Flashback Photos: Atlanta buildings and skyline, 1950-59, Part Two

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Flashback Photos: Atlanta buildings and skyline, 1950-59, Part Two

In the early 1950s, crowds filled the streets and parks to greet presidential candidates visiting Atlanta in hopes of occupying the White House. In the middle of the decade, Grady Memorial Hospital was under construction. The Commerce Building, which still stands at Broad and Marietta streets, started going up in 1959 (and opened in 1960). See what Atlanta looked like through the 1950s.

Crowds cheer as presidential candidate and Georgia senator Richard B. Russell parades through Five Points, May 1952.

Marquee and posters of the Bailey's 81 Theatre, 1958. The Decatur Street theater catered to an African-American audience and was home to a Kimball organ, often played by Graham Jackson, a 1985 inductee into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Jacksonâs papers are archived at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, which also has one of the musicianâs accordions.

Margaret Mitchell Square in Atlanta in 1954. This is the intersection of Peachtree Street, Forsyth Street, and Carnegie Way.

The William Oliver Building in Five Points, probably in the mid-1950s.

Techwood Homes public housing, Georgia, probably in the mid-1950s.

The State Judicial Building under construction, probably in 1955.

Scaffolding around the Georgia State Capitol dome during renovation, 1958

The city health department moved to a new building behind City Hall in July 1950, when this photo was taken.

Looking north from a downtown rooftop over Peachtree Street, Atlanta, May 1954.

Looking northeast from a downtown rooftop towards the Hurt building, Atlanta, May 1954.

Looking south from the State Capitol, down Capitol Avenue, in Atlanta, May 1954.

Historic building at Poplar and Cone streets in downtown Atlanta, August 1956.

Grady Memorial Hospital during construction, February 1956.

Fulton National Bank, May 1955

Fulton County Medical Society building on West Peachtree Street, September 1950

Forsyth Street in Atlanta, October 1950.

First National Bank at Five Points in downtown Atlanta, September 1950.

Often referred to as Atlanta's first skyscraper the Flatiron Building was built in 1897. Itâs seen here on October 26, 1958.

Atlanta City Hall, August 1950.

Detailed view of the second Kimball House, circa 1950s.

Crowds gather outside the Georgia State Capitol to hear presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson speak, November 1953.

Crowds line up outside the Fox Theatre for the Metropolitan Opera, May 1953

Construction site of the Commerce Club building at 34 Broad St. in Atlanta in 1959.

A construction site south of the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta in 1954.

Candler Building with the Hurt Building in the background to the left and the Rhodes-Haverty Building on the right. Photo taken on July 28, 1955.

Atlanta, looking west from the Georgia State Capitol, October 1950.

Atlanta Masonic Temple is seen in a photo taken in September 1950 after a fire gutted the building. It was located at Peachtree Street and Cain Street (now Andrew Young International Blvd.).

Atlanta City Hall seen from the Georgia State Captiol, August 1950

Atlanta City Hall and surrounding streets, August 1950

Atlanta City Hall, looking southwest from the Georgia Department of Agriculture Building, October 1950.

Aerial view of Fulton National Bank in dowtown Atlanta, 1955. The bank stood at 55 Marietta Street.

Aerial view of downtown Atlanta, looking northwest toward the capitol building, sometime in the late 1950s.

Aerial view of Atlanta, looking south on the Downtown Connector, on October 1, 1956.

Aerial photograph of Atlanta showing demolition for the Downtown Connector. Edgewood and Auburn Avenues are seen in the foreground. Early 1950s.

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Crowds cheer as presidential candidate and Georgia senator Richard B. Russell parades through Five Points, May 1952.

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