Whitehall Street Retail Historic District

Summary

The Whitehall Street Retail Historic District is a historic district in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The district is centered on Peachtree Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and includes Broad, Forsyth, and Mitchell Streets.[1] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Whitehall Street Retail Historic District
The M. Rich Building, a contributing property of the district (2013)
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District is located in Downtown Atlanta
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District is located in Atlanta
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District is located in Georgia
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District is located in the United States
Whitehall Street Retail Historic District
LocationAtlanta, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°45′8″N 84°23′31″W / 33.75222°N 84.39194°W / 33.75222; -84.39194
ArchitectA. Ten Eyck Brown, Willis F. Denny
Architectural styleArt Deco, Art Moderne, Italian Renaissance revival, Neoclassical Revival
NRHP reference No.100005409
Added to NRHPAugust 6, 2020

History edit

The name of the historic district comes from a previous name for Peachtree Street, one of the main roads in Atlanta.[2] Since early in the city's history, this corridor of Whitehall Street was considered a major retail center,[3] with the Atlanta Preservation Center calling it "Atlanta's commercial and retail core."[2] In the Antebellum era, the area was also the site of the city's slave market.[3] In 1907, the M. Rich Building was completed,[3] and during the early 1900s, many notable companies operated in this district, including Rich's, H. L. Green, Kress, and McCrory's.[2] The district is also notable for the sit-ins that occurred there during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.[2]

In April 2019, the district was added to Georgia's register of historic places,[4] and on August 6, 2020, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2] According to the Atlanta Preservation Center, the district showcases architectural styles including Art Deco, Art Moderne, Italian Renaissance Revival, and Neoclassical Revival, with notable architects A. Ten Eyck Brown and Willis F. Denny contributing to the district.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions". Federal Register. Office of the Federal Register. July 16, 2020. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Whitehall Street Retail Historic District | Officially Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 6, 2020". Atlanta Preservation Center. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020 – via Facebook.
  3. ^ a b c Lee, Conor (March 15, 2014). "The M. Rich Building". History Atlanta. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Clanton, Nancy (April 12, 2019). "These 11 sites have been added to Georgia's register of historic places". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.