Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Nellie Mae Rowe and Her Playhouse

Nelli Mae Rowe and Her Playhouse Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, November 23, 2025

1. Nelli Mae Rowe and Her Playhouse Marker

Inscription. Nellie Mae Rowe (1900-1982), a self-taught African-American artist, lived near this site for 45 years. Rowe began creating art as a child. After retiring in the 1960s, she devoted herself to artmaking, associating it with childlike play. Using assemblage and repurposing techniques, she explored politics, race, her faith, and her experience as a woman. Rowe adorned her yard and home—her "Playhouse"—with colorful drawings, installations, and sculptures. During the 1970s, many locals and visitors toured Rowe's Playhouse. Rowe experienced harassment and vandalization due to racial prejudice and lack of understanding of her art. Toward the end of her life Rowe's work received national attention. Shortly after her death her Playhouse was demolished. Rowe's art has since been exhibited worldwide and included in collections such as Atlanta's High Museum of Art and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Erected 2024 by Georgia Historical Society, Vinings Village Homeowners Association and the Judith Lexander Foundation. (Marker Number 33-3.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans

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• Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights • Women.

Location. 33° 51.965′ N, 84° 28.3′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Cobb County. It can be reached from the intersection of 2857 Paces Ferry Road Southeast and Twin Lakes Drive, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located in front of the Indigo Hotel. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2857 Paces Ferry Rd SE, Atlanta GA 30339, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The 4th Corps at Vining’s Station (approx. ¼ mile away); Site: Hardy Pace’s Res. Howard’s Headquarters

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(approx. 0.4 miles away); The 4th Corps Posted Along the River (approx. one mile away); The 14th & 20th A.C. Cross at Pace’s Ferry (approx. one mile away); a different marker also named The 14th & 20th A.C. Cross at Pace's Ferry (approx. one mile away); The Errant Pontoon Bridge: Pace's Ferry (approx. one mile away); Old Pace’s Ferry Road (approx. 1.2 miles away); Palmer’s & Hooker’s A.C. Cross the Chattahoochee (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Atlanta.

Also see . . .
1. About Nellie Mae Rowe. (Submitted on November 27, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. Historical Marker Dedication:Folk Artist Nelli Mae Rowe (1900-1982). (Submitted on November 27, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 27, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 86 times since then and 40 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on November 27, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.