PHOENIX FLIES 2025 | Historic Harlots of Old Atlanta

First, tourgoers will meet up with their tour guide on the corner of Decatur and Collins Streets in the heart of Georgia State University’s downtown campus – at the very gateway of the now-vanished prostitution district. Next, we’ll go inside the Georgia State University Library for a presentation of the bawdy brothels that lined Downtown Atlanta’s Collins Street from the late 1800s to the early 1900s—showcasing tantalizing tidbits from newspapers, census records, city directories, property records, maps, and more. Lastly, we’ll walk the street (well, not like that!) and transport our imaginations back to those bygone days when sin and Southern hospitality went hand in hand – with tales of madams and their painted ladies (some classy, some brassy, but always sassy), the shenanigans and scandals, the political complexities of the turn-of-the-century prostitution trade, and what finally brought the Collins district to its demise after a 40-year run.

• Corner of Decatur St SE & Collins St SE (detailed directions at https://lib.gsu.edu/HHATLtour)
• If the event is full, please join the waitlist. You will be notified if tickets become available.

Host or Publisher The Atlanta Preservation Center