Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, GA
The Lakewood Avenue SW and Beaupree Street Model SD-10. Photo taken by Brendan W. on February 23rd, 2020.
Type	Civil defense
Location	Fulton County, GA DeKalb County, GA Cobb County, GA
Status	Removed
Testing dates	1st Friday of the month
Testing times	12:00 PM

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, and a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 510,823. Like most of America's largest cities, Atlanta, Fulton County, and the greater metro Atlanta area maintained an extensive siren network in the mid 20th century—today, only bits and pieces remain of the network that composed of approximately 45 sirens at its peak in the 1950s and well over 200 sirens overall.

History

The Type D setup at Peachtree Street and Decatur Street.Photo taken by Bill G. (amtrak3501)

The earliest mention of Atlanta having sirens comes from 1942; during World War II, Atlanta installed 225 sirens according to a newspaper dated July 11th, 1942; the installations comprised of 4 Federal Electric Type D sirens—half 8-port and half 5-port—installed on telephone poles that totaled 2 hp. This would be, implying that they had 4 at every location, 56 sites. Of these setups, only 1 is left that is currently known about at Peachtree Street and Decatur Street, which remains mostly intact sans a missing 8-port Model D; this site was supposedly implemented in 1956. Another newspaper dated September 23rd of 1942 makes mention of a 2-tone Decot Engineering Works siren installed on the Rhodes-Haverty Building. Atlanta purchased Federal Electric Fedelcode Type Mach. 7 (C3 ½) sirens as supplements to the Model D sites from 1945 to 1948 at the latest. Information about these sirens' whereabouts is scarce; at least 1 ended up in Palmetto, GA and was restored after burning out in 2016. Hapeville, GA also had 1 on a water tank per a 1952 newspaper but no additional information has been found on this siren. Another from 1945 was found in Alpharetta, GA, currently stored at the fire headquarters for the city.

1 of the Type Mach. 7 setups in Atlanta. This siren was removed in 2018. Photo taken by Brendan W.

What remains of the Atlanta Stockade building Model BN52. Photo taken by Matthew (bobcat418)

A W.S. Darley & Co. Weatherproof Champion was located near the Fox Theatre at some point in the 1940 or 1950s; its whereabouts or owner is unknown. In 1952, the city of Atlanta sought bids and actually tried out numerous makes and models of sirens—Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt sirens, a single Chrysler Air Raid Siren, and so on. Biersach & Niedermeyer (BNCO) won the bid, and 25 Mobil Directo Model BN52 sirens were ordered. All were implemented in Atlanta proper and immediate surrounding areas, such as DeKalb County, Marietta, and East Point. The number of sirens purchased totaled 27; 15 in Atlanta, 10 in DeKalb County, and 1 in Marietta and East Point each. The sirens were delivered in December of 1952 and installed in September of 1953 by the Atlanta Electric Company (AECo), paid for with a government subsidy; AECo was also the contractor for DeKalb County and their sirens. Atlanta allegedly applied for 44 7.5 hp sirens in 1954; the whereabouts of these sirens are unknown. The Marietta location was replaced in 1958 with 2 Federal Sign & Signal Thunderbolt sirens, both of which now no longer exist. Atlanta further extended and modernized their siren network in 1961; a batch of Model SD-10 sirens and several Altec Lansing Giant Voice speaker arrays were bought. DeKalb County procured 27 Thunderbolt Model 1000T sirens in 1963, succeeding the previous 10 Model BN52 sirens.

The Thunderbolt Model 1003 atop the Richard B. Russell Federal Building. This image was taken from I-20. Photo taken by Cody P. (traintraveler)

The Model SD-10 at Holly Road NW and Andrews Street NW.

Atlanta instigated a bid for another "giant voice" system in 1967, although the outcome of this is unknown. 1 Federal Signal Model A from the Atlanta in was sent to Vietnam in 1969; it is unknown if this siren was owned by the city itself or not. By 1974, Atlanta had 3 Thunderbolt sirens according to an article from that year about the Hurt Building Model BN52 (affectionately nicknamed "Big Myrtle"). A handful of sirens were placed in Sandy Springs around 1975 although nothing more is known about these. It is rumored that Atlanta supposedly purchased Loudoun Communications Model ES-1000 sirens after 1975 which were later donated to Smyrna in the 1990s, although there is little evidence to support this theory. Anderson County, SC was supposedly donated 1 Model SD-10 by the city of Atlanta in 1977; this siren is now inactive. 6 more Thunderbolt (Model 1003) sirens were purchased in 1978; this investment came after the "Govenor(')s Tornado" which whipped through Atlanta during the morning rush hour on March 24th, 1975—it injured 152 people and tragically claimed 3 lives. Civil defense authorities later deemed the use of the sirens for tornado warnings okay. The Model BN52 above the Noland building in downtown Atlanta was demolished with the building in 1979 or 1980 to make way for new I-85 developments. There were only 14 active sirens in Atlanta according to a 1984 WAGA report. Atlanta's siren network was finally disbanded in 1985 and gradually dismantled through the 1990s and 2000s.

Some sirens were sold as surplus to Palmetto (received 1 Type Mach. 7), Cobb County, GA (received around 7 Model SD-10 sirens all removed in 2008/2009), and Oxford, GA (received 1 Model SD-10 located at Atlanta Fire Station 29). Cobb County also purchased a Model 1003 to pair with a Model 1000AT blower bought from DeKalb County. Bibb County, GA bought various siren parts from Atlanta to repair their own aging Thunderbolt sirens, while Memphis, TN was sold a handful of Model BN52 sirens for parts. A Model SD-10 was donated to Swan Quarter, NC in 2000 and refurbished, replacing a decrepit Sterling Siren Model M later parted out and sold. Nothing else is known about the whereabouts of the rest of the sirens. As an addendum, there are persistent (though unverified) reports that the Model 1003 atop the Richard B. Russell Federal Building sounded during the 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak—a curious postscript to a long history. Very few of Atlanta's sirens remain in their original locations today; the Richard B. Russell Federal Building Model 1003, Lakewood Avenue SW and Beaupree Street SW and Holly Road NW and Andrews Street NW Model SD-10 sirens, and the Peachtree Street and Decatur Street Model D sirens are extant and intact. The Atlanta Stockade Model BN52 also still exists albeit dismantled and in pieces. 1 of the Giant Voice sirens on top of the Aaron's building remained until a 2016 renovation, while a Type Mach. 7 off of Roosevelt Highway was cut down in 2018 during construction of a warehouse.

Schedule

Atlanta's sirens were tested on the 1st Friday of the month at 12:00 PM for around 1 minute of alert, weather permitting after the Govenor(')s tornado. The sirens were activated from the Renaissance Lofts—formerly the Atlanta Police Department headquarters—with landline telephone controls. The sirens were owned and operated by the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency for the latter portion of their service life.

Gallery

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  The Noland building in September of 1974, with a BNCO Model BN52 visible.