Margaret Mitchell on Monday, Pt. 1

In 2007, I visited Atlanta for a conference and was excited to visit the site of where Margaret Mitchell lived when she wrote the Civil War novel “Gone with the Wind,” one of my favorite books (1936) and films (1939). As it turns out, this fall I will find myself back in Atlanta, but it appears that the historic apartment building/museum will be closed during my visit. The museum’s website simply states: 

Atlanta History Center Midtown is currently closed.

Thank you for the information (please read with dripping sarcasm).

A website for wedding venues gives a bit more info:

Margaret Mitchell House (Closed for renovations until Jan 1, 2024)

It looks like I won’t be returning there this fall. Besides renovations, there has also been grumbling about the museum and the book/film because of their portrayal of slavery. I can only suggest that a look at them through the lens of the time that they were created and letting that be a jumping point of intelligent conversation would be better served than either a censorship or suppression of the many incredible pieces that the museum has in its collection.



From the museum’s website:

The name Margaret Mitchell House is somewhat deceptive—in fact, when Margaret “Peggy” Mitchell lived in the building with her second husband, John Marsh, they lived in a small apartment on the first floor. Mitchell nicknamed apartment no. 1 “The Dump.” Shortly after moving into the apartment in 1925, Mitchell quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal, primarily because of a re-aggravation of a foot injury she suffered as a child. While recuperating, she would plow through library books that Marsh would bring her. As the story goes, one day he came home from the library empty-handed, claiming that she had read all the library’s works of fiction, and suggested that she start writing something instead. Mitchell’s first and only book was born: Gone With the Wind.

Here’s the lobby entrance to apartment #1:



A detailed look at the stairwell ornamentation.



Over the years, the building has been victim to multiple fires and the ravages of time; I am not completely sure how much is original and what all has been rebuilt. This segment of wall was one of my favorite things to see, a visual time capsule underneath the shiny new paint and drywall:



I highly doubt Mitchell’s apartment looked this good when she lived there:



It did appear to be appropriately furnished for the era, but I do not recall that any of these items are original to the building from Mitchell’s time.



See more Atlanta photos at my main website.