About Metropolitan Parkway/Stewart Avenue

Until 1997, the corridor that connects the neighborhoods of Adair Park, Pittsburgh, Capitol View, Capitol View Manor and Sylvan Hills on the southwest side of Atlanta and was once THE road south out of Atlanta was called Stewart Avenue. The road was named for Andrew Perry Stewart, who served for over twenty years as the (Fulton) County Tax Collector and was a resident of Capitol View.

Stewart was born in Jackson, Butts County, Georgia on December 14, 1848. His father, Frederick Stewart, served with 6th Georgia Artillery Battalion during the Civil War. A.P. Stewart came to Atlanta shortly after the close of the war, working first for Richardson's then for a hardware concern owned by L. B. Langford. Stewart purchased the hardware business on Whitehall Street upon Langford's retirement and ran that business until 1888, when he sold it to a Mr. Conklin. In 1889, Stewart ran and was elected as county tax collector, a position he held for many years. He was also active politically and served as a representative of the Fifth Ward. Stewart was also a Mason and an Oddfellow, and participated in a variety of civic activities.

Metropolitan Parkway/Stewart Avenue was also formerly: Vine Street, Humphries Street, Kreig Street, New Whitehall Road, and Ocmulgee. Stewart is part of the old Dixie Highway, which runs from Miami to Detroit. Per the Atlanta Constitution, the Dixie Highway was the brainchild of Clark Howell, editor of the paper.

In 1997, Stewart Avenue was renamed Metropolitan Parkway in honor of the college along its corridor. City Council cited that it would give the street, known for prostitutes, strip clubs and drug dealers a clean slate. We all know how well that worked out.

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Notes:

Men of Mark in Georgia, Vol. VI. William J. Northern, LLD, Editor, A.B. Caldwell, Publisher, Atlanta, GA, 1912. p.201-202

"Andrew P. Stewart." The Atlanta Constitution, November 27, 1910, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). p. C8

"Andrew P. Stewart." The Atlanta Constitution, October 23, 1912, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). p. C5

"Dixie Highway Trailblazers Visit Scenes of Effort 20 Years Ago." The Atlanta Constitution, February 21, 1936. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). p. 11

"Many Streets Get New Names." The Atlanta Constitution, October 17, 1903, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). p. 7

"New Name Gives Stewart Avenue a Clean Slate." The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, August 21, 1997. p. D2

Capitol View War Housing

July 26, 1942, the realty firm of Haas & Dodd announced that they were selling houses for war workers on a 35 acre tract of land adjacent to Perkerson Park and near the Sylvan Hills subdivision. At this time, the new subdivision was called Fairmount Forest. The tract was located at the corner of Deckner and Stewart Avenue and was once part of the Perkerson properties. Fifty houses were planned for this subdivision and at the time of the announcement, twenty-four houses had been constructed. These were located on Belmont Avenue, south of Deckner and sold for less than $4,o00 for a five-room house and less than $5,000 for a six-room house.

Haas & Dodd noted that the houses were designed by "one of Atlanta's leading architects" to be in harmony with the existing houses in the community and that no two houses would look the same. The article cites that the subdivision and housing was authorized by the government for defense workers, which are described as: "a member of the armed forces, a person engaged in a plant producing war materials, either by direct contract or by subcontract, or an employee of a branch of the United States government engaged in war activity.

In a subsequent article in November of that year, the name of the subdivision had changed to Fairmount Park and we learn that the developer was Fairmount Development Company, though still being sold by Haas & Dodd. The 35 acre tract was subdivided into 125 lots. The lot sizes were considerably larger than those previously subdivided in Capitol view, the frontage being no less than 71 feet and the houses situated on the lots so that at least 25 feet stood between each house. The house set backs were determined by a desire to "preserve and balance the yard space."

By this time, the 50 houses had been completed, 32 of which had been sold, all to war workers. The completed houses were located on Belmont Avenue and Athens Avenue. The site was noted to be convenient to the Chevrolet Plant, Fort McPherson, the Candler Warehouse, the airport, and other war industry locations. The builder for this project was W. R. Jordan. The article repeated the previous assertion that the homes were designed by a leading Atlanta architect, unfortunately no name was ever mentioned.

NOTE: There is a picture associated with the 2nd article cited below, however AJC retains the rights to it and I can not publish on the page. However it is interesting in that the houses are very visible as there are no trees.

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"To Build 50 Homes in New Subdivision for War Workers." The Atlanta Constitution, July 26, 1942, pg. 8D, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1939).

"Fairmont Park Subdivision is Growing Fast." The Atlanta Constitution, November 8, 1942, pg. 7D, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1939).

Sylvan Hills - 1911

Hi Sylvan Hills folks, didn't want to leave y'all out of the mix!

Here is the portion of the map that corresponds to most of Sylvan. I have been trying to find out more about why it is shown as Forrest Park, with no success yet. But maybe one of your neighbors know?

Also, thought you might like to see a closeup, (lower right). Looks like Southern Cotton Oil Co. had a location by the tracks. Will be digging up more info on them when I get a chance to.

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1911 Fulton County Map (portion of), produced by Hudgins Company, courtesy of the Georgia Archives

CVM - Erin Avenue

In 1944 Hillside Homes, Inc., began development of a War Housing Project on Erin Avenue in Capitol View Manor. The development was opposed by the existing residents of CVM, who cited sub-standard construction and a deleterious impact on their property values as cause.

Hillside Homes meanwhile was having additional trouble gaining support from the City, having lost a court battle to them over the provision of water and sewer infrastructure. An agreement was finally reached with the Fourth Ward Civic League, the City, and the neighborhood allowing construction on the contingency that Hillside Homes provide sidewalks and paving, and that the houses were differentiated by roof color and varying the front elevations of the proposed 35 homes.

Which houses are they? I have not confirmed this by documentation yet, however, this link may provide a clue:

http://homesales.ajchomefinder.com/homesales/subdivision/30310/hillside_homes_inc

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"Greenlight is Expected for Erin Avenue Housing Project", The Atlanta Constitution, June 11, 1944, page 4B. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945).

Capitol View Manor, Clark University and the Freedman's Aid Society

While researching a paper about the development of Stewart Avenue (Metropolitan Parkway), I discovered a 1911 Fulton County map in the Georgia Archives (map above, many, many thanks to the Georgia Archives for allowing me to post the image). The map showed that the bulk of the property on which Capitol View Manor sits was owned at that time by the Freedmans Aid Society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedmen's_Aid_Society). I was intrigued!

On the 1911 Fulton County map, Capitol View Manor is on land lot 88 (the yellow map is Land Lot 88 from the Fulton County GIS). The west edge is Stewart Avenue, our northern border is the Atlantic and Western Railroad. The wiggly line you see running through the northeast corner is a creek that originates in the Pittsburgh Neighborhood. Chances are good that the creek still exists in some form and neighbors on Hillside may see some evidence of it.

According to The Clark College Legacy by James P. Brawley, the money to purchase 450 acres of land (including the parcels on which the CVM neighborhood sits) was raised by Bishop Gilbert Haven. According to George Prentice in his book, The Life of Gilbert Haven: Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Haven was quite a radical, having been first an Abolitionist and upon coming to Atlanta, an agitator for the rights and dignity of the African American people. The land deal was brokered through Reverend Richard S. Rust of the Freedman's Aid Society in 1872 and purchased from a Mr. James M. Ball (from the Freedman's Aid Society Records 1872-1932, Roll 116, Entry from November 7, 1872, Atlanta University Center Archives). Per Brawley the land was purchased to support an agricultural program of the college. This program would: Supply food for the college, provide work for the students, train students to be agricultural workers, and serve the farming community of Georgia and the regional south. The program was extremely successful and Brawley reports that at the 1908 Annual Roundup Farmer's Institute, Perry C. Parks reported, "the growing of huge crops of vegetables, thousands of pounds of pork, thousands of gallons of milk and hundreds of pounds of butter."

In 1924 350 acres of land, including that on which Capitol View Manor sits, was sold to endow the college. The property was sold for circa $235,000. In September of 1926, Turman-Brown Realtors began selling lots in the new Capitol View Manor Subdivision.

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Notes:

1911 Fulton County Map, produced by Hudgins Company, courtesy of the Georgia Archives