Margaret Mitchell Collection at Atlanta Central Library, Atlanta

Completed in 1980, the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library building is the last creation of Bauhaus-movement architect Marcel Breuer. Designed in the brutalist style, it is largely praised as a "masterpiece" by architectural experts.

The library replaces the original Carnegie Library which was co-founded by Margaret Mitchell's father, and as such it acknowledges its predecessor's connection to "Gone With the Wind". Here, in the Special Collections Department on the 5th floor, you will find the Margaret Mitchell permanent exhibit donated to the library in keeping with her own wish, as part of a bequest outlined in the will of her second husband, John Marsh.

On August 11, 1949, Margaret was struck by an automobile while walking to a movie theater along Peachtree Street. She died five days later. A week after the author's death, the staff of the Atlanta Public Library established a small memorial collection in her honor.

The collection features numerous items, including Mitchell’s Remington typewriter (the one she used to write "Gone With the Wind"), her 1937 Pulitzer prize and American Book Award. Among other essential artifacts on display are Margaret’s library card, photos, various important editions of "Gone With the Wind", pieces of ephemera, as well as her personal books and reference publications used to fact-check her novel.

Across the street there is a monument dedicated to Atlanta’s most famous writer.