891 Hemphill Street NW
Date: Unknown; probably early 1950's
The Pickrick Restaurant was run by Lester Maddox and his wife Virginia from 1947 until 1965, when Maddox, an ardent segregationist, elected to close down rather than comply with a court order to desegregate. Georgia Tech purchased the building from Maddox shortly after its closing. Given the relentless expansion of the Tech campus, I was very surprised when I learned that the original building still stands, at least for now.
Top photo courtesy of Georgia Tech Capital Planning & Space Management Department
After buying the former Pickrick from Maddox, Georgia Tech partitioned the building into small rooms used as interview rooms for the student placement center.
It served that function until sometime in the early 1990's. Looking in the windows, it appears that currently it is being used only for storage. According to the very helpful and informative John Holcombe, who is responsible for Georgia Tech's Capital Planning and Space Management website from which I borrowed several images, the campus master plans call for this site to be converted at some point to green space.
Date: 01/15/2005
