Biography

Charlotte Hill Little Walker is a fourth generation native Atlantan who grew up in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1955, she moved to the Buckhead community on Collier Road after she married Dr. Jack Walker. She worked as a teacher and administrator at The Lovett School from 1971 to 1998.

Abstract of Interview

Ms. Walker discusses early memories of Buckhead including visiting the home of her father’s uncle, James Reeves Little and his wife Roberta Perryman, who lived in a ca. 1908 house on Peachtree Road, next door to the former location of the Randolph-Lucas House. She also recalls the estate of John K. Ottley, which was located where Lenox Square is today. She goes on to discuss the changes that came to the community with the development of Lenox Square. She also recalls the Alexander estate that was once located on the property where Phipps Plaza and its environs are today.
 
She recalls several vivid stories including an incident in the mid-1930s when Robert Wadlow, the tallest person in the world, came to a shoe store in the main commercial district of Buckhead. She also recalls visiting the Tullie Smith House when it was a working farm in its original location on North Druid Hills Road. She also discusses teaching at the Lovett School, its transformation over time, and stories about the school during her tenure, like the time Starlet O’Hara—an elephant—visited the campus. In addition, she vividly recalls the Orly plane crash in 1962 and where she was at the time the news of the tragedy broke. She also has memories of the premiere of Gone With the Wind at the Loew’s Grand Theater and riding the bus with Margaret Mitchell. Other topics include the opposition to the building of GA400 through North Buckhead; Dougherty, Redwine and Company; the Wieuca Inn; and a Saudi Arabian prince living in the Nunnally home on Blackland Road.
 
Interviewed by James Ottley, October 7, 2013.
 

Read the transcript.

Video

Charlotte Walker recalls the day Robert Wardlaw, the tallest man in the world, came to the Buckhead community for an appearance at a local shoe store in the 1930s.

 

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