Biography

In 1938, Fran Crossett Rosenthal was born at old Piedmont Hospital. As a child, she lived on the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont in an old Georgian house. Growing up in Buckhead, she rode horses and swam in what is now Chastain Park. She lived both in Massachusetts and Germany, but came back to Buckhead in time to witness the rapid growth of the city in the 1960s. Mrs. Rosenthal is currently a resident of Smyrna, Georiga.

Abstract of Interview

Fran Rosenthal speaks of her life as a child in Buckhead. She then describes the growth associated with Mayor Hartsfield’ s “Plan of Improvement.” She discusses her father’s dental practice and her family’s attendance at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Mrs. Rosenthal recalls dating as a teenager, remembering the often-attended debutante balls. She speaks of her move to Massachusetts, and subsequently Germany, with her husband. She describes the shock upon returning to a different Buckhead in the early 1960s, than the one she had left just a few years earlier. She concludes by remarking upon her reasons for moving to the suburbs.

Interview by Erica Danylchak, December 13, 2011.

Read the transcript.

Video

In the following excerpt, Fran Rosenthal describes her childhood home on the corner of Peachtree Road and Piedmont Road.

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