Lost Auburn: A Village Remembered in Period Photographs

Lost Auburn is a record of buildings that once stood in Auburn, Alabama, but no longer comprise part of the town's built environment. The buildings have fallen to natural disasters, war, poverty, and neglect, but primarily to what some would call progress. The three authors-Ralph Draughon Jr., Delos Hughes, and Ann Pearson-all academics, have Auburn connections. They do not see what has happened to Auburn's architectural heritage as

progress at all. Rather, their view119-point is nostalgic, they feel the loss, and they regret what has happened. The loss is not confined to university and public buildings, churches, businesses, places of entertainment, and homes, especially homes. The loss is spiritual as well.

More than two hundred photographs of lost buildings give the authors the opportunity to relate stories of those who once worshipped, learned, and lived in Auburn. Together the photographs and the text about Auburn people, especially Auburn characters, establish the uniqueness that is so lacking in too many contemporary cities.

Lost Auburn provides the reader with both a feeling and an understanding of community and the critical role that continuity plays, even in a town as transient as a university town. Lost Auburn provides the spiritual resources

to establish or reestablish a connection to home. Although specifically about Auburn, Alabama, the phenomenon is universal. As such, the book should inspire all readers to value a sense of place with their homes.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 02/24/2022
ISBN: 9781588384928
Pages: 184
Weight: 0.72lbs
Size: 9.25h x 7.50w x 0.39d