Archival Collection

Atlanta Urban Design Commission Records are now available for public access. This collection provides valuable insights into Atlanta’s visual arts and urban development. It includes artwork, sketches, photographs, and other materials that document the city’s design and architectural evolution. These records serve as a rich resource for researchers, urban planners and anyone interested in the cultural and historical landscapes of Atlanta.

On October 23, 2024, the US Navy announced that after twenty-five years, a ship commissioned the USS Atlanta will once again sail the seas of the world. The last USS Atlanta, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, was retired in 1999, the fifth such ship to bear the name of the city.

Learn about  architect Philip Shutze, and dive deep into his collection of  Chinese imports featuring many pieces of porcelain and ceramics.

Join La’Neice Littleton, Ph.D., historian and Director of Community Collaborations, for an exploration of people, places, and events in Atlanta’s Black history.

Learn about the origins of interior design and see the work of one of its founding members—Ruby Ross Wood, decorator of the iconic Swan House mansion.

Learn about the house architect Philip Shutze, interior decorator Ruby Ross Wood, the Inman family who owned the home, and the staff who worked in the house including Lizzie McDuffie

Atlanta History Center is the repository of millions of pages of archival documents and photographs, and tens of thousands of books, maps, museum artifacts, oral history interviews, and much more, with the collection growing daily. For the first time in the institution’s nearly 100-year history, we are excited to announce that this process will now operate from a new search tool housed on our website.

Formed in June 1972, the Atlanta Lesbian/Feminist Alliance (ALFA) was established to increase lesbian visibility and solidarity, and to provide means for women to exist outside of society’s sexist institutions. The Kenan Research Center has recently processed several visual collections related LGBTQ+ history, which include photographs related to ALFA.

Board of Park Commission Minute Books hold significant information, reflecting the intersectionality of race, gender, and class in urban spaces during the early twentieth century.

Rountree Visual Vault showcases portions of museum collections and greets guests the moment they enter our museum.

An unidentified woman brings her horse to a halt at a WHOA sign.

The Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden brims with Georgia’s native flora due to the careful consideration of Mr. Cline.

Atlanta’s history of influential and entrepreneurial women includes Adelle Bartlett Harper, the first woman to own and operate a florist shop in Atlanta in 1921.