Q: There used to be a beautiful white marble sculpture in the parking lot at Lenox Mall. This goes back about 12 years or so. At some point several years ago the city started construction on Peachtree Road and it disappeared. Can you tell you me more?
—Sperry M. Wilder, Atlanta
A: There were several sculptures at Lenox Square for many years, and the one in question is called "Traveling Musicians," which was based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale called "The Town Musicians of Bremen." The sculpture was designed by Elbert Weinberg in 1958 and features a donkey, dog, cat and rooster on top of each other that looks like an abstract 3D totem pole. "Traveling Musicians" remained at Lenox Square from 1959 until just two years ago, when it was moved to the Morgan County Library in Madison, where it joined several friends from the past in the form of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, from the old Uncle Remus tales. Those sculptures, called "The Critters" were at Lenox until 1978, when they were relocated to the library, a more natural habitat for them since it's part of the Uncle Remus Regional Library System and is near author Joel Chandler Harris' hometown of Eatonton. Two years ago, I wrote about native Atlantan and current Madison resident Chris Lambert's efforts to locate, obtain and move "The Critters" to the town in the 1970s. If you have any information on the whereabouts of other former Lenox sculptures, such as the "The Magpie's Nest" and the "Owl and the Pussy Cat" (both by Weinberg), let me know.
Q: Wasn’t there a pro golfer who died under mysterious circumstances in Atlanta in the 1920s? Do you have any details about that?
A: J. Douglas Edgar was an English golfer, coach and author whose life ended on West Peachtree Street on Aug. 8, 1921. Edgar won the French Open in 1914 and spent time in France during World War I before moving to the U.S., where he became the head pro at Druid Hills Golf Club. Edgar had success from 1919-21, twice winning the Canadian Open, and returned to Atlanta to continue working at Druid Hills. His life ended shortly after that. His body was found on the street with a cut on his left leg that severed the femoral artery, but the police soon ruled out the possibility he was hit by a car. Edgar is buried in Westview Cemetery. His killer was never found.
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