Shopping on Whitehall -- Victorian Atlanta's Great Shopping "Mall"

Whitehall Street [now S. Peachtree] was the great shopping "mall" in late Victorian Atlanta. Running south from Five Points, it contained many of the city's best retail establishments and was nearly always filled with shoppers. In the 1890s, merchants vied with each other to create eye-catching stores to entice customers and to best their competitors.

Many of these merchants were from Atlanta's small Jewish community like the Rich family, the Eiseman brothers, J. Regenstein, Simon & Frohsin, A. Rosenfeld & Son, and the Hirsch brothers, Morris, Henry and Joseph. (1) In 1890, the Hirsches announced the construction of a new double store building designed by a leading architect, G. L. Norrman. Located at #40 Whitehall, the store would rise five stories and be in the latest Romanesque style.

The architect was a well-known figure among the city's "German Jews." Just a few years earlier, he had created the stunning Hebrew Orphans Home on Washington Street in an elaborate mixture of Middle Eastern motifs, including horseshoe arches and a minaret-like tower. He had also designed homes or business buildings for many individual Jewish Atlantans as well. (2)

The Hirsch brothers were more than just clothing merchants. They were actively involved in the Jewish community and in Atlanta at large. Joseph Hirsch would serve as both a city councilman and alderman. He was one of the founders of the Hebrew Orphanage and served as chairman of the board of trustees of Grady Hospital, guiding the construction of the original hospital building. (3)

 The Hirsch retail building soared above its two and three story neighbors and included a cornice and tall parapet above the five stories. Built of brick and iron, it was described as "stately," having an "elegance in proportion and outside adornment," "exceedingly handsome," and a "model store" both inside and out. The builder called it "palatial" and the owners were so pleased that they used drawings of the new building in their advertisements. (4)

 It was certainly a beautiful structure in the latest architectural style. Great double Romanesque arches defined the two stores, soaring upward for four of the stories. Each floor facing Whitehall was filled with masses of plate glass windows to bring as much natural light into the building as possible. The fifth floor was restrained in comparison but contained seven round arch windows beneath the decorative cornice and tall, flat front parapet roof line. Running between the two great arches for four floors was a narrow, vertical bay containing a doorway at ground level and then a distinct window at each upper level. These were all surrounded by unique moldings, pilasters, and varying pediments [including flat, broken and triangular]. The matching, deep set grand arches which comprised the vast majority of the facade were also architecturally distinguished on each floor. Double, recessed doorways at the ground level had large projecting display windows on each side. The second floor featured projecting bay windows while the third and fourth floors sported balconies in different designs. Overall, there was a great variety of decorative elements but they were held firmly together within a highly symmetrical and restrained framework which added dignity and a strong sense of unity. (5)

The cost in 1890 was between $40,000 and $45,000. (6) This would be between $850,000 and $957,000 in modern dollars. The building would serve the Hirsch Brothers and J. Regenstein [mainly a woman's clothing store] for many decades. It is, of course, long since demolished.

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(1) Atlanta City Directory 1892, pp. 338-341. Major gentile-owned stores were on Whitehall too, including Keely's, J. M. High and the Chamberlin-Johnson Co. The Silvey and Moore-Marsh department stores were located on nearby Decatur Street.

(2) Richard Funderburke, G. L. Norrman: New South Architect and the Urbanization of Atlanta, 1881-1909. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Pp. 167-171, 491, 492, 495, 497.

(3) Historic Site Designation Report for Grady Memorial Hospital, City of Atlanta Urban Design Commission, www.atlantaga.gov.

 (4) "They Have Moved," Atlanta Journal (AJ), 9/26/1890, p. 7. "The Hirsch Building," Atlanta Constitution (AC), 3/23/1890; Advertisement for Hirsch Bros., AC, 9/28/1890; "Building Homes," AJ, 9/20/1890, p. 2.

(5) See illustrations from the AC, 3/23/1890 and "Atlanta of To-Day, 1903, Souvenir" pamphlet in the holdings of the Atlanta History Center archives.

(6) "How Atlanta Grows," AJ, 3/25/1890.