On Second Thought: Unpacking the Hidden History of Summerhill
Sitting just below the interchange between the Downtown Connector and Interstate 20, the neighborhood of Summerhill holds a storied past. Over the decades, the area faced segregation, being gutted by expressways and housing two major stadiums at once.
Business boomed on Georgia Avenue in the ’40s and ’50s, but by the 1970s the area saw more concentrated poverty and riots. When the Olympics came to Atlanta in 1996, Summerhill housed the opening ceremonies at Centennial Olympic Stadium, which would eventually become Turner Field and then later the Georgia State Stadium.
Historians from Georgia State University have been documenting the stories of the neighborhood in digital form for “Streetscape Palimpsest: A History of Georgia Avenue.”
Dr. Marni Davis, a member of the historian team, joined On Second Thought to unpack the history of a changing neighborhood.
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Written by Virginia Prescott & Jake Troyer