Monday at The Dump

Although I had read that the Margaret Mitchell House was still closed, I hoped against hope that somehow things would work out that I could get inside once more. My last visit inside was in 2007 with my crappy little digital camera. It was time for some better photos! Unfortunately, it is still “under renovation.” Or something like that. Located at the corner of Peachtree and Tenth Streets, it was in a then-fashionable section of town. From the historic marker in front:

Completed in 1899 by Cornelius J. Sheehan, the Margaret Mitchell House was originally a single-family, Tudor Revival residence. In 1913, the house was relocated to the rear of the property and converted into a ten-unit apartment building, know as the Crescent Apartments, in 1919. In 1935, Margaret Mitchell and her husband, John Marsh, moved into Apartment No. 1 where Mitchell wrote the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel Gone with the Wind. Today, the Margaret Mitchell House is a designated city landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a popular tourist destination, and home to the award-winning Literary Center at the Margaret Mitchell House.



The exterior now looks neat and tidy, but when she lived there, Mitchell referred to the place as “The Dump.” From the City of Atlanta website:

The Marsh's marriage started with them deeply in debt from John Marsh's prior illness but they were determined, in Margaret's words, "to live poor as hell and get out of this jam." Thus, they decided to take the small basement apartment that consisted of two rooms plus a kitchen, a bath and a porch. She called it "The Dump," probably more in response to the privilege of her own upbringing than to the actual condition of the building itself.



I was able to get up close and personal with the back of the house:






Peering in, I was able to get this shot:



What it looked like in 2007 when I was able to go inside:



It didn’t look like much was going on inside; it looked like the cleaning crew had gone in a hurry, leaving their equipment behind. Mitchell’s book has come under fire over the last few decades because of its portrayal of the Civil War and slavery. From the Atlanta History Center website:

Both the book and the movie depict a rosy myth of the Old South, casting the institution of slavery in a benevolent light. African Americans characters are also characterized as simple-minded and beholden to the white characters, most of whom are slaveholders.

What I remember from reading the book was that Mammy was one of the few people with integrity and smarts. I should probably read it again with fresh eyes and see how it fares in today’s world. Regardless, it would probably be a safe bet to say that the house has stayed closed longer than what was promised because of the controversy surrounding the author, her book, and the movie that followed.

See more Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta photos at my main website.