Historical Geography, GIScience and Textual Analysis by Charles Travis & Francis Ludlow & Ferenc Gyuris

Author:Charles Travis & Francis Ludlow & Ferenc Gyuris
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030375690
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Although Lewis Scofield’s rolling mill switched ownership and was re-chartered the Atlanta Rolling Mill Company in 1877, by 1881 the Marietta Line, which connected Scofield’s mill to the city, had already begun to change the residential patterns in the northeastern part of Atlanta. Employees of the mill did not have to live in the immediate area, and people living near the rolling mill commuted on the Marietta Line to jobs in the downtown area. In 1902 two new streetcar lines, the Luckie and Orme Lines, further connected this area with the downtown, and consequently, a larger portion of the Whitehall workforce resided in this area. Figure 7.6 shows the location of the mill, and Fig. 7.5 Location A shows residents who lived near the mill and commuted to downtown in 1902. The Washington-McDonough Line did not foster residential areas for people who worked in white-collar occupations downtown until the 1890s. Between 1871 and 1881 the area had low residential density along much of the northern half of the Washington-McDonough Line. By 1891, more residents had moved near the intersection of Jones (Woodward) and Pulliam Streets (see Fig. 7.4 Location A) forming an area of high residential density centered on the Pulliam Line of the Metropolitan Street Railroad Company. Between 1891 and 1902, the residential density along the Washington-McDonough Line increased as well. Areas of moderate residential density formed around the intersection of Jones (Woodward) and Capitol Streets (Fig. 7.5). Residents of this area likely used the new Woodward Line, which provided a more direct route to the Whitehall Study Block. The route of the Washington-McDonough Line had a small direct effect on residential population density in this area; however, the line influenced the routes of other streetcars, which snowballed into a greater effect on the residential patterns. The zigzag route of the Washington-McDonough Line, devised to serve the residences of aldermen McLendon and Grubb in the early 1870s (Fig. 7.6, Location B), created a ripple effect in the subsequent routes of streetcar lines built in the area. While streetcars frequently ran on the same track, few crossed other tracks at 90° angles, especially the tracts of competing companies. For example, the development of a direct route from Mitchell through McDonough (Capitol) was essentially blocked by the Washington-McDonough Line. Likewise, shortly prior to consolidation, the Metropolitan Street Railroad Company opened the Pulliam-Washington Line, which mirrored the Washington-McDonough Line kink one block to the east (Fig. 7.4, Location A and Fig. 7.6, Location B). The Metropolitan Company’s route serviced the southern portion of Washington Street, which had been neglected by the Washington-McDonough Line. It was not until the Georgia Railway & Electric Company consolidated all the streetcar companies of Atlanta in 1901 that many of the inefficiencies, often stemming from the routes laid out in the 1870s, could be remedied. Preston Arkwright, shortly after taking his position as the first president of the Georgia Railway & Electric Company, reorganized the streetcar lines to provide “the best and most economical service to the greatest number of people” (Carson 1981, p.

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