PRYOR STREET: THEN AND NOW
The first Jewish neighborhood in Atlanta was known as the “Southside.” It was located just south of downtown, and formed the shape of a big rectangle. There were three big streets going east-west (Fulton Street, Georgia Avenue, and Atlanta Avenue) and three main streets traveling north-south (Capitol Avenue, Washington Street, and Pryor Street). The postcard above depicts Pryor Street in 1880, right when the Jewish community in Atlanta was picking up momentum. It was on these streets that many Jewish institutions resided, Jewish stores were run, and Jewish people lived.
The first Jews to settle in Atlanta were Jacob Haas and Henry Levi, both of who arrived in 1845 and established general stores. Over the next twenty to thirty years, Atlanta experienced a slow but steady arrival of Jews to Atlanta, with an equally steady departure of Jews from Atlanta.Most of the Jews who came in the mid-1800s established dry goods and clothing stores, heavily focused on retail. In 1860, before the outbreak of the Civil War, Jews in Atlanta were a meager 1% of the population but owned 10% of businesses, demonstrating a crucial role in the development of Atlanta that Jews would continue to play for decades to come.
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The Civil War dramatically changed Atlanta as a city, and thus impacted the Jewish community as well. In the aftermath of the war, Atlanta gained steady momentum, becoming a popular destination for all people, in addition to Jews. It was seen as a city of burgeoning wealth and prospects, and many Jews found great success in business as well as political and social life.
The growing Jewish community was shaped by three main waves of immigration. The first Jews to arrive and settle in Atlanta were German/Central European Jews in the period directly after the Civil War. They settled in the Southside and began creating new Jewish institutions and businesses. The second wave was the eastern European Jews in the late 1880s to the early 20th century; they ended up settling slightly northeast of the Southside, still close enough to the original Jewish community but distinct enough to have its own separate institutions. Finally, the third wave was Sephardic Jews from the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, fleeing a steadily declining Empire. These Jews tended to settle on the west side of the Southside neighborhood, which included Pryor Street. The Jewish community in Atlanta was diverse but distinct, establishing their own synagogues, stores, and businesses.
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Pryor Street now is wide and paved, no longer lined with businesses as it used to be, but more residential. The interstate built in the mid 1900s now crosses over the street via a bridge, just one indication of the way that the Southside is not only changed, but unrecognizable as the center of Jewish life it once was.
