The Perry Homes Public Housing Projects in Atlanta (May 8, 1979)

Ever since its inception in the late 40s, Perry Homes had been envisioned as one of the largest all African-American housing projects in Atlanta. The complex was finished in the mid 50s and could house up to 1100 black families. Some of the houses would eventually be demolished in 1975, when a hurricane wreaked havoc through the area. For most of its existence, the Perry Home housing project was considered one of the most dangerous in Atlanta. Even after desegregation, several newspapers often spoke about violent murders, with dismembered victims and ransacked houses. On top of that, shoddy living conditions and petty crime were also extremely common problems for the families living here. As per the Atlanta Housing Authority’s plans to demolish all of the city’s housing projects, 1,072 of the about 1100 apartments in Perry Homes were torn down in 1999. A new mixed-income neighborhood, known as West Highlands, was built where the project once stood.