Techwood Homes was an early

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

project in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, opened just before the First Houses. Located in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, the whites-only Techwood Homes replaced an integrated settlement of low-income people known as

Tanyard Bottom Tanyard Bottom, also known as Tech Flats, was a shantytown just south of Georgia Tech along Techwood Drive. It was replaced in the 1930s with the Techwood Homes Techwood Homes was an early public housing project in the United States, opened ju ...

or Tech Flats. It was completed on August 15, 1936, but was dedicated on November 29 of the previous year by U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. The new whites-only apartments included bathtubs and electric ranges in each unit, 189 of which had garages. Central laundry facilities, a kindergarten and a library were also provided. Techwood Homes was demolished in advance of the 1996 Olympics and is now Centennial Place Apartments.

History

The complex was designed by

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

alumnus and architect Flippen David Burge (later Stevens & Wilkinson), and organized by

Charles Forrest Palmer Charles Forrest Palmer (December 29, 1892 - June 16, 1973) was an Atlanta real estate developer who became an expert on public housing and organized the building of Techwood Homes, the first public housing project in the United States. He would lat ...

, a real estate developer who had become an expert on public housing and would later head up both the newly created

Atlanta Housing Authority The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) is an agency that provides affordable housing for low-income families in Atlanta. Today, the AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving approximately 50,00 ...

and the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

. The landscaping was designed by Edith Henderson, who also designed the neighboring Clark Howell Homes with her partner Grace Campbell."Edith Henderson Papers"
The Atlanta History Center website. Accessed Oct. 13, 2015.Catron, Staci L
"Biography of Edith Harrison Henderson"
The Cultural Landscape Foundation website, August 11, 2015. The name came from Techwood Drive, in turn named for nearby

. The project included a 300-student dormitory for Georgia Tech, McDaniel Dormitory, commonly referred to as Techwood Dorm. It was run by the

. 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. 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. The neighboring Clark Howell Homes was built in 1941 in a less institutional style.

A. Ten Eyck Brown Albert Anthony Ten Eyck Brown (1878–1940) was an architect active in Atlanta, Georgia and other areas. Brown was born in Albany, New York. He studied at the New York Academy of Design. Several of his works are listed on the U.S. National Regi ...

was the architect. Clark Howell was also reserved for whites until 1968, with an all-black counterpart at the

University Homes In 1994 the Atlanta Housing Authority, encouraged by the federal HOPE VI program, embarked on a policy created for the purpose of comprehensive revitalization of severely distressed public housing developments. These distressed public housing pro ...

project (built 1938) near

Atlanta University Center The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and univers ...

. Except for a few historic buildings, Techwood Homes was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a b ...

in 1996 before the 1996 Summer Olympics. It and neighboring Clark Howell Homes are now a

mixed-use Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to so ...

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 Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

. Only 78 of the original residents were able to move back into Centennial Place, which had far fewer subsidized units than Techwood Homes.

References

External links

Techwood Homes
New Georgia Encyclopedia
Atlanta Housing Interplay
*, and 24 other entries for individual structures such as: * *, and 13 other entries for individual structures such as: * {{Authority control History of Atlanta Public housing in Atlanta Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic American Buildings Survey in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures completed in 1935 A. Ten Eyck Brown buildings National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Public Works Administration in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures demolished in 1996

History

See also

References

External links