HomePeople and PlacesA Look Back at...

A Look Back at East Atlanta’s “New High School”


By Henry Bryant
If you saw the 2016 Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures”, you saw a little bit of East Atlanta, but may not have known it. The film was shot in Atlanta with various buildings around town standing in for early NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, at that time known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) facilities in other parts of the country at the dawn of the U.S. space program. In the movie, hallways, classrooms and restrooms at the old East Atlanta High School appeared as the offices of the African American female numbers crunchers. Little had been known of the story of these heroes for the space race until now. East Atlanta High School, located on Mary Dell Avenue, between Bouldercrest Drive and Fayetteville Road, saw its first students in the fall of 1959. That made its architectural details perfect for the period sets in the film, depicting these human computers before there were the electronic computers of today.
East Atlanta High School was built to overcome crowding in Murphy High School (now Crim High School) on Clifton Avenue at Memorial Drive. The new school was designed by Thompson & Hancock, Romulus Thompson, architect. Some of the school’s new students also transferred from Grant Park’s Roosevelt High School (now The Roosevelt Apartments). The East Atlanta high school has been closed for three decades, but used as a surplus school and pressed into service as temporary quarters for various area schools that were being rebuilt. More recently it has been rented out to perform various roles as sets or general production in Georgia’s burgeoning film industry.
Originally East Atlanta High had 17 classrooms and included an art room, vocal music and band rooms, science labs, and a military rifle range. It also had physical education fields as well as an auditorium/gymnasium combination. The construction cost was $778,830. It was built on a 22-acre parcel that had been owned by the Hightower family who ran a dairy cow brokerage farm there. 
The school’s superstructure was constructed of reinforced concrete with brick and clay tiles forming the exterior walls. Concrete block and glass tile walls were still evident in the interior shots during the building’s recent film role. Immediately before East Atlanta High was built, Archer High School for Negroes was built on the west side near soon to be built I-285, to relieve overcrowding at Booker T. Washington High. Archer was constructed of similar materials and style. As the population had expanded in these baby-boom years, two other high schools were being planned: Walter George High (now South Atlanta High) off Jonesboro Road and Northside (North Atlanta) High near Chastain Park.
East Atlanta High eventually graduated numerous civic and business leaders including city council members Davetta Johnson and Natalyn Mosby Archibong, both of whom have served the East Atlanta district. In the current real estate market the school property should have increased substantially in value. However, there are currently no plans to sell or redevelop the school. Any plans like that should consider the historic preservation tax breaks if East Atlanta becomes a National Register Historic District as current efforts anticipate. Another consideration could be the changing demographics of the city as it looks to annex properties at the edge of its current borders. This might bring renewed interest in using the property for new educational purposes. Meanwhile, who knows what new movie projects might come to our area?

Recent

AdvertisementAd for Cuong Nhu Martial Arts, Sung Ming Shu | 465 Boulevard S.E. Atlanta, GA 30312 Suite 202A | 404-525-4707 | sungmingshu@gmail.comAd: ScreenFixing, We're here because you broke something. Phone: 404-969-6FIX, 1267 Glenwood Ave SE, Atlanta Ga 30316, http://screenfixing.com
AdvertisementAd for "Ground Crew Confidential" book by David Fisher, https://a.co/d/iPG7Mgv

More from Author

Calendar March-April 2023

CALENDAR Community Meetings GPNA (Grant Park Neighborhood Association). 3rd Tuesday of every month, 7:30pm-9:00pm....

Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land Acquires Conservation Easement

By Amanda Leesburg Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (SE Trust), a...

Spring Blooms at Oakland with Family-Friendly Events!

Visitors enjoying last year's Illumine event Photo courtesy of Historic Oakland Foundation By...

EAV Farmer’s Market Springing Back

By Katie Kriner East Atlanta Village (EAV) Farmers Market is a-springin' back...

Read Now

Calendar March-April 2023

CALENDAR Community Meetings GPNA (Grant Park Neighborhood Association). 3rd Tuesday of every month, 7:30pm-9:00pm. Check www.grantpark.org for details. SAND (South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development). 2nd Thursday of every month, 7:30pm, Ormewood Church Fellowship Hall, corner of Woodland & Delaware Avenues. EACA (East Atlanta Community Association). 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm. See www.eaca.net for details. EABA (East Atlanta Business Association)...

Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land Acquires Conservation Easement

By Amanda Leesburg Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (SE Trust), a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, acquires, conserves, and utilizes natural land for its mission of Conservation, Recreation and Community. SE Trust is proud to announce the creation and filing of a perpetual Conservation Easement for Tapestry Greenspace in...

Spring Blooms at Oakland with Family-Friendly Events!

Visitors enjoying last year's Illumine event Photo courtesy of Historic Oakland Foundation By Angie Wynne March and April are filled with fun, family-friendly opportunities to experience spring at Oakland Cemetery. Phoenix Flies, Atlanta Preservation Center’s annual celebration of historic sites, comes to Oakland on March 17 for an exciting “Geology in...

EAV Farmer’s Market Springing Back

By Katie Kriner East Atlanta Village (EAV) Farmers Market is a-springin' back up on Thursday, March 30, from 4:00pm-8:00pm. It will continue every Thursday 'til mid-November.  All your favorite farmers and vendors are back, as well some new faces,  live music, market chef with free samples, good vibes, all the...

Phoenix Flies Launches March 4

By Atlanta Preservation Staff Phoenix Flies 2023 celebrates 20 years that the Atlanta Preservation Center has brought together organizations and individuals from the community to demonstrate the value of Atlanta’s historic built environment. From museums to adaptive reuse projects, to neighborhood tours to public libraries, this year’s 90...

EACA Monthly Meeting Minutes – Thursday, February 14, 2023

Call to Order / Start Meeting Recording 7:00pm. January 10, 2023, Meeting Minutes approved. January 2023 Treasurer Report approved. Key January Events Recap – Chase Miller: About 30 people came to the MLK day of service to work at Branan Towers and two Neighbor in Need homes. We...

SAND Update – February 2023

By Kate Champion, SAND president SAND’s February 9 meeting was held in person with special guests, Council Members Liliana Bakhtiari and Jason Winston. You can find the questions asked and answered in the article below.  Several items of business were presented. The Ormewood Park Makers Festival will be held Saturday,...

GPNA Monthly Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Call to Order–7:30pm. President’s Introduction. 2023 GPNA Goals: Website refresh - GPNA will finalize and implement the rebranded GPNA website. Sign toppers - GPNA will finalize neighborhood sign toppers project and implementation. Legacy neighbors outreach & support - GPNA will continue building on success from 2022. Community engagement -...

Madison Theater Participates in the GA Trust Historic Theater Tour 

Photo by Elena Kaplan Friends of the Madison Theater (left to right) include Stephanie Cherry-Farmer, Bill Gould, Jennifer Murray. Photo by Jenny Murry Stephanie Cherry-Farmer in front of the Madison Theater By Jenny Murray On February 11, the Madison Theater in East Atlanta was included in an “Historic Theaters Expedition”...

EACA Re-Launches the Friends of Brownwood Park Group

Photo by Patrick Cousins Park Pride, EACA and community leaders gather at Brownwood Park for a walk-through in January 2023. Left to Right: Michael Halicki, Executive Director of Park Pride; Ellen Bruenderman, Director of Community Services at Park Pride; Chase Miller, EACA President; Justin Cutler, City of Atlanta...

Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari Directs One Million Discretionary Dollars to Park Pride

By Nicholas Cappon Today, the Atlanta City Council adopted 23-O-1074, authorizing a contribution of $2.8 million in district-specific funds to Park Pride, with $1 million directly to park improvements and upgrades in Council District 5. “The health and vitality of a community can be measured by the growth and...

Legacy Neighbor Spotlight: James and Lillian Rowland

By Dee Dee Abbott Imagine buying a house in Grant Park for $450 down with a monthly payment of $57. This real estate reverie was a real estate reality for James Rowland. When James and his wife Lillian moved to Grant Park in 1965, there were only three other...