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Mills B. Lane, Jr. was born in Savannah, Georgia on 12 January 1912 to Mary Comer and Mills B. Lane, Sr. He was married to Anne Waring and the couple had two children, Mills B. Lane, IV and Anita. He graduated from Yale University in 1934 and then took a job in Valdosta, Georgia as a clerk at Citizens and Southern National Bank, an institution that his father founded. Following the death of his father in 1946, Lane assumed the position of president of the bank and led the bank for nearly thirty years in Atlanta, Georgia. By the time of his retirement in 1973, the Citizens and Southern National Bank had become the largest bank in the South and the most profitable among the nation's fifty largest banks at the time. Besides being a successful Atlanta banker, Lane exerted a strong influence in Atlanta politics and in the redevelopment of the city. He successfully managed Ivan Allen, Jr.'s campaigns for mayor of Atlanta in 1961 and 1965. He also was integral in bringing major league sports to the city by supplying funds to build the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium which would become the home of baseball's Atlanta Braves and football's Atlanta Falcons. After his retirement from banking, Lane returned to Savannah, Georgia where he dedicated both his time and wealth to various philanthropic endeavors including Savannah's historical district, Armstrong Atlantic State University, and the Georgia Council on Economic Education. He died on 7 May 1989.
This collection contains correspondence, clippings, financial records, reports, and other miscellaneous materials relating to Mills B. Lane, Jr. from 1852 to 1980. Majority of this collection is regarding Lane's ownership and sale of the Cruz del Sur from 1965 to 1980. The Cruz del Sur was a built in 1947 in Valencia, Spain as a Spanish naval training vessel. It was later bought by the 20th Century Fox motion picture studio and was revamped to resemble a Spanish barkentine of the 1800s and to be featured in a film. Lane bought the ship from the studio and brought the ship to Savannah, Georgia with the intention of making it a tourist attraction on the Savannah River, which was unsuccessful.
This collection is arranged into 8 boxes, 1 rolled item: