Podcast
Archive Atlanta
Hosted by Victoria Lemos · EN
A weekly history podcast sharing stories about the people, places and events that shaped the city of Atlanta.
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Agnes Scott College
2w ago00:14:46Tap to summarizeThis week’s episode explores the history of Agnes Scott College, from its origins as a small, church-founded seminary in 1889 to its rise as a nationally respected women’s college. Rooted in the 19th-century female seminary movement, the school grew rapidly with support from George Washington Scott and developed traditions like Black Cat Week. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Chamblee
4w ago00:15:26Tap to summarizeFrom railroad stop to global corridor, Chamblee has lived a lot of lives in just over a century. This week, we trace its evolution from land once inhabited by the Muscogee people, to a tiny rail junction, to a booming military town during World War I with the rise of Camp Gordon. Along the way, we uncover the surprising origin of Chamblee’s name, and follow its shifts through dairy farms, aviation history at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, and postwar suburban growth. By the late 20th century, Buford Highway transforms into an international lifeline—making modern Chamblee one of the most diverse and dynamic communities in the Southeast. Huntley Hills Brochure Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Dick Lake Velodrome - REPLAY
Apr 300:11:29Tap to summarizeStill recovering from my appendectomy last week and so I am re-releasing my episode about the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point. We're talking about what a velodrome is, Atlanta’s first velodrome, Dick Lane and the decade long efforts to open this velodrome in East Point. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Transcribe →Atlanta Women of the Green Book (Interview w/ Cynthia Jennings)
Mar 2000:35:35Tap to summarizeThis week, we’re stepping into the pages of the Negro Motorist Green Book. I am sharing my conversation with my good friend, Cynthia Jennings, who has been uncovering the stories behind the places that offered safety, dignity, and community during the era of segregation - but we’re focusing on the women who made those spaces possible. Behind these listings were women entrepreneurs, caretakers, and revolutionaries, who opened their homes, ran businesses, and created networks of survival during a time when they weren’t assured visibility and protection. Cynthia's website Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Atlanta Botanical Garden
Mar 600:13:31Tap to summarizeThis week, we explore the long and winding history behind the creation of a Botanical Garden in Atlanta - a dream that took more than 50 years to become reality. The story begins with Eugene Schofield Heath, who first pushed for a garden in the city in 1918. From ambitious Works Progress Administration projects along the Chattahoochee River to stalled plans caused by World War II, Atlanta repeatedly tried, and failed, to establish a permanent botanical garden. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when civic leaders and garden advocates rallied around a new site in Piedmont Park, that the idea finally took root. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Tennis
Feb 2000:14:21Tap to summarizeThis week, we trace tennis from its 12th-century French origins to its rise in Atlanta, where elite clubs, segregated courts, and growing public facilities shaped the sport’s local identity. From the founding of ALTA by Bitsy Grant to the 1961 desegregation battle at the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center, Atlanta’s tennis story reflects the city’s broader fights over access and equity. We also look at the Olympic spotlight at Stone Mountain Park in 1996 and how Atlanta grew into one of the country’s largest recreational tennis hubs. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Atlanta Student Movement - REPLAY
Feb 600:15:53Tap to summarizeWhen people think of sit-ins, they think Greensboro. But the movement didn’t start, or stop, there. This episode looks at how the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins inspired Atlanta’s Black college students to challenge segregation in a city that called itself “too busy to hate.” From An Appeal for Human Rights to coordinated sit-ins across downtown, arrests under newly written laws, and the protests that landed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in jail. Atlanta’s Student Movement reshaped the civil rights fight and even influenced a presidential election. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Time Zones
Jan 3000:08:53Tap to summarizeAtlanta gets nearly an extra hour of evening sunlight compared to cities east of us—and it turns out that’s no accident. In this episode, we unravel how railroads invented time zones, why Georgia was once split between Central and Eastern Time, and how Atlanta spent decades fighting over what time it should be. From business interests and newspaper deadlines to full-page ads promising more sleep for children, the battle over the clock was surprisingly intense. This is a story about power, commerce, civic identity, and a deceptively simple question that once divided a city: what time is it, really? Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →Oakland City + Bush Mountain
Jan 1600:16:39Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we follow the land from rural farmland to an independent city with its own mayor, streetcars, schools, and sharp racial divides. You’ll hear how Bush Mountain became a vital Black community, how segregation shaped education and housing, and why progress so often bypassed certain streets. From Madea’s House to Negro League baseball fields, Klan activity, and environmental justice, this is a story of growth, conflict, and resilience layered into one small corner of the city. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
Transcribe →The First Hot Air Balloon Ride
Jan 200:05:23Tap to summarizeBefore airplanes and AI, Atlanta once stopped in its tracks to watch a hot air balloon rise into the sky. In this episode, I cover the story of the city’s first balloon flight in 1869. Balloon pioneer Samuel Archer King and the “Dare Devil Dentist” Dr. Albert Hape ascended nearly a mile above Atlanta as thousands watched from below. From spotting Stone Mountain to scaring onlookers and surviving a rough landing, their journey was equal parts spectacle and wonder. Through Hape’s own words, we glimpse how life-changing it was to see Atlanta from above for the very first time. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook | Instagram
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