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.

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.