Athens Hot Corner
Hot Corner, located at the intersection of E. Hull St. and N. Washington St. in downtown Athens, is the historic center of the Black business community in Athens. Since its height in the early 1960s, these businesses have slowly closed or moved to less central parts of town as UGA students and staff have become the primary users of downtown. The Morton Theater, Wilson's Styling Shop, and Brown's Barber Shop are some of the few remaining landmarks.
In spring 2024, one of our undergraduate research assistants, Benen Chancey, used archival city directory data to create a catalog of businesses in Hot Corner during three key points in its history: 1940, 1960, and 1980. Working with Mr. Homer Wilson, the owner of Wilson's Styling Shop and head of the Hot Corner Association, Benen created the maps below to help tell the story of the neighborhood.
You can learn more about Hot Corner in this excellent podcast created by Aleck Stephens and Broderick Flanigan: https://www.cornerhistories.com
You can also see where employees of businesses in Hot Corner lived on this storymap based on the 1958 city directory, created by undergraduate RA Jai Gonzales.
In spring 2024, one of our undergraduate research assistants, Benen Chancey, used archival city directory data to create a catalog of businesses in Hot Corner during three key points in its history: 1940, 1960, and 1980. Working with Mr. Homer Wilson, the owner of Wilson's Styling Shop and head of the Hot Corner Association, Benen created the maps below to help tell the story of the neighborhood.
You can learn more about Hot Corner in this excellent podcast created by Aleck Stephens and Broderick Flanigan: https://www.cornerhistories.com
You can also see where employees of businesses in Hot Corner lived on this storymap based on the 1958 city directory, created by undergraduate RA Jai Gonzales.