Techwood Homes

The complex was designed by Georgia Tech alumnus and architect Flippen David Burge of Burge and Stevens (later Stevens & Wilkinson),{{cite book |last1=McMath |first1=Robert C. |last2=Bayor |first2=Ronald H. |last3=Brittain |first3=James E. |last4=Foster |first4=Lawrence |last5=Giebelhaus |first5=August W. |last6=Reed |first6=Germaine M. |title=Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885–1985 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |location=Athens, GA}} and organized by Charles Forrest Palmer, a real estate developer who had become an expert on public housing and would later head up both the newly created Atlanta Housing Authority and the Chamber of Commerce.[http://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/palmer9/ Biographical note, "Palmer, Charles F.", Emory Library EmoryFindingAid] The landscaping was designed by Edith Henderson, who also designed the neighboring Clark Howell Homes with her partner Grace Campbell.[https://tclf.org/pioneer/edith-harrison-henderson/biography-edith-harrison-henderson "Edith Henderson Papers"]. The Atlanta History Center website. Accessed Oct. 13, 2015.Catron, Staci L. [https://tclf.org/pioneer/edith-harrison-henderson/biography-edith-harrison-henderson "Biography of Edith Harrison Henderson"]. The Cultural Landscape Foundation website, August 11, 2015.

The name came from Techwood Drive, in turn named for nearby Georgia Tech. The project included a 300-student dormitory for Georgia Tech, McDaniel Dormitory, commonly referred to as Techwood Dorm. It was run by the Atlanta Housing Authority. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s the area was synonymous with urban blight in Atlanta.

Techwood Homes was built on land cleared by demolishing the Flats, a de facto integrated shantytown adjacent to downtown, home to 1,611 families, most poor, 28% African American.{{citation |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/techwood-homes|title=Holliman, Irene V. "Techwood Homes." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 26 August 2020. Web. 28 July 2021.}} The Public Works Administration replaced the shantytown with 604 units for white families only, with income qualifiers out of the range of many former inhabitants.{{cite book|last=Rothstein|first=Richard|title=The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America|year=2017|isbn=9781631492860|pages=21–22|oclc=985448400|author-link=Richard Rothstein}}

The neighboring Clark Howell Homes was built in 1941 in a less institutional style. A. Ten Eyck Brown was the architect. Clark Howell was also reserved for whites until 1968, with an all-black counterpart at the University Homes project (built 1938) near Atlanta University Center.Sams, page 154

Except for a few historic buildings, Techwood Homes was demolished in 1996 before the 1996 Summer Olympics. It and neighboring Clark Howell Homes are now a mixed-use area called Centennial Place. The first phase opened in 1996 just before the Centennial Olympics, hence the new name. Former residents were relocated to other areas, given Section 8 vouchers to assist with rent. Only 78 of the original residents were able to move back into Centennial Place, which had far fewer subsidized units than Techwood Homes.{{cite news |last=Portwood |first=Jerry |date=2002-02-06 |title=Techwood turnaround |work=Creative Loafing Atlanta |publisher=Creative Loafing Media |url=http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-02-06/hothoods.html |access-date=2007-12-01}}

• Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Techwood Homes}}

• [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3301 Techwood Homes] New Georgia Encyclopedia
• [http://www.artery.org/Techwood.htm Techwood history at artery.org]
• [https://www.atlhousing.org/introduction/ Atlanta Housing Interplay]
• {{HABS |survey=GA-2257 |id=ga0662 |title=Techwood Homes (Public Housing), Bounded by North Avenue, Parker Street, William Street & Lovejoy Street, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA |photos=30 |dwgs=4 |data=46 |cap=6}}, and 24 other entries for individual structures such as:
• {{HABS |survey=GA-2257-C |id=ga0665 |title=Techwood Homes, Building No. 1, 575-579 Techwood Drive, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA |photos=24 |dwgs=6 |data=13 |cap=4 |link=no}}
• {{HABS |survey=GA-2309 |id=ga0748 |title=Clark Howell Homes (Public Housing), Bounded by North Avenue, Lovejoy Street, Mills Street & Luckie Street, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA |photos=54 |data=28 |cap=8 |link=no}}, and 13 other entries for individual structures such as:
• {{HABS |survey=GA-2309-B |id=ga0776 |title=Clark Howell Homes, Anne Wallace Branch Carnegie Library, 538 Luckie Street, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA |photos=16 |data=13 |cap=3 |link=no}}

{{Atlanta history}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}

{{Historic Districts in Metro Atlanta}}

{{Atlanta neighborhoods}}

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Category:History of Atlanta

Category:Public housing in Atlanta

Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1935

Category:A. Ten Eyck Brown buildings

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta

Category:Public Works Administration in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1996