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Jacob Elsas is the great-great-grandson of Jacob Elsas, the German-Speaking-Jewish immigrant who left his European birthplace in the 19th century and came to adopt Atlanta as his home. In 1970s Atlanta, today’s Jacob witnessed a nascent but steadily growing grassroots movement in historic preservation and community-building. Preservation-minded neighborhood civic associations began forming to counter development that threatened the city’s historical treasures.

Most importantly, Jacob took his cues from his own family, especially his father – Dr. Louis J. “Skip” Elsas – who firmly believed that to be successful in one’s own life, one must pursue endeavors intended to improve the lives of others. Namely, it was his father’s work in the 1970s and 1980s with The Patch, Inc. in Cabbagetown and the founding of the Historic Oakland Foundation that laid the groundwork for Jacob’s actions today. 

Jacob’s decision to co-create – along with his wife Nina – The Patch Works Art & History Center was guided by several generations of family ideology, which, in its purest essence, has been to give back to the city they have loved since 1867.