Fifty Years Later: The Orly Air Crash Remembered

What: A Lecture by Ann Uhry Abrams and Chris Moser & Film Screening of The Day Atlanta Stood Still

Date: Friday, May 11, 2012

Time: 6:30 p.m. Drinks; 7:00 p.m. Lecture & Film Screening

Location: Child Hall, The Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta 30305

On May 9, 1962, a group of Atlanta’s cultural and civic leaders, including many Buckhead residents, embarked on a three-week European adventure and ambassadorial mission organized by the Atlanta Art Association. On June 3rd, the group’s chartered Boeing 707 crashed upon takeoff from the Orly Field near Paris, France. One hundred and thirty people died, making it the deadliest aviation disaster in history up until that time. Many who formed the heart of Atlanta’s art and cultural establishment perished, including many Atlanta artists. On June 3, 1966, exactly four years after the Orly crash, ground was broken for the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center, a legacy that enriches the city to this day.

To commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of the Orly air crash, Buckhead Heritage welcomed nearly 240 guests for a lecture by Ann Uhry Abrams, author of Explosion at Orly: The Disaster that Transformed Atlanta, and Chris Moser, the producer of the 2001 GPB documentary film,The Day Atlanta Stood Still.The lecture was followed by a screening of the film and a Question & Answer session. The evening concluded with a book signing by Abrams.

Buckhead Heritage Society
3180 Mathieson Drive, Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30305