Through His Eyes
Seeing the Stars
John Wesley Dobbs Building 135 Auburn Avenue NE Atlanta GA 30303 Patricia J Rangel ARCH 6105 Fall 2020
Contents Tombstone 04 Site Plan 10 Essay 12 Bibliography 32 Reflection 34 Appendix A 36 Appendix B 38
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Figure 1. The West End of Sweet Auburn. The APEX shared its space for 30 years with the Southern Education Foundation. As of 2017, 135 Auburn Avenue has been home to Constellations Shared Workspace on the second floor of the building. Photo by author, September 2020.
John Wesley Dobbs Building
(Southern School-Book Depository) 135 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta Georgia 30303 1910- 1911
built by Hal Hentz and Neel Reid of Hentz & Reid Architecture
1910-1922
Southern School Book
Depository Building
1930- 1937
Kendrick & Williams Inc. Printers
1940- 1959
Imperial Bedding Company
1971- 1981
BF Goodrich Tire Company
1976
Salvation Army
1985 Restoration done by ER Mitchell Construction
1986- present African-American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum (1st Floor) 1987
Building dedicated to John Wesley Dobbs
1987- 2017
Southern Education Foundation (2nd Floor)
2004 & 2008 Renovations done by
Menefee Architecture
2017
Renovations by Cognitive Design (2nd Floor)
2017- present Constellations Co-Work Space (2nd Floor)
The | Dwellers
1910 1911 1911
architect
|
Hentz & Reid
patron
|
Lonnie M. Murray
patron
|
Southern School-Book
Depository Building
1927 1940 1971 1976 1981 1985 1986
patron
|
House of Russell C.
patron
|
Imperial Bedding Company
patron
|
B.F. Goodrich
patron
|
Salvation Army
patron
|
B.F. Goodrich
restoration |
ER Mitchell Construction
owner
|
Collection of Life & Heritage Inc.
patron
|
African Panoramic Experience
(APEX) Museum
1987
owner
|
Collection of Life & Heritage Inc.
(1st floor)
patron
|
African Panoramic Experience
(APEX) Museum (1st floor)
owner
|
Southern Education Foundation
(2nd floor)
2004 2008 2017
renovation |
Menefee Architecture, faรงade
renovation |
Menefee Architecture, faรงade and roof
owner
|
Collection of Life & Heritage (1st floor)
patron
|
African Panoramic Experience
(APEX) Museum (1st floor)
owner
|
BLDEQTY LLC (2nd floor)
patron
|
Constellations, Gene Kansas
Commercial Real Estate (2nd floor)
renovation |
Cognitive Design (2nd floor)
Figure 2. Atlanta was headquarters to the Southern SchoolBook Depository (SS-BD), a five-city operation that sold and distributed books and supplies throughout the Southeast. While various advocates promoted public education for K-12 students, SS-BD profit share rose. Photo provided by SS-BD 1922 promotional booklet,“The Growth of an Idea,� located at the Atlanta History Center.
Figure 3. During the boom of Black wealth on Auburn Avenue, the occupants of 135 were the Imperial Bedding Company, a mattress renovator that reburished the old to be like new. This company highlghts the interdepededncy the west end had with the east of the street. The commercial district prospered due to the residencial area close at hand. Photo from the Southern Isrealite.Classified Section, 1957.
Figure 4. During the 1979 HABS survey of the Sweet Auburn District, commercial building neighboring the designated area were also documented. In this 1976 photo of the B.F. Goodrich building you can see the terra cotta cornice of the Southern School-Book Depository. Photo provided by the Library of Congress.
Figure 5. Photo of Hal Hentz and J. Neel Reid, partners of the Hentz & Reid architecture firm of Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. They started their firm in 1909, and built the Southern SchoolBook Depository is the Beaux-Art style in 1910. They became known as the fathers of classicism throughout the Southeast. Photo by James R. Lockhart.
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From Then to Now:
What’s Been Held
The original purpose of the building was the regional headquarters of the Southern School-Book Depository (SS-BD) Building. They had four offices across the southeast, aside from Atlanta. Regional offices were in Memphis, TN; Jacksonville, FL; Dallas, TX; and Jackson, MS. In 1922, Atlanta’s city zoning ordinances had changed, and white businesses could not be located in zones designated for African-Americans. So, in 1922, Burgess Smith, President of SS-BD, was closing shop on Auburn Avenue and had already secured a new depository building in another part of Atlanta that he was advertising in a small twenty-five-year pamphlet called, “The Growth of an Idea.” After the SS-BD’s departure, the building’s address changed from 121-3 Auburn to 135 Auburn. Under that address, the occupancy changed hands from a printing company to mattress renovators to a tire warehouse with several vacancies in between. However, in 1986, the longest lasting resident to date moved in. The eight-year-old African-American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum found its new home in “Sweet Auburn.” Upon its inauguration in 1987, the APEX renamed and dedicated the building to John Wesley Dobbs, the unofficial mayor of Sweet Auburn. For most of the APEX’s thirty-four years at 135 Auburn, their upstairs neighbors were the Southern Education Foundation, a regional non-profit that advances fairness and excellence in education for all. Upon their 150th anniversary in 2017, they moved downtown, and Constellations run by Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate, a shared workspace, event venue, and radio studio bought the upstairs.
Figure 6. The steel bars coming out of the west elevation are the only remains of a bridge that connected 135 Auburn to the B.F. Goodrich Tire Company located adjacent to it (on Courtland St.) in the 1970s. Tires would be delivered across the bridge and stored in the 1910 building. The bricks up window on the first floor was the original messenger counter for the SS-BD. Photo by author, September, 2020.
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Geo-coordinates |
33.76° N 84.38° W
Figure 7. The south side of Auburn Avenue, between Courtland and Piedmont, were not included in the 1984 Historic District designation of Sweet Auburn. The block includes the original Atlanta Daily World, the longest run Black newspaper in Atlanta as well as the white owned Southern SchoolBook Depository. Photo by author, October, 2020. Figure 8. The yellow outline represents the Historic District of Sweet Auburn, west of the I-75/85 Connector (seen in Figure 3). A highway built in the early 1960s directly through the prosperous Black community. The purple ring is the John Wesley Dobbs Building. Photos provided by Google Earth.
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Over the doorway of the nation’s Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. are engraved four words, ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’This beautiful American ideal is what [African Americans] want to see operative and effective from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf- nothing more or less.They want equal rights and protection in the courts, in the streets, and on the farms; they want equal opportunities to work at every honorable trade and profession; equal opportunity to cast a ballot in all elections, everywhere.These fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and its amendments, constitute the aims, the hopes, and the desires of [Black people in America] today and tomorrow. John Wesley Dobbs “I Saw the Stars” speech December 1939
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Figure 9. Portrait of John Wesley Dobbs, “unofficial mayor� of Sweet Auburn. His is the namesake of the building located at 135 Auburn Avenue as of 1987. His commuinty organizing and civic participation was passed on to his grandson, the first black mayor of Atlanta, Maynard Jackson. Photo provided by Dan Moore, artist unknown.
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Figure 10. Original front elevation by J. Neel Reid, of Hentz and Reid, for the Southern School-Book Depository Building (SS-BD). The SS-BD was one of the first buildings commissioned to Hentz and Reid in their illustrious career in Atlanta. Drawings located at the Atlanta History Center.
Through His Eyes
Seeing the Stars
“Sweet Auburn,” coined by John Wesley Dobbs, was the cornerstone of the Black community in Atlanta between 1900 and 1960. The one-mile stretch housed prominent businessmen like Alonzo Herndon, as well as its most famous resident, civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1956, Fortune Magazine declared Auburn Avenue “the richest Negro street in the world.”1 Dobbs was its unofficial mayor and the grandfather of the first official African American mayor of Atlanta, Maynard Jackson. His community organizing and civic participation made him a political force capable of bringing streetlights to Auburn Avenue and procuring the first eight black police officers to the Atlanta Police Department.2 In 1987, the original Southern School-Book Depository (SS-BD) Building, located at 135 Auburn Avenue NE, was renamed, and dedicated to him. Though excluded from the designated 1984 “Sweet Auburn” Historic District, as allotted by the United States National Parks Service, this relic Beaux-Arts gem, has uniquely bared witness to segregation, Jim Crow policy, Black prosperity, abandonment, natural disasters, a drug epidemic, redevelopment Figure 11. To commenorate the renaming of 135 Auburn Avenue to his grandfather, John Wesley Dobbs, Atlanta’s efforts and the onset of first black Mayor, Maynard Jackson, along with Monica 1 Hughes, Emmet John, “The Negro’s New Kaufman Pearson, the first black woman to anchor the Economic Life,” Fortune Magazine, September city’s daily evening news, were part of the dedicaton in 1956, 258. 1987. Photo provided by Dan Moore. 2 Keen, Raymond, “The John Wesley Dobbs House.” History Atlanta: Historic Buildings, People and Things in Atlanta History, September 24, 2013. http://historyatlanta.com/john-wesleydobbs-house/.
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Figure 12. Photo of J. Neel Reid, principal designer of the Atlanta based architecture firm, Hentz & Reid. Reid had studied in Paris and brought back to the Southeast distincy neo-classical style to all his projects. Photo by James R. Lockhart.
gentrification. Until 2017, it housed the Southern Education Foundation (SEF), a non-profit committed to advancing equitable education for low-income students and students of color. And for over thirty years, it has been home to the AfricanAmerican Panoramic Experience (APEX), the oldest Black History Museum located in the city of Atlanta. The mortar and bricks of 135 Auburn Avenue has witnessed the extremes of black excellence and white supremacy. The building’s history, occupancy, and placement can serve as a case study that illuminates the tensions and possibilities in regard to racial equity and space in this country. In 1910 the SS-BD, a regional for-profit book, and school supply distributor, contracted the young Atlanta-based architecture firm, Hentz and Reid, to build them a neo-classical building as their Atlanta headquarters. Originally Norrman, Hentz, and Reid in 1909, Hal Hentz and Neel Reid lost their partner, Gottfried L. Norrman, within the first year of their practice. The SS-BD was the firm’s 126th job and helped establish their Southeast reputation as the founding fathers of the Georgia school of classicism.3 Though the SS-BD had been in business since 1897, the timing of their move 3 City of Atlanta. “Haas-Howell Building.” Last modified December 23, 1991. https://www.atlantaga.gov/ government/departments/city-planning/office-of-design/urban-design-commission/haas-howell-building.
Festoons
Figure 13. As the firm’s primary designer, J. Neel Reid’s Beaux-Arts training in Paris influenced greatly the embelshes he added to a building. From Athens to Macon, Savannah to Atlanta, details such as the terra cotta cornice is found to beautify the classical rectangular and symmetrical building. Original drawings from J. Neel Reid, 1910 provided by the Atlanta History Center.
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Figure 14. Appropriate for the Southern School-Book Depository, launched in 1897, Hentz and Reid, stylized a beauitful book, torch, and a festoon to represent the nature of the business. SS-BD grew over the next thirty years as various philanthropist assisted in advocating and funding expansion efforts in public education throughout the southern states. Photo by author, October, 2020.
Pediment Figure 15. The festoons taking a prominent position in the Southern SchoolBook Depository Building were seen in mutliple of Reid’s projects as in his 1925 House for Laura B. Campbell (Figure 5). These neo-classical details distinguished his Beaux-Art signature. From the William Mitchell book, J. Neel Reid Architect, it is clear in Figure 6 that the ornament was commissioned in plaster and replicated with the same fruits, honeysuckles and ribbons as was the one created for 135 Auburn. Original drawings from J. Neel Reid provided from William Mitchell, Jr.
Dentils
Parapet
Terra Cotta Cornice
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Figure 16. After Fortune Magazine declared Auburn Avenue, “the richest Negro street in the world,” The federal government in 1984 eventually names sections of Sweet Auburn a “Historic District.” The north side of Auburn Avenue (152-160), between Courtland and Piedmont, was home to the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the Smith House and the Rucker Building. Photos provided by Library of Congress. Figure 17. Philanthropist such as George Peabody and Jane Slater gave millions of dollars to fund public education in the southeast during the late 1800s when only 4% of white students between the ages of fifteen and nineteen and less than 1% of black students, of the same age, were attending school. This 1912 Georgia classroom is etched into the walls of the Southern Education Foundation walls as a reminder of their mission to advance equitable education policies and practices. business. Photo provided by the Southern Education Foundation.
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Figure 18. (left)The Atlanta Team of the Southern School-Book Depository used both floors of the building. The second was primarily offices and stock rooms, however the first floor operation consisted of unpacking and distributing books thorughout the country by means of the railroad. The scale pictured in Figure 19 (below), was installed by Hentz & Reid, in the original plans. Photo provided by SS-BD 1922 promotional booklet,“The Growth of an Idea,” located at the Atlanta History Center.
from Whitehall Road to Auburn Avenue was an interesting choice. 4 SS-BD’s owner and 1902 city councilman, Burgess Smith, may not have foreseen the false newspaper reporting of black men assaulting white women that would unleash the bloody Atlanta race riots of 1906, leaving many dead and injured.5 These riots heightened race consciousness and disrupted the “relatively tranquil racially mixed communities” that lived along Auburn Avenue.6 However by 1909, black families were in the majority along the street, and Smith still chose to construct at the west end of the avenue across the street from the Rucker Building, which housed several black physicians, a jewelry store, and newspaper offices.7 Perhaps Smith misunderstood the extent the 1922 zoning ordinances would have in solidifying the racial segregation of that area and the forced departure of white businesses.8 But by that time Smith and the SS-BD had already relocated to another building in Atlanta and never had to endure the Ku Klux Klan’s marches down Auburn Avenue during the 1930s.9 Despite the 4 Southern School-Book Depository (Business File), OCLC# 957563148, James G. Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. 5 Henderson, Alexa, Eugene Walker, and United States National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office. Sweet Auburn:The Thriving Hub of Black Atlanta, 1900-1960, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site and Preservation District (United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1984),10. 6 Henderson, Walker and UCNPS, Sweet Auburn, 9. 7 Henderson, Walker and UCNPS, Sweet Auburn, 14. 8 Henderson, Walker and UCNPS, Sweet Auburn, 17. 9 Henderson, Walker and UCNPS, Sweet Auburn, 18.
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Figure 20. Eight years after starting the APEX Museum, a member of the Board of Directors found this building in Sweet Auburn. In 1986, the APEX moved in and sold the second floor to the Southern Education Foundation. For accessibilty issues, the museum moved their front door to the side of the building. The exhibits range from ancient African history to the horrors of slavery to the prosperty of Sweet Auburn to achievements in STEM from African-Americans. Photos by author, October, 2020.
intimating acts to keep Black folks confined, prosperity grew. So it is ironic, after the signing of the Civil Rights Act and the increased geographic mobility of African Americans, many chose to leave the avenue. The exodus of Sweet Auburn was augmented by the construction of the I-75/85 Connector, finished in the early 1960s, that split the community in half.10 A decade later, most of the bustling businesses closed shop, wore a blighted façade, and diminished character. After serving as a printing press, mattress renovator, and B.F. Goodrich tire warehouse, in 1986, the eight-year-old APEX Museum moved into the SS-BD. Upon arrival in 1974, filmmaker Dan Moore, Sr., and future CEO, recognized a need for Atlanta, “out of all the cities in America,” to have a place to honor Black history and the nation’s civil rights giants.11 The APEX’s parent organization, The Collections of Life and Heritage, Inc. scouted the building and bought it in its entirety.12 They shortly sold the second floor to SEF. In 2003, SEF raised funds and hired Atlanta firm, Menefee Architecture, 10 “Historic Daily World Building,” last modified March 12, 2015, http://sidewalkradio.com/episodes/single/126#.X3oD0WhKg2y. 11 “Mr. Dan Moore, CEO, APEX Museum, Reflects on the History of Sweet Auburn Avenue,” last modified July 1, 2014, https://www.apexmuseum.org/ about-us. 12 Moore, Dan (CEO, APEX Museum). In-Person Interview by Patricia J Rangel. September 29, 2020. Atlanta, GA.
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Welcome Africa Gift Shop Enslavement Sweet Auburn
Offices
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Figure 21. (opposite page)The original first floor floor plan of the Southern School-Book Depository Building included a straight staircase that went directly to the second floor and ample space for book distribution on the first floor to prepare for deliveries. Original drawings from J. Neel Reid provided by the Atlanta History Center. Figure 22. (left) Mr. Dan Moore, Sr. was a filmmaker before he became Founder and CEO of the African American Panoramic Experience (APEX), the oldest Black History museum in Atlanta. His inspiration came after meeting Dr. Benjamin Mays, who is credited for laying the intellectual foundation for the American Civil Rights movement. Photo by author, September 2020.
APEX
4
8
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Medallion & Sphere Balustrade
Wood Pilaster
Relief
Figure 23. (opposite page) In 2003 nd 2008, Menefee Architecure magnificently restored the front facade 135 Auburn using the original 1910 Reid drawings as a guide (Figure 24, left) . ADA was not regulated in 1910 when the building was built. Therefore the entry of both the APEX and Constellations has been grandfathered in. To increase accessibility, the APEX has made their entrance at the side of the building, while Constellations has added an elevator by the front staircase. Photos by John Clemmer Photography provided by Menefee Architecture. Figure 24. (left) Original drawings by Neel Reid displayed wood pilasters supportinng an ornate balustrade containing six strolls flanked by two medallions and two spheres on the ends. Original drawings from J. Neel Reid provided by the Atlanta History Center.
to restore the building’s façade to Neel Reid’s original 1910 design.13 Reid’s training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France inspired the design, and his detailed drawings left a road map that enabled Menefee to carefully reconstruct the brick and wood exterior to its former glory.14 They returned five years later to repair severe damages the 2008 tornado left on the elevation and roof. Their efforts gleaned both the 2004 and 2009 Atlanta Urban Design Commission Award of Excellence for Historic Preservation.15 By 2017, SEF’s 150th anniversary, the non-profit moved downtown and sold its half of the building to radio show host and commercial real estate “cultural developer,” Gene Kansas. Kansas started up Constellations, a “civic and socially-based shared workspace.”16 Atlanta Magazine classified him as a “groundbreaker” for rejuvenating Auburn Avenue, one storefront at a time.17 A wide variety of voices filled his radio show in 2014 praising his efforts when he re-opened the Atlanta Daily World Building, the city’s oldest running black newspaper, as a mixed-use commercial and residential space.18 Simultaneously, other community members expressed concern that the district’s history may not be remembered.19 13 Menefee, Tony (Principal, Menefee Architecture). Phone Interview by Patricia J Rangel. October 22, 2020. Atlanta, GA. 14 “Haas-Howell Building,” last modified December 23, 1991, https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/ departments/city-planning/office-of-design/urban-design-commission/haas-howell-building. 15 “135 Auburn Avenue Restoration Portfolio Page,” https://menefeearchitecture.com/portfolio_page/135auburn-avenue/. 16 “History of the World,” https://www.genekansas.com/history-of-the-world. 17 Green, Josh,“Gene Kansas,” Atlanta Magazine, November 1, 2017, https://www.atlantamagazine.com/ groundbreakers-finalists-2017/gene-kansas/. 18 “Episode: Historic Daily World Building,” last modified March 12, 2015, http://sidewalkradio.com/ episodes/single/126#.X3oD0WhKg2y. 19 “Mr. Dan Moore, CEO, APEX Museum, Reflects on the History of Sweet Auburn Avenue”
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Figure 25. Constellations used Cognitive Design in 2017 to restore the original character of the building for an adaptive-reuse fitting their needs as a shared workspace and radio/podcast station. Attention was paid to the affects of compressional stress on the original wood columns so the building could last another 100 years with the original structure in place. Photo provided by Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate. Figure 26. Neel Reid drew call outs to explain how the typical beam and cap were to fit into one another. His meticulaous drawings would enable Menefee Architecture to restore the exterior of the building a century later. Original drawings from J Neel Reid, 1910 provided by the Atlanta History Center.
Pintle & Cap
Figure 27. The wooden 10 x 10 beams in this building are all original. They are the structural foundation that supports the building and were placed every 16’ by 12’ apart . There are approximately three rows of nine columns that run the length of the building. Photo by author, October, 2020.
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Figure 28. Constellations moved to Auburn Avenue in 2017 after the Southern Education Foundation transitioned to a downtown office. It is attempting to bring like-minds together in a “civic and socially-minded shared workspace.” Photo provided by author, November, 2020.
CNN reported in 2016, “tension between past and present in an area experiencing gentrification in some parts and stalled development in others.”20 The John Wesley Dobbs Building embodies this conundrum within its walls, literally holding history within the APEX and a search for new sociallyminded stars within Constellations. Tension and possibility exist within the John Wesley Dobbs building, as it does in the entirety of the nation. As the past’s ancestors are honored downstairs, Dobbs’ 1939 legendary “I Saw the Stars” speech, perhaps is a prophetic announcement of the upstairs tenants. Dobbs’ legacy was that of a tireless champion who worked with all people to lift up his community. Time will determine how the past and present reconcile here regarding adaptive-reuse, cultural appropriation, and equal justice in this new iteration of Sweet Auburn’s existence. It will also foresee how the current stakeholders infuse the spirit of the building’s namesake to broker advancements on behalf of his community into the future. 20 Grinberg, Emanuella, “Life Returns – Slowly – to MLK’s Old Neighborhood,” CNN, January 17, 2016, https://www.cnn. com/2016/01/16/living/king-historic-district-auburn-avenue-feat/index.
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Figure 29. The “Beta Room” is a small conference meeting space with modern technology available to clients adjacent to the library and “Milkway Galaxy” coffee bar. Having intentionally preserved original stamps of the building, holes filled with wood slots peak out from the bottom section of the brick wall where base board was most likely nailed into back in 1910. Photo provided by Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate.
Flattened Arched Windows
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Figure 30. The original second floor of the Southern School-Book Depository Building included businesses office and a large stock room to hold the depository’s large supply. SS-BD’s Atlanta office was the star flag of the corporation. Original drawings from J. Neel Reid, 1910 provided by the Atlanta History Center.
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Figure 31. Currently the second floor of Constellations consist of shared social space, a conference area, and inidividual offices for rent. Georigia Tech and Georgia State University both are tenants at 135 Auburn Avenue. Photo provided by Gene Kansas Commerical Real Estate.
Figure 32. Atlanta Magazine called him a “groundbreaker” for renovating Auburn Avenue one storefront at a time. Gene Kansas, a native of New Orleans calls himself a “cultural developer.” He is also a radio show host and owner of Constellations and the Atlanta Daily World Building on the same block on Auburn Avenue. Photo provided by Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate.
Constellations
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AJCov01-011, Atlanta Journal Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. APEX Museum. “Mr. Dan Moore, founder of the APEX Museum, Reflects on the History of Sweet Auburn Ave.” Last modified July 1, 2014. https://www. apexmuseum.org/about-us. Atlanta History Center. “African American History.” https:// www.atlantahistorycenter.com/research/archival-collections/southern-architecture-decorative-arts-design. Beilin, Holly. “First Look: Constellations Building Brings Tech and Social Entrepreneurs Together Downtown.” hypepotamus. May 8, 2018. https://hypepotamus. com/news/first-look-constellations/. Chu, Louise. “Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn is Being Revived.” The Washington Post. August 1, 2004. https://www. washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/08/01/ atlantas-sweet-auburn-is-being-revived/5192a9fc4d1f-49ab-a2ec-3196cdb1492c/. City of Atlanta. “Haas-Howell Building.” Last modified December 23, 1991. https://www.atlantaga. gov/government/departments/city-planning/ office-of-design/urban-design-commission/ haas-howell-building.
Harwood, Buie, Bridget May, and Curt Sherman. Architecture and Interior Design: An Integrated History to the Present. First Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2012. Hatfield, Edward. “Auburn Avenue (Sweet Auburn).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Last edited September 24, 2020. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/auburn-avenue-sweet-auburn. Henderson, Alexa Benson. “Herman E. Perry & Black Enterprise in Atlanta, 1908-1925,” The Business History Review.Vol. 61, No. 2 (Summer, 1987). Cambridge: The President and Fellows of Harvard College, pp. 216-242. Henderson, Alexa and Eugene Walker, United States National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office. Sweet Auburn:The Thriving Hub of Black Atlanta, 1900-1960, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site and Preservation District. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 1984.
City of Atlanta. “West End.” Last modified November 7, 1991. https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/ departments/city-planning/office-of-design/urban-design-commission/west-end.
Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. “126-255 Auburn Avenue Commercial Buildings, Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA. Atlanta Fulton County Georgia, 1933.” Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/ item/ga0211.
Clark, Jesse. Approaches to the Cooperative Revitalization of Auburn Avenue, Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011.
Hughes, Emmet John. “The Negro’s New Economic Life,” Fortune Magazine. September 1956.
Cognitive Design. “A Workplace for the 21st Century in a 1910 Southern School Book Building.” https:// cognitive.design/constellations.
Keen, Raymond. “The John Wesley Dobbs House.” History Atlanta: Historic Buildings, People and Things in Atlanta History. September 24, 2013. http://historyatlanta.com/john-wesley-dobbs-house/
Dobbs, John Wesley. “I Saw the Stars,” Interviewed by Geneva Tonsill. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936 to 1940, Manuscript Division. Atlanta, GA, December 2, 1939.
Lee, Connor. “Atlanta’s First Black Police Officers.” History Atlanta: Historic Buildings, People and Things in Atlanta History. August 22, 2013. http://historyatlanta.com/atlantas-first-black-police-officers/
Ellis, Marlon (Area 6 Manager, Kendeda Building, Georgia Tech) and Dexter Harper (AC Mechanic II, Kendeda Building, Georgia Tech). In-Person Interview by Patricia J Rangel. October 20, 2020. Atlanta, GA.
Library of Congress. “26. 135 Auburn Avenue (Salvation Army Building) North Elevation – 126 – 255 Auburn Avenue (Commercial Buildings), Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA.” Photos from Survey HABS GA-1170-C. https://www.loc. gov/resource/hhh.ga0211.photos/?sp=26.
Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate “History of the World.” https://www.genekansas.com/history-ofthe-world. Green, Josh. ”Gene Kansas.” Atlanta Magazine. November 1, 2017. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/groundbreakers-finalists-2017/gene-kansas/.
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html?sr=fb011716kinghistoricdistrictauburnavenuefeat517aStoryGalLink&fbclid=IwAR0kwUnUUc1WvSxXnmm1tx58xbq619_R6I4zCL-hBCr0UVItwaMmiZl8CUk.
Grinberg, Emanuella. “Life Returns – Slowly – to MLK’s Old Neighborhood.” CNN. January 17, 2016. https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/living/ king-historic-district-auburn-avenue-feat/index.
Library of Congress. “Sweet Auburn Historic District, Auburn Avenue, Courtland Street, I-85, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA.” Survey HABS GA-1170. https://www.loc.gov/item/ga0207/. Loop Net. “Constellations | 135 Auburn Avenue NE.” August 12, 2020. Last modified October 30, 2020. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/135-AuburnAve-NE-Atlanta-GA/19604398/. McGaughy, Helen (Project Associate, Gene Kansas Com-
mercial Real Estate). In-Person Interview by Patricia J Rangel. November 3, 2020. Atlanta, GA. Menefee Architecture. “135 Auburn Avenue Restoration Portfolio Page.” https://menefeearchitecture.com/ portfolio_page/135-auburn-avenue/ Menefee, Tony (Principal, Menefee Architecture). Phone Interview by Patricia J Rangel. October 22, 2020. Atlanta, GA. Minor, Steve. “Southern School Book Depository Bldg (1910), 135 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, USA.” flickr, December 13, 2010. https://www.flickr. com/photos/sminor/20309184482/in/photolistpz2B1a-wYnjn3-8G6qCx-8G9Bbq-pz2AER-ePQby7-pyQ7DB-hjXWRG-odjYof-hjXWJ9-mrpLPwWLFkU-4iYm9T-75ooMk-wWDSZ9-8bnC6F4jk5kL-4iYkTn-rH6xPa-6pu1jq-d65zAd-8G6qik4iYkzV-xTxP3T-tiSokJ-QThsNd-hjXSvj-rp8UqPrBtmRw-y6uGdy-qtvmay-pyN2B3-qeeLXj-qekM5a-odhTNE-qeeLSE-tmmPYj-odhHbs-wCr1ZYtD3wqt-hjYXQ2-odi8Mv-hjYTiB-ovMVgv-9DyQLm-osMDC9-xSU6di-ouMzHn-xjqs4-9DvXhe/ Mitchell, William R., Jr. J Neel Reid Architect: Of Hentz, Reid & Adler and the Georgia School of Classicists. Savannah: Golden Coast Publishing Company, 1997. Moore, Dan (CEO, APEX Museum). In-Person Interview by Patricia J Rangel. September 29, 2020. Atlanta, GA. Pomerantz, Gary M. Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga of Race and Family. London: Penguin Publishing Group, 1996. Sidewalk Radio with Gene Kansas. “Episode: Historic Daily World Building.” March 12, 2015. http://sidewalkradio.com/episodes/single/126#.X3oD0WhKg2y Southern Education Foundation. https://www.southerneducation.org/ “Southern School-Book Depository (Business File),” OCLC# 957563148, James G. Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. “Southern School-Book Depository No. 121-123 Auburn Avenue SHU-118,” VIS 351.519, James G. Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.
Wright, Gretchen (Director of Communications, Southern Education Foundation). Email Interview by Patricia J Rangel. October 30, 2020. Atlanta, GA.
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Q&A What made you select tis property during your initial investigations? Being new to town, I surveyed several people for suggestions on a building to pick for this project. One of my dearest friends from Seattle, who graduated from Clark University, suggested I visit the APEX Museum. When she was an undergraduate student, she participated in a local African-American “Sweet Auburn” tour which included the museum. The structure’s classic beauty, its origins in education, and the non-profit missions of its recent residents appealed to my sensibilities and past careers. Doing this project, what did you discover about the building or the site that surprised or puzzled you? One of the claims I discovered in my early research was that the Southern School-Book Depository was the first building on Auburn Avenue with air-conditioning. The claim held that it was to protect the books from humidity. A reasonable proposition, but nothing in the architectural drawings indicated such a system was included in 1910. In addition, Mr. Dan Moore said he installed air-conditioning into the building when the APEX acquired it in 1986. So, it was interesting to find out, via the assistance of the Georgia Tech Operations Team of the Kendeda Building that air conditioning first arrived to the Southeast for commercial purposes only, but not until the 1940s, after it had commenced in the north. Using the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, for the appropriate treatment for a historic building or landscape, what would be your suggestion for the property: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction? Since the 1980s the stewards of 135 Auburn Avenue NE have done an excellent job of preserving and rehabilitating the structure across the decades. Between ER Mitchell Construction, Menefee Architecture, and Cognitive Design, the John Wesley Dobbs Building has been more attended to than many other structures down that block. Moving forward I would recommend to continue practicing the Secretary of Interior’s Standards in focusing on the maintenance and repair of existing materials and retention of the property’s form as well as addressing the need to alter and add to the historic property to meet climate, energy, and technology changes while retaining the its character. 34
Figure 33. In 1976, 135 Auburn Avenue was a tire warehouse connected to the adjacent B.F. Goodrich Tire Company. A bridge located on the second floor of the building was constructed to trasport and store the tires. Photo provided by the Library of Congress.
Figure 34. In 2003, prior to the award-winning restorations funded by the Southern Education Foundation, the front facade wood and brick work had suffered damage and neglect. Photo provided by Menefee Architecure.
Figure 35. In 2020, the monochrome paint, brick and relief work done by Menefee Architecure remains in tact. The bright fresh extertior as well as the gateway to the APEX creates a welcoming invitation to the John Wesley Dobbs Building. Photo by author, October, 2020.
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Appendix A.
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Appendix B. Survey at a Glance
John Wesley Dobbs Building Location: 135 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30303 Present Owner/Occupant: 1st Floor: Collection of Life & Heritage Inc/APEX Museum 2nd Floor: BBLDEQTY LLC/Constellations Shared Workspace Present Use: 1st Floor: African American Museum 2nd Floor: Shared Work Space Architectural Fabric: 1. Condition of Fabric. After renovations to the façade and roof in 2003 and 2008, in addition to the second floor renovations, the building’s fabric is in very good shape. 2. Overall Dimensions 50 ft. wide x 153 ft. long x 30 ft high. Wood framing with solid wood columns that are spaced 16’ x 12’ apart. Ceiling and floors are 1.5” thick wood planks. 3. Exterior Wall Materials Brick. The original brick is a combo header and stretcher pattern. Parts of the exterior wall that have been built up used a strictly stretcher pattern. Above the archways of the windows is a rowlock pattern. Walls are two feet thick brick. 4. Number/Character of Chimneys One that is out of commission. It was built for the coal stacks in the basement that kept the building warm in 1910. 5. Number of Exterior Doors Doorways and doors: Original drawings by Neel Reid displayed wood pilasters supporting an ornate balustrade containing six scrolls flanked by two medallions and two spheres on the ends. Also placed symmetrically in the middle of the front exterior, garland swags centered with the torch of knowledge has an open book made of plaster. Mefenee Architecture was able to restore the terra cotta cornice. The entrance to the APEX is the middle of the parking lot and there is another functional door to the exterior on the second floor via a metal staircase. 6. Number of Exterior Windows; Different Forms: No shutters. Front entrance has 120 individual paned glass windows. Westside of the building has 17 large windows on the second story. The first floor holds 9 small windows and 7 large windows, like the second story. On the Eastside of the building, there are also small windows flanking the first floor and large windows lining the second floor. 7. Number of Porches, Stoops and Balconies None, but there is also an exterior back staircase from the second floor. 8. Roof Shape, Materials Flat roof with front parapet. 9. Character of Exterior Decoration: The firm of Hentz & Reid were “known in the Southeast for their Beaux-Arts style and as the founding fathers of the Georgia School of classicism,” so it weell adorned in neo-classical motifs on the front facade.
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