City approves memorial for Atlanta Child Murder victims

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation at its Feb. 1 meeting to create a memorial for those lost in the Atlanta Child Murders from 1979 to 1981.

Designed by Gordon Huether + Partners, the metal and stone monument on the grounds of City Hall in Downtown will have an eternal flame, benches, and the names of the murdered children and young adults etched into the wall.

The council approved $280,000 for the memorial, which was recommendation from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ Atlanta Children’s Memorial Taskforce, which was empaneled as the city re-examined the evidence in the conviction of Wayne Williams for the murders.

following CDC social distancing protocols, and virtual tours and presentations, both pre-recorded and live. Some partners will offer both an in-person and a virtual option.

The three-week event celebrating Atlanta’s cultural and historic resources will showcase over 50 participating Preservation Partners offering close to 100 separate events, including guided walking tours of historic neighborhoods and districts, cemeteries, parks, gardens, and battlefields; lectures on history, historic preservation and rehabilitation, and photography; and open houses and tours at house museums, churches, history centers/libraries, and community landmarks.

Featured in-person events this year include the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art’s new tour of the Goodrum House garden led by landscape architect Spencer Tunnell. Two events that debuted with the 2020 Phoenix Flies, but were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, return and include the Atlanta History Center’s exhibit on women’s suffrage, and the Salvation Army’s Southern Historical Center at Evangeline Booth College.

Pre-recorded virtual tour options include the Atlanta Daily World building on Auburn Avenue; Peachtree Center Historic District in Downtown; St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Grant Park; the Summerhill, Blandtown, and Candler Park neighborhoods; Plaza Theatre in Poncey-Highland; the 1918 DeKalb County Courthouse; and several rehabilitation/adaptive use projects.

Virtual lectures and presentations, a mix of live and pre-recorded events, include UGA’s Hargrett Library exhibit on convict labor in Georgia, the Rialto Center’s 100-year retrospective film, a history of Oglethorpe University, South Downtown’s history and current redevelopment, a forum on current preservation projects in the Atlanta metro region, old house maintenance tips, an overview of the Atlanta Studies Network, and historical overviews on U.S. currency and Civil War photography.

All events are free to the public, but reservations or registration are required for some events. For more information and reservations, visit atlantapreservationcenter.com/ phoenix_flies.