Flashback Photos: August in Atlanta (through the years)

1990 --Jason James, 13, from Stockbridge, waits at the front gate to Fort Gillem in Forest Park with an American flag as convoys of the 101st Airborne stop for an overnight stay before continuing their journey. He did not know anyone with the unit but just wanted to show his support. The 101st became one of the first units deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War that month. WALTER STRICKLIN / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1965 -- Surprise, surprise! This view down Forsyth Street downtown proves whatever the decade, you won't catch a break from Atlanta traffic. GUY HAYES / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1943 -- In 1943, the Atlanta-Southern Dental College was almost altogether a training institution for the armed forces. Of the 374 students, 341 were members of Army and Navy training units taking as accelerated three-year course leading to commissions. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1989 -- Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games members, including Billy Payne (front left), International Olympic Committee members and their party meet Thursday with Mayor Andrew Young in his office. It was a non-confrontational first meeting to plan the city's Olympic bid. NICK ARROYO / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1977 -- Oz Records on Peachtree Street remembers Elvis Presley with a marquee message. Presley died one day earlier, stunning the music world. BUD SKINNER / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1960 -- Presidential candidate Richard Nixon and wife Pat campaign in Atlanta during a downtown parade. John F. Kennedy ended up winning the state and its 12 electoral college votes. DOZIER MOBLEY / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1961 -- Three African American students (Willie Jean Black, Donita Gaines, Arthur Simmons) leaving Northside High School (later North Atlanta High School) on the first day of its racial integration. Unlike school systems in Little Rock and New Orleans, Altanta's integration occured without incident. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1949 -- Pallbearers lead the casket of Margaret Mitchell during the funeral service at Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery. The author died on Aug. 16 when she was hit by a car on Peachtree Street in Midtown. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1950 -- Carolyn Carter, the first woman photographer for The Atlanta Constitution, climbs atop a light tank. Willard Neal, at the right, wrote the story. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1971 -- Walter Botts strikes his Uncle Sam pose during a visit to Atlanta. In 1938, artist James Montgomery Flagg was drawing an Army recruiting poster, and he asked Botts, a musician, to pose as Uncle Sam. 'What do you want to do with your hands?' asked Flagg. 'Why don't I point my finger like this and say, 'I Want You?' Botts suggested, cupping his lips as he pronounced 'you.' 'No. Frown,' said Flagg. The result was the familiar poster that invited young men into the Army during World War II and for years afterwards. BILL GRIMES / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1949 -- Panoramic view of recently renovated Atlanta Municipal Market on Edgewood Avenue shows new lighting system and display stalls. Also known as the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, the building opened in 1924. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1984 -- Spiderman was one of the many superheroes, elves, dragons, and movie characters who appeared at that year's Atlanta Fantasy Fair in the Costume Contest. The Atlanta Fantasy Fair was held August 5-7 at the Omni Hotel and World Congress Center that year. The annual convention ran from 1975-95. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1983 -- Dan Sweat speaks at a World Series Task Force press conference. The task force chairman, Shirley Franklin, stands to the right. The 30-member group was created to plan the city's celebrations in the event of a Braves championship. Unfortunately 1983 wasn't their year. NONA BOYD / AJC FILE PHOTO

1988 -- Cheshire Bridge Road just being Cheshire Bridge Road, with its hodgepodge of ethnic restaurants, bars and lingerie-modeling services. LOUIE FAVORITE / AJC FILE PHOTO

1955 -- Workers move in to fill a huge chasm under Ponce de Leon Avenue across the street from where Mary Mac's Tearoom is today. The cavity at Penn Avenue extends 42 1/2 feet below the street and is 25 feet in diameter. VAN TOOLE / AJC FILE PHOTO

1989 -- Dale Murphy is congratulated by a team bat boy after his 376th homer, making him the all-time Atlanta Braves home run king. FRANK NIEMEIR / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1948 -- WSB-TV employees are shown broadcasting on location, the same year that the station was granted its broadcasting license. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1926 -- Crowds throng the streets for the grand opening of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building on Ponce de Leon Avenue. Sears remained in the building until 1987 before it became reborn first as City Hall East and later Ponce City Market. ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER

1966 -- Miss Freedom gets some attention from an unidentified worker on the Georgia State Capitol dome. DWIGHT ROSS JR. / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1965 -- Two Atlanta police officers phone in to the station during the night watch. Only three years earlier, African-American APD officers were given the authority to arrest whites. MARION CROWE / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1978 -- "When are we gonna BE there?" Visitors to Six Flags Over Georgia make their way via parking lot shuttles to the amusement park for a day of fun. A brochure from that year advertised attractions such as The Mindbender, The Great Gasp and The Great American Scream Machine. BILLY DOWNS / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1930s -- Children swim and fish in Clara Meer at Piedmont Park. The stone bathhouse building in the background was constructed in 1926. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1974 -- Two boys jump from twin diving boards at the Pittman Park pool. CALVIN CRUCE / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1966 -- An Atlanta Police sergeant looks over a reward poster for information on the Mary Shotwell Little disappearance. Little, a newlywed, failed to show for work in 1965 and has never been seen since. The case remains one of Atlanta's most famous unsolved mysteries. CHARLES D. JACKSON / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1951 -- Atlanta Constitution editor/publisher Ralph McGill chats with poet Carl Sandburg. The two men became close friends after McGill interviewed Sandburg that year (perhaps during the meeting in this photo). KENNETH ROGERS / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1978 -- Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson works at clearing kudzu during the First Annual Great Park Cross Country Run and Kudzu Kaper in East Atlanta. CHARLES R. PUGH JR. / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1945 -- A soldier and a woman embrace on V-J Day ("Victory over Japan Day") on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. That day, the Peachtree Street was mobbed with celebrants throwing confetti. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1980 -- The Falcons' David Becker gets a drink of water during team workouts. That year, the Falcons would go 12-4 and finish first in the NFC-West. STEVE DEAL / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1946 -- Elias Nour rescues a dog on top of Stone Mountain. Nour, who moved from Lebanon to Stone Mountain at age 10, became famous for being an expert climber of the mountain. By the time of his death he was called "the old man of the mountain." Over 37 years, he's credited with rescuing more than 30 people and six dogs. AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

1965 -- Southern-fried Beatlemania hit Atlanta Stadium during the Fab Four's U.S. tour. The band was only in town for 10 hours but the visit produced what the group called the best sound of their U.S. tour, due to a sound technician's innovative use of monitors. DAVID MANN / SPECIAL TO AJC

1971 -- Richard Rich (left), chairman of the board of Rich, Inc. assists Willard G. Rouse, vice chairman of the board of Rouse Co., in unveiling Perimeter Mall's 30-foot papier mache ice cream cone, the symbol of the mall. Jerome S. McDermott (far right), Rouse senior vice president, acted as host for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies celebrating the mall's grand opening the previous week. MAHAN PHOTOGRAPHY / SPECIAL

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1990 --Jason James, 13, from Stockbridge, waits at the front gate to Fort Gillem in Forest Park with an American flag as convoys of the 101st Airborne stop for an overnight stay before continuing their journey. He did not know anyone with the unit but just wanted to show his support. The 101st became one of the first units deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War that month. WALTER STRICKLIN / AJC PHOTO ARCHIVES

By Mandi Albright and Pete Corson

Aug 6, 2018

You should never introduce a new product in August, so how about something old? Perhaps 31 moments from metro Atlanta's past, captured over the decades during that most transitional of months?

Baseball in top gear, schools back in session, football workouts, campaigning politicians — those final flings of summer live in perpetuity in the AJC photo archives, including the archive at Georgia State University Library.

Don't let the past lie — buy it an ice cream cone and hear it tell stories.

About the Authors

Mandi Albright

Mandi Albright writes the AJC's Deja News feature and is an online presentation specialist with the AJC's Digital Presentation team.

Pete Corson

Pete Corson is a Presentation Specialist for the Digital Storytellers team and works closely with the Enterprise and Investigative teams. He has worked at the AJC since 1998. He enjoys bringing the best of the paper's journalism to life on your digital devices and finding new ways to tell the stories that make Atlanta unique.

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