I also remember the wooden bleachers that could be pushed in accordion fashion to the walls. The building seemed ancient and derelict to me then, but it was so well-built that it’s still around. I’m unsure of its present use but am hopeful it is protected.

*- I haven’t tracked down a specific date for construction of the gymnasium, but my best guess is between 1949-1958. My father graduated in 1959 and recalls attending basketball games at the old shell and in the new gym. I’ll update when I learn more.

Westwood Shops, Circa 1906, Fitzgerald

Leave a reply

This is the last surviving of several massive industrial shop buildings which served the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic and its successors in its Fitzgerald hub. Their presence speaks not only to the vast expansion of the railroad industry at the turn of the century, but as well to the rapid growth of Fitzgerald, scarcely 10 years old when this heavy industry brought large-scale employment to the town.

Larry Goolsby, who has done more research on the history of the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic and its successor than anyone I know, wrote in his excellent history Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast, ACL & SCL Historical Society, Valrico, Florida, 2000: “The Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic was…busy…during 1906. Construction was proceeding on a large yard and permanent shop complex at Fitzgerald, including a 75×300-foot machine shop with and 85-ton traveling crane, blacksmith and boiler shops, engine house, coach shop, planing mill, foundry, and a power house among other buildings. These facilities, called Shops at first and renamed Westwood in 1922, would replace AB&A’s small shops at Brunswick and Waycross as the system’s major site for rebuilding, repairs, and painting. They also superseded the wooden shop buildings originally built at Fitzgerald. The scope of the undertaking could be gauged by Master Mechanic J. E. Cameron’s concern over housing for the new shops’ employees: “In 60 days from now we will bring in the neighborhood of 300 men and their families, and not a house for their accommodation.“

A majority of the railroad laborers were African-Americans, and houses were soon constructed in Westwood, an historically African-American community about a mile from the Fitzgerald yard. I had always presumed that Westwood existed because of the railroad, and it certainly grew with their presence, but at least one church in the village predates the railroad’s presence by nearly 30 years.

Over the years, the existing Westwood shop buildings began to deteriorate as the railroad transferred their operations elsewhere. A couple of the buildings, nearly identical to the one pictured here, were still standing as recently as 15-20 years ago. In the years since they were abandoned by the railroad, they have been used by various businesses.

Cataula, Georgia

3 Replies

Cataula is one of the oldest settlements of present-day Harris County. It has had a post office since 1836. It experienced a good bit of growth when Georgia’s first narrow gauge railroad, the North & South Railroad, came through the area in 1870, but that endeavor was short-lived. There are varying versions of the origin of the name. One source (Kenneth Krakow) says it’s a variation of the Muscogee word kitali, meaning withered mulberry. An earlier variation of the origin is found on a Georgia Historical Society marker placed in 1958 that ascribed it to the Creek word for “Big Rock”. I’ll just leave it at that, as I’m not an authority on either.

This building, which was built in 1908, was originally known as the J. W. Thompson & Son General Mercantile Store. Many other businesses have been located here over time, and it’s still in use today, albeit not as a general store. New road work and rapid urban growth in the area are having a serious impact on this quiet little community. This structure and the Methodist Church are among the most noticeable landmarks in the area and hopefully will be around for years to come, but it appears other nearby structures will be lost to the current road-widening.

Woodmen of the World Lodge + Post Office, 1910, Shiloh

Leave a reply

The two-story building at right originally served as the Woodmen of the World Lodge, identified by a marble cartouche above the middle window on the second floor, but it is best known as the old post office. Typically, fraternal lodges in commercial settings served a dual purpose, housing a lodge upstairs and various retail tenants downstairs. Woodmen of the World as an organization has always been focused on insurance and financial assistance for its members and in its early years maintained thousands of local chapters.

The altered building adjacent to the Woodmen of the World Lodge was a grocery store at one time, indicated by the fading words “Gro. Dry Goods Hardware” at the top.

W. S. Slaughter Grocery, Circa 1900, Shiloh

Leave a reply

Members of the Slaughter family were living in the Harris and Muscogee County areas before the Civil War. A Georgia historic resource survey identifies this structure as the W. S. Slaughter Grocery Store and dates it to circa 1900. The Slaughter name is also present on signage around the building. It’s obviously a landmark of Shiloh and nice example of a typical commercial structure of its era. It’s in good condition. The same survey that identified this structure also identified a wooden shotgun store nearby, but it has apparently been demolished or moved.

Thunderbird Inn, 1964, Savannah

5 Replies

This neon sign, lit up along West Oglethorpe Avenue at night, may be the coolest thing about the Thunderbird Inn, but the whole place has an amazing retro vibe, harking back to the days of roadside motels. As American automobile ownership began to increase in the 1930s, quaint motor courts with numerous tiny cottages began to fill the need for travelers. By the end of World War II, motels began to replace them, because they were less expensive to build and maintain, and because tourists demanded more convenience. Motor hotels, or motels, popped up on busy state and national highways all across the country. The Thunderbird Inn opened on the Coastal Highway (US 17) in 1964 and quickly became a popular Savannah destination. The Jackson Five even stayed here on their rise to fame. Savannah has changed a lot since then, but the Thunderbird Inn has stayed true to its origins, thanks to restoration and updates over the past 20 years. I’ve stayed several times, and it’s one of my favorite locations.

Savannah Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Maryland Fried Chicken, 1968, Albany

5 Replies

I’m featuring this location primarily for its quirky modernist architecture and sign, and also, since it’s been open for nearly 60 years, it’s a true landmark.

Charlie and Vera King moved from Macon to Albany in 1968 and opened this Maryland Fried Chicken franchise on North Slappey Boulevard. According to the Albany Herald, Charlie had spent 20 years as an accountant for Sears and was ready to make a change. The owners’ grandsons now run the business, so it’s been in the same family throughout its history.

Maryland Fried Chicken was a chain of fried chicken restaurants founded by Al Constantine in Orlando in 1961. It had no association with Maryland other than the fact that a large number of Marylanders had recently moved to Orlando to work at the Glenn L. Martin Company aircraft plant and Constantine felt it would be good for business at his eponymous restaurant. The chain eventually had locations in 20 states and the Bahamas but went bankrupt in the late 1970s. Many of the franchise locations were successful and kept the name, as was the case in Albany, and a few are still open throughout the Southeast.

Jimmie’s Hot Dogs, 1947, Albany

8 Replies

Jimmie Baltas (1889-1972) was a Greek immigrant who came to Albany by way of Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1947, he opened Jimmie’s Hot Dog right in the heart of the Harlem neighborhood. The sign proclaims it “The King of the Hot Dog” and it’s one of the oldest restaurants in town. According to the Albany Herald, Jimmie Baltas eventually sold the business to Phillip Poulos, who later sold it to one of his relatives, Sam Poulos. Sam had a falling out with his brother-in-law and business partner, which led to the brother-in-law opening a rival business, Hot Dog King. The Mathes family bought Jimmie’s from Sam Poulos in 1992 and continues to operate it today. It’s not a sit-down restaurant but is known for its quick service.

Harlem Barber Shop and Beauty Salon, Albany

Leave a reply

The Harlem Barber and Beauty Salon was a well-loved anchor of the historic Harlem community but has been closed for quite a few years. Mr. Eugene Bailey was the longtime proprietor and a living witness to the Civil Rights efforts of the Albany Movement. He told WALB News 10 in a 2011 feature that he was a shoe shine boy when the first activists began marching through the neighborhood and that he proudly joined them, even getting arrested on one occasion. But he was proud of being part of such a positive change and said being in the barber shop kept the memories alive. He passed away in 2012.