A Brief History of the Firehouse and CVM (Today's Talk)

History of CVM & Firehouse

The Firestataion:

We stand in the 10^th Ward Firestation #20, at 590 Manford Road Southwest. It is the only community landmark building physically in Capitol View Manor, but it is considered part of the Capitol View Historic Register nomination because it was built to serve the Sylvan Hills community that was in development at the time of its construction in 1926.  The project, championed by then city Alderman Charles M. Ford, was built by the Shaw Construction Company and cost $10,500. The building has a brick façade and utilizes gables that reference the English Vernacular Revival style predominant on Manford, Mellview and Shannon.

The firestation opened in classic Southern style on December 5, 1926., with a barbecue, of course! In attendance were city council members, county commissioners, pastors of 10^th ward churches and mayor-elect, Isacc Newton (I.N.) Ragsdale.

CVM

Capitol View Manor is situated on Land Lot #88 and was originally part of Henry County as Georgia residents expanded westward after the withdrawal (or expulsion) of the Native Americans. The land was located outside of the Confederate defenses during the Civil War.

After the war the Freedman’s Aid Society purchased 450 acres, Land Lot 73 and Land Lot 88. Funds were raised to build Clark College for the freed victims of Southern exploitation. Buildings were situated on Land Lot 73. Land Lot 88 was used to train students in agricultural science and animal husbandry. The crops and animals raised on this property were used to feed the students of the college and sales from the farm underwrote tuitions.

In 1899 the college sold off some property to the Atlanta and West Point Railroad to build a raised rail bed, which you still see today. Some of this property was sold to Capitol View (not Manor) developers to build many of the houses you see facing Metropolitan parkway.

In the 1920s Clark University and Atlanta University planned to merge and the land was sold to a group of investors, who were affiliated with the Georgia Savings Bank and Trust Company (Joseph Boston, George M. Brown and John E. Oliver).

In 1925 the City annexed property south of University Avenue, including Lot 88.

In 1926 the investors hired Olin I. Freeman to design a subdivision named Capitol View Manor. Freeman was a civil engineer by trade, who received training under Orrin F. Kauffman. Kauffman subscribed to Olmsteadian principles of development having worked with Frederick Law Olmstead on the development of Druid Hills. Olmstead’s influence is evident in the curvilinear design of the streets as well as the rolling hills of the park like terrain. Dill Avenue Park, in sight of the firehouse, was in the original design of the subdivision and intended to serve as a roundabout feature.

One of the early housing developers in CVM was Turman-Brown Real Estate, a partnership between S. B. Turman a long time Fulton County developer and George M. Brown, Jr. president of the Georgia Savings Bank & Trust.  The firm had offices in the same bank. Atlanta was currently experiencing a housing shortage and Brown capitalized on this, creating an “Own Your Own Home” campaign in the city. To give their subdivision a competitive edge, they stationed an agent in the subdivision on Sundays to give tours.

The marketing of CVM by its original investors suggests they were targeting an emerging white-collar managerial group. The use of “Manor” distinguished it from Capitol View across the way and gave the impression of exclusivity employed by advertising in that time period.

In 1929 real estate firm and developers Maddox & Tisinger (Paul Maddox & Thomas Tisinger) were the primary sellers in CVM. They offered fa ull service home purchasing package that included financing, home construction and “follow-up purchasing services” in CVM.

In line with purveying a more stately living environment, in 1928 residents petitioned for the name of Dill Avenue to be changed and in 1929 it was changed to Manford. Likewise Shannon was once Capitol View Avenue and also received a name change in 1929.

The predominance of brick houses in the English Vernacular style was another draw for white collar prospects, as well as proximity to the trolley line (right at the corner of Dill and Stewart/Metropolitant) and the newly built Capitol View School designed by A. Ten Eyck Brown, who also designed the MLK, Jr. Federal Building on Forsyth Street.

In 1930, Joseph Boston, the primary investor of the group currently paying the mortgage to Clark University, died. At this point the note had not been repaid. By 1933 the investors defaulted on the loan and $71,000 was still indebted to Clark University. There was a clause in the contract that allowed for what was essentially a short sale, and the investment group sold the property on the steps of the courthouse. Clark University recouped only $10,000.

The Depression gave rise to entrepreneurial solutions in the real estate industry. Maddox designed homes that would “help pay for themselves.” These homes had a semi-duplex configuration. They can be seen at the following addresses:  594 Shannon Drive, 574 Shannon Drive, 573 Shannon Drive and 569 Manford Road. Maddox published an article in the National Real Estate Journal in 1930 detailing the designs.

Despite these attempts to up sales, the Depression did have a big impact on the community and by 1935 there were only 58 homes in CVM.

In 1937 the residents petitioned for a park and a portion of the Deckner property was purchased to build a park which at that time had tennis courts, a baseball diamond and a playground. The park was named for the mother of State Senator Everett Millican, Emma Millican, who lived in Capitol View Manor until her death.

During WWII Atlanta was a center for war-time industry, rationing and of course had Ft. McPherson nearby. Another developer, Hillside Homes, began construction on Erin Avenue, in a style now known as the American Small House. Residents of CVM objected to the “poorer quality” and smallness of the houses that they perceived to diminish the value of their neighborhood. These homes were designed to house war workers. As a compromise, Hillside agreed to put in sidewalks and paved driveways, vary the color of the roofs and use several different front elevations. Among other restrictions on these houses was a covenant forbidding the sale or lease of these houses to African Americans until January 1, 1975.

The post war years saw another real estate boom and by 1950 90% of the lots in CVM had been built out. The ranch houses you see in the neighborhood were built primarily between 1950 and 1961, and, according to our State Historic Preservation Office, are ideal, intact examples of early ranch house development in Georgia.