The City of Decatur is an exceptionally attractive area for homebuyers. New Decatur residents are drawn by the convenience and excitement of intown living, combined with the charm of historic neighborhoods, a small town feeling, and excellent schools and city services. The city of Decatur and its surrounding neighborhoods are just outside the hustle bustle of the city limits. However, the century old Decatur has proudly maintained its heritage with a variety of housing from historic architecture to new construction. Decatur’s business district now hosts many wonderful restaurants, bars, and coffee shops.
We invite you to discover Decatur, on-line and in person. You'll find a small town growing gracefully into a dynamic small city while preserving a traditional way of life. Named after Stephen Decatur, a U.S. Naval hero, Decatur retains a strong connection to its History, while preparing for the 21st century with managed growth and responsible development. Decatur maintains its own identity, while forging bonds with other communities locally, nationally and internationally. Decatur is a member of Sister Cities International, and other U.S. cities and counties named Decatur participate in some of our festivities. Founded in 1823, Decatur is the second oldest municipality in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the seat of DeKalb County. Decatur adjoins Atlanta's city limits six miles east of Atlanta's central business district. Decatur has 18,000 residents and 8,000 households, although its daytime population swells to 24,000. The Old Courthouse on the Square in Downtown Decatur stands on a rise of land where two Indian trails once crossed. Historically, the courthouse square served as the community gathering place. Today it continues to be the focus of festivals and special events and serves as the heart of the community. Decatur was incorporated December 1O, 1823, and named after Stephen Decatur, a U.S. Naval hero. It is said that early residents rejected a proposal by the Western and Atlantic Railroad to make Decatur a major stop on its new line in the 1830s. These citizens did not want the noise, smoke and confusion, and turned the railroad down. The railroad thus moved seven miles west to a small settlement called Terminus. In 1843, that settlement was renamed Marthasville, and two years later became Atlanta. The Old Courthouse on the Square houses an interesting museum covering DeKalb County history and Civil War memorabilia. Visitors to Decatur can also find helpful information at the Welcome Center located inside the front door of this beautiful old building. Historic Decatur Cemetery provides further insight into past decades. As Decatur looks toward the 21st century, it can point with pride to its success in preserving a sense of place while incorporating new development and encouraging economic growth. Downtown Decatur is surrounded by beautiful, historic neighborhoods reflecting a variety of architectural styles. The tree-lined streets, strong sense of community and nationally recognized public school system continue to draw young families to the City of Decatur. Successful new office buildings, built by developers sensitive to Decatur's vision of maintaining its small town character, surround a vibrant retail center and a courthouse square that provides a link to the city's history. Visit one of the Restaurants of Downtown Decatur or go shopping in one of the many Shops of Downtown Decatur. Learn more about the city's Points of Interest as well as community, business and government. Then come and see for yourself why Decatur folks are proud of their community. Some Information provided by http://www.decatur-ga.com/ Downtown Atlanta
Coming Soon!
Druid Hills
One of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods, Druid Hills was founded when Atlanta’s upper crust discovered the gently rolling hills and hardwoods in the 1920’s. Druid Hills features the tony Druid Hills Country Club and some of the finest historic homes inside the city limits.
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1893, Druid Hills was one of Atlanta’s first suburbs. Although the city has expanded around it, the neighborhood remains a serene oasis of winding tree-lined streets in the midst of the bustling city. Sprinkled with linear parks and the exclusive Druid Hills Country Club, Druid Hills offers plenty of green space among its stately historic homes on generous lots. The neighborhood was deemed a historic district in the 1970s, and in the 1980s, it s rolling hills and beautiful vistas served as the setting for the motion picture "Driving Miss Daisy." The active Druid Hills Civic Association works to preserve the heritage of the neighborhood and sponsors a number of events each year, including a very popular tour of homes.
Historic Druid Hills, its beautiful linear parks and wooded lots designed and laid out at the turn of the century by Frederick Law Olmsted, and stands today near the center of Atlanta’s sprawling metropolitan area. Some find it hard to believe that this magnificent urban neighborhood was conceived and executed as one of Atlanta’s first suburbs. Yet it remains today essentially unchanged and was recently described by the U.S. Department of the Interior to be
"significant as the finest example of late 19th and early 20th century comprehensive planning and development in the Atlanta area, and one of the finest period suburbs in the Southeast."
In the early 1890’s, Atlantan Joel Hurt was an innovative developer who had already been involved in several prominent projects in the city. He assembled a large tract of land to be developed for residential use and hired Olmsted, America’s premier landscape architect, to plan his "ideal residential suburb." By the time Olmsted began to design Druid Hills in 1893, he had already completed many projects, the best-known being Central Park in New York City. His other works include the grounds of the United States Capitol, the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the Stanford University campus, and numerous park and parkway systems in cities such as Boston, Buffalo, and Chicago. Early in his career Olmsted had planned, with Calvert Vaux, the community of Riverside, Illinois, to be the prototype of a planned suburb. Druid Hills, designed near the end of his career, demonstrates the evolution of his ideas about the relation of suburbs to the city. Olmsted expressed his philosophy of suburban living in an 1890 letter to Joel Hurt; he envisioned the homeowner returning hot and tired from the city through a park to homes
"well shaded by handsome, umbrageous, permanently thrifty trees" in a neighborhood with a "pleasing rural, or, at least, semi-rural, character of scenery . . . to be permanently enjoyed."
Olmsted’s vision of suburban living was eventually realized in Druid Hills, but after he had made several trips to Atlanta to confer with Hurt and had begun the design phase, financial setbacks halted the project for several years. Before work resumed, the aging Olmsted retired, and Hurt hired the successor firm of Olmsted Brothers to develop the objectives proposed by the elder Olmsted.
Landscape and urban scholars have established that Druid Hills represents a major innovation in suburban design. Its central corridor, Ponce de Leon Avenue, with its separated vehicular and pleasure drives, functions as the central promenade of the community-a linear version of the traditional village green. Each of Ponce de Leon’s median parks is distinct in its landscaping; the parks range from relatively open greenswards to nearly impenetrable woods.
In an early proposal, Olmsted had written of "roads of moderate grace and curves, avoiding any great disturbance of the natural topography." The suburb’s streets do follow the natural terrain, and its open spaces enhance the picturesque vistas integral to late 19th-century landscape planning.
Later development in Druid Hills preserved the environment of pleasing vistas, parks, and parkways in the spirit of Omsted’s original concept. Authorities believe the area fulfills the three major components of his vision of 20th Century suburban living: a park or public space as the central focus of the suburbs; a parkway, conceived as both a connector and pleasure drive; and residences on large acreages that differ from the typical narrow town lot. Many well-known Atlanta architects including Neel Reid, Philip Trammel Shutze, Ernest Ivey, and Lewis Crook, Jr. designed homes facing the parks and winding streets.
Through the years, Olmsted’s design for Druid Hills has exerted a powerful influence on suburban planning in Atlanta. Associates who gained their experience from Druid Hills later worked on Ansley Park, Morningside, Garden Hills, and Avondale Estates. Design elements were emulated in Brookwood Hills, the West Paces Ferry area, and more recent communities around the city, including office parks that emphasize green space and natural terrain. In fact, some scholars maintain that had it not been for Frederick Law Olmsted’s Druid Hills, Atlanta would not be the park-like city it is today.
Because of the vigilance of the Druid Hills Civic Association, Olmsted’s last major suburb retains its original lot configurations and open spaces. The historic district, which includes 1,300 acres, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in two stages in 1975 and 1979. "In a national context," the Department of the Interior has attested, "Druid Hills is a rare example of Olmsted’s design intentions intact in its principal features."
Frederick Law Olmsted’s ideas of suburban living endure today in the rolling landscapes and winding roadways of Druid Hills, still cherished by residents for its eclectic architecture, pleasing vistas, and beautiful parks. Some Information provided by www.druidhills.org
East Atlanta
Discovered as a hot spot in the last 5 years, East Atlanta has taken off like a rocket. East Atlanta has been experiencing a dramatic resurgence in the renovation of older homes and historic new construction homes. Many residents belong to the Demand for homes in this dynamic area has skyrocketed recently as young professionals return to intown neighborhoods to reclaim the strong sense of community they lost in the suburbs.The business district is a popular destination with an outcropping of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and antique stores. The historic housing stock features a wide range of styles.
Despite living in Atlanta, New York City remains Southerners' filter for everything that's American. It's no wonder that when people try to describe an Atlanta community, it becomes a comparison between one of our city's trendy new neighborhoods and NYC's. East Atlanta Village, for example, gets compared to the northern Greenwich Village. Well, at least the village part is similar. With its bustling sidewalks, hopping nightspots and mixture of gay and straight residents, East Atlanta is one of the hottest spots in town.
Five years ago, no one thought of making those comparisons, but after restaurateurs and entrepreneurs saw a chance to set up shop, the village became a hub for a growing, gentrified community. Upcoming and established alternative rock bands play the Echo Lounge. A grungier set is found down the road at The Earl. The Fountainhead Lounge is a nightspot for those sporting cutting-edge black threads and thick-rimmed glasses and food from burritos, tapas, pizza or fusion can be found.
On the fringes, the unglamorous side still remains, with fast-food joints and check-cashing stores, sullying the effect of the shiny new storefronts. But the newbies are still arriving.
You can compare it to the pedestrian atmosphere of Virginia-Highland as well as the numerous bars and restaurants found there. One resident who moved into his home last year said "We scoured the city, and East Atlanta offered the best combination of those qualities with more reasonable prices than the Highlands."
The prices that first brought residents to the area quickly have escalated with two-bedroom bungalows doubling in price over the last five years. Still, East Atlanta is a destination for young couples seeking to stay close to the action of the urban life without having to fork over too much cash for a great pad. There's still a chance to get a great place if potential homeowners are willing to renovate; prices are lower for sagging porches and molding eaves. East Atlanta Village citizens are still dealing with issues of gentrification and displacing longtime residents, but that hasn't stopped the real estate agents from selling.
Fannie Mae Foundation listed East Atlanta as one of 10 "Just Right" Emerging Big-City Neighborhoods. It is listed as a just right emerging neighborhood for affordable homeownership during its Annual Housing Conference. The conference’s theme was "The Market Power of Emerging Communities" and the neighborhoods on the list are cited as examples of how capital markets can be catalysts for neighborhood revitalization. In 1999 Creative Loafing named East Atlanta "Best Neighborhood for Urban Pioneers". The article say, "Reverse suburban flight is in full effect in East Atlanta, where upwardly mobile yuppies are snatching up turn-of-the-century bungalows quicker than you can say "gentrification." Home prices rose more than 20 percent last year, and restaurants, bars and coffee klatches are proliferating along Flat Shoals Avenue." Other amenities in the area include: East Atlanta Branch Library and Zoo Atlanta Some information provided by http://www.eaca.net/
East Lake
Another area of distinction is the East Lake neighborhood. Known for the East Lake Golf Course and Country Club and the Drew Charter School, East Lake is filled with old houses, many of which are restored.
Atlanta had 25 years of resurgence after the Civil War, at the dawn of the 1890’s. Economic prosperity was high with the restructuring of the new south, and the newly wealthy were seeking the good life and a break from the hardships that had proceeded the present period. The central city was highly polluted with smog from the many coal furnaces of industry and business, as well as the daily use of wood-fired cooking in residences. At this time, Atlanta saw the start its first suburb, Inman Park, springing up just two miles east of downtown to allow those who could afford it escape the problems of the city. Many folks found the way and means for leisure time and a number of entertainment forms of the day appeared. The most notable of these was the number of artesian spring gardens and man-made lakes that were built outside of the city. They all boasted the clearest, cleanest water, its healing powers, and entertainment pavilions that would provide opportunities for dance, drink and song. Family entertainment was in its birth and romance had always been on the wing.
At this time Mr. Bruce, the owner of one of Atlanta’s many streetcar companies, saw the opportunity that the times provided and searched for the right piece of land that would fulfill this new entertainment need. He discovered a farm called Meadow Nook five miles to the east of downtown and its owner, the widow of Col. Robert Alston, who had fallen on hard times after the death of her husband. The land of rolling hills and a valley with two creeks and five-spring watershed had the potential of becoming a dammed lake. The East Lake Land Company was formed and the property purchased from the widow Alston. In 1891 the marsh was cleared and a dam built to retain the water. East Lake is acre for acre the same today as it was the day it was built. The company’s ideas were as grand as the day. Subdivide the property around the lake into very small lots on one side, medium and large lots on the other, with larger tracks set aside for hotels, school, and mercantile. All of this was to be overlooked by a large dance and entertainment pavlalion on the crest of the hill where the clubhouse sits today.
The East Lake Land Company wanted an environment that the average Atlantan to the wealthiest Atlantan could buy and build a cottage, and also wanted to cater to the tourist trade that had come south for the warm weather in locations like Litha Springs, GA and Tallulah Gorge, GA. The East Lake Land Company in its original subdivision laid out no less than 22 streets in the area that we know today from the streets of Glenwood to Memorial, Allendale to Second. Some street names were chosen with an entertainment theme as others were named as ego booster to the board of directors and investors. Many of those names are still in place today. Mr. Bruce’s streetcar line was completed from downtown, along the eastern railroad line through Kirkwood, GA and south down what is currently East Lake Drive to the pavilion at the lake.
The large pavilion was built, along with a beach, boathouses, several gazebos, lawn bowling and badminton courts. Lots started to sell as well as the model cottages built on the edge of the lake, as an example of the community’s future. During later years, as the golf course was built and redesigned three different times, a number of foundations of these homes have been found spread throughout the club property. No one is sure as to the number of cottages built, but the complete title search of the property in 1994, from the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery for DeKalb County till today, proved extensive due to the number of lots sold to individuals in the 1890’s. Today only one of these original cottages still exists. It is located on Daniel Avenue, across from the East Lake Park. It is owned and protected by Dorothy Blake, one of East Lake’s long time matrons. My best guess is it was built in 1894, but research is still needed.
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta’s first country club, began as an extension of the Atlanta Athletic Club. In the early 1900’s, the Atlanta Athletic Club was located downtown on Auburn Avenue. Members wanted a place in the country where they could relax, enjoy fresh air, play tennis and practice the sport of golf, which was relatively new to the United States at that time. In 1904, the club’s president George Adair bought an amusement park located on 187 acres of land around East Lake and began plans for the country club.
The original golf course opened in 1905 with just seven holes, an interim boat and bath house, and a few tennis courts. Soon, the first clubhouse, designed by Harry Leslie Walker, was built, and the golf course was expanded to eighteen holes by noted golf course architect Tom Bendelow. This was the course where Bobby Jones learned to play. When Jones was a young boy, his family rented a house during golf season on club property. Prior to its renovation as a summer home, the property had originally housed the livestock used to pull the fairway mowers.
By 1913, the neighborhood of East Lake was growing rapidly, as was the popularity of the game of golf, and a new golf course was designed by Scottish golf course architect Donald Ross. During construction of the new course in 1914, the existing clubhouse burned to the ground. Architect Walter Danning designed a larger and more luxurious structure to accommodate the ever increasing number of members and guests of the club.
This building remained for more than ten years until it also burned in late 1925. The clubhouse was immediately redesigned by noted Atlanta architect Philip Shutze of the firm of Heintz, Reid and Adler, as a three story English Tudor style building of brick and cast stone. This new clubhouse, which constitutes the basic architecture of today's structure, featured more dining space and men's locker rooms on the second story. Due to the great number of golfers around the early 1930's, a second golf course, also designed by Donald Ross, was constructed across Second Avenue from the club's main property. In the years of prosperity following completion of the Shutze clubhouse and second golf course, several additions and renovations were undertaken, including enclosing the open-air dining terrace and adding a wing which housed new men's locker rooms, a golf shop, and grill room. Above this wing was a new concrete terrace overlooking the lake where visitors could dine and dance outdoors in pleasant weather.
By the 1950's, members who resided north of town began expressing a desire for a new country club closer to their homes. However, since a large number of members still lived in and around Decatur, this idea was not well received by all. After some debate, it was decided not to move the country club. As a compromise, the clubhouse was again renovated and the main golf course expanded by George W. Cobb. It was at this time that East Lake Country Club enjoyed its highest patronage.
As integration took place in the 1960's, racial tensions rose around Atlanta, and many white residents moved north out of the city and out of East Lake. With membership waning and vandalism on the rise as a result, the Atlanta Athletic Club sold the Number 2 golf course to fund construction of Riverbend, a country club in Duluth by the Chattahoochee River. The old course was rezoned for a housing development which eventually became East Lake Meadows. Although the Atlanta Athletic Club paid to have the existing clubhouse completely redecorated, and food and services improved, there simply were not enough paying members to sustain the country club as it had once been. The Athletic Club sold East Lake Golf Club to a group of 25 former members, including Paul Grisby, who miraculously held onto the club through difficult financial times and inhospitable social conditions until 1994, when Tom Cousins established Cousins Family Foundation to acquire the property.
East Lake Meadows, which had become poverty stricken, drug-infested and dangerous, was torn down by the Cousins Foundation to make way for the Villages at East Lake, a mixed income housing development including a nine hole public golf course on the site of the original Number 2 golf course. Cousins also saw to the complete restoration of the East Lake clubhouse using Philip Shutze's architectural drawings of 1926. In addition, the golf course was restored to Donald Ross' original layout from 1914, which has since been the site of several PGA tours as well as other nationally and internationally known golf tournaments. By 1998, East Lake Golf Club was again architecturally magnificent and became the foundation for an unparalleled project to revitalize an urban neighborhood using successful suburban models and corporate contributions. East Lake Golf Club now stands as an internationally recognized architectural landmark for East Lake and the southeastern U.S., and acts as an anchor for a neighborhood where businesses are opening and thriving, old homes are being renovated, and new homes are being built. Amenities Include :Kirkwood's Bessie Branham Park (with community cyber center); Wesley Coan Park; East Lake Park; Charlie Yates Public Golf Course; East Lake Family YMCA; Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (Kirkwood Branch); The Path; Shoal Creek Park; Mark Trail Park and Recreation Center; South DeKalb Mall; The Mall at Stonecrest
Some Information provided by www.eastlake.org
East Point
East Point, the best kept secret in Georgia. East Point is a city unlike all others. It's diverse community and convenient location make's East Point one of the most desirable cities in the Metro Atlanta area. Just ten minutes from downtown Atlanta, East Point offers residents easy access to the professional, cultural and sporting resources of this vibrant city and to Hartsfield International Airport. Tranquil, yet cosmopolitan; rich in history, yet forward-looking; abundant in architectural charm, yet affordable. It is home to over 34,000 residents.
The city of East Point was established as the eastern terminus of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company in 1857. The city was incorporated in 1887. Deemed a "Convenient Point", as a stop along the tracks. The convenient point eventually became "East Point", and has been known as such ever since.East Point residents have submitted a nomination to add parts of East Point to the National Register. They've documented about 2,000 important houses and structures, dating from the 1930s and 1940s, in three sections of town. If accepted, the listing will cover the neighborhoods of Jefferson Park and Colonial Hills, as well as the central downtown business district and the adjacent residential area.
The historic charm of those areas has drawn newcomers to town five years ago, when there are 1944 Craftsman bungalows in Conley Hills, a part of the downtown district. One buyer says, "I liked the style of homes, with hardwood floors, original doors," she said. "But this area is starting to take off, with a lot of people moving to the area. We have some really old homes that would be nice if people moved in and cared for them. We're trying to protect the character of the neighborhoods. Some already have infill houses that don't match anything else." Meetings about the proposed designation drew about 100 folks, most of whom supported the effort for the increase it will bring to their property values. Other neighborhoods that have gone on it tell us homes prices will go up as much as 20 percent.
That kind of increase will make East Point's housing market even hotter. It's been a boom for the last few years, with property values going up more than 50 percent. People are clamoring for the properties. They're coming from every direction; some buying their first homes here because they can't afford to buy in Atlanta, others because they like the quality of life here: the low crime rate and the real neighborliness of it."
East Points addition to the National Register bolsters their mission to protect the city's future, and assures them that (historic structures) are around in the future." Come see what East Point has to offer and experience Southern Hospitality at its best. Some Information provided by http://www.eastpointneighbors.com
Edgewood
Edgewood is a neighborhood in transition and on the upswing. Sandwiched between popular neighborhoods like Kirkwood, East Atlanta, and Grant Park, Edgewood features loads of wonderful Craftsman bungalows. Edgewood is part of Neighborhood Planning Unit O (along with Kirkwood, East Lake, and East Lake Meadows), and is in Atlanta City Council district 5 .
Edgewood is centrally located and surrounded by neighboring communities of Kirkwood, East Lake and Oakhurst. It's just a couple of minutes from I-20 (Moreland Avenue - Exit 60 or Maynard Terrace - Exit 61), or about 5 minutes to I-75/85, and only a mile from either the Little Five Points or East Atlanta Village neighborhoods with their cool places to shop and eat. Also close by are Virginia-Highland, Midtown, and the City of Decatur.
It is also close to several parks. Wesley Coan Park is just down Hosea Williams (Boulevard) and features a baseball/softball field, a multi-use field, basketball and tennis courts, a wooded area, picnic pavillions and an outdoor amphitheatre. DeKalb Memorial Park includes a softball and multi-use field, basketball court, tennis courts, multi-use court, playground and picnic area. Nearby Bessie Branham Park has just been renovated with new tennis courts and playground as well as a new $2 million recreational center. The new Charlie Yates Public Golf Course (with driving range) at East Lake is also nearby. It offers reduced greens fees to residents of the 30317 area. And just down Memorial at East Lake Drive is the spectacular new East Lake Family YMCA -- a state of the art facility that just opened in 2001.
Residents of 30317 are also eligible to send their children to the brand new Charles R. Drew Charter School, an Edison Partnership school that focuses on reading and math; offers an extended day and extended school year; emphasizes technology; and promises a caring and committed staff of teachers.
Edgewood is served by the Edgewood/Candler Park MARTA station, and is located on the PATH, a multi-use urban trail that is enormously popular with local cyclists, runners, walkers, and bladers. The Trolley Line Greenway Trail and On-Street Bike Route runs directly through the Edgewood neighborhood.
Because it is located in both the City of Atlanta, and DeKalb County, Edgewood residents are able use both the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System, and the DeKalb County Library System. The Battle of Atlanta started in the Edgewood area, along what is now Memorial Drive. Some Information provided by http://www.oneedgewood.homestead.com/
Emory Area
Coming Soon!
Fairlie-Poplar
Coming Soon!
Garden Hills
Garden Hills is a large urban forest neighborhood between Peachtree and Piedmont roads, bordered on the north by Pharr Road and on the south by East Wesley Road. For intown living, Garden Hills has it all: winding streets lined with old trees, an imposing mix of early 20th century homes, pocket parks, landscaped traffic islands and a neighborhood pool/recreation center – all convenient to shopping, transportation, schools and churches. The oldest streets were given historic district status in 1987.
Homes in Garden Hills range from Georgian, Tudor and Spanish Revival to Craftsman, with a scattering of later styles.
Garden Hills was developed beginning in 1925 by Phillips Campbell McDuffie, a prominent Atlanta lawyer, who formed the Garden Hills Corp. and advertised the area as "Beautiful Garden Hills." He envisioned a country club community with a pool and community center at its heart.
The neighborhood was planned in three phases: the Country Club section, from Rumson Road east to North Hills Drive including the pool and community center; the Peachtree section, from Peachtree Road to Rumson Road; and the Brentwood Section, from North Hills Drive to Piedmont Road.
Three parks are in or near Garden Hills: Sunnybrook Park, a wooded strip with a stream and stone bridges is at Brentwood Drive and Brentwood Terrace; Alexander Park, named for Aaron Alexander, whose family owned the tract in the 1800s, on East Wesley Road across from the Garden Hills Pool; and Frankie Allen Park, a large complex on Pharr Road that includes baseball diamonds, tennis courts and granite grill/picnic areas.
Garden Hills Elementary School and Atlanta International School (formerly North Fulton High School) on North Fulton Drive are beautiful examples of the work of famed Atlanta architect Philip Shutze. They are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Also nearby on Peachtree Road are the Moorish-style Alhambra Apartments, built in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Traffic islands throughout the neighborhood are landscaped and contain granite neighborhood markers.
The Garden Hills pool is still the heart of the neighborhood, a popular gathering place at East Wesley Road and Pinetree Drive. A rustic clubhouse (built in the 1920s) with a large porch and fireplace had the feeling of a cabin tucked in woods.The clubhouse burned in a fire of undetermined origin on April 21, 1999, but the building has been rebuilt and recaptures much of the original feeling. There also is a playground and soccer field.
Public schools (see Buckhead Education) include Garden Hills Elementary, Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High.
MARTA bus service is available along both Peachtree and Piedmont roads and rapid rail service is available at the nearby Lindbergh MARTA station at Lindbergh Drive and Piedmont Road. Some Information provided by http://www.buckhead.org/gardenhills
Grant Park
One of the city’s older neighborhoods, Grant Park is a veritable goldmine of architecture. From towering grand Victorians to simple shotgun houses, Grant Park offers the complete range of housing. Grant Park also boasts the historic Cyclorama and the popular Atlanta Zoo.
The Grant Park neighborhood was named for Lemuel P. (L.P.) Grant, a civil engineer for the Georgia Railroad who has been called the "Father of Atlanta". As an agent for the Western Railroad Company and the Georgia Air Line Railroad, Grant helped to bring the railroad to Atlanta. During the Civil War, in his capacity as chief engineer for the Department of the Militia, C.S.A., he planned and supervised the construction of defensive lines around the city. Ater the war, he continued to serve the city as a member of the committee that named streets, member of the city council, Board member of the Bank of the State of Georgia and served on the committee to draft the new city charter in 1873.
Grant lived in a huge 1858 Italianate mansion in the center of his vast land holdings now called Grant Park. Between 1853 and 1883 the city acquired all of the land where Oakland Cemetery and the Park itself now stand, by gift or trade from Col. L.P. Grant. The remaining parts of Col. Grant's property were subdivided between 1885 and 1905 as the building boom began on all four sides of the city’s new park properly named the L.P. Grant park. During the years 1889-1898, Mr. G.V. Gress gave the city of Atlanta the original zoo and the Cyclorama, which were placed in the L.P. Grant Park.
Grant Park, as a neighborhood, began to be populated in the 1890's by upper middle class families. Craftsmen built many of the architecturally distinctive homes you see today. Most of the lots were shallow and narrow with unpaved alleys in the back of the houses, from the days when the city sewerage wagons had to have access to the outhouses.
The neighborhood reached its zenith around 1905. Shortly after the turn of the century, the neighborhood's battle with the automobile began when some of the wealthier residents, who could afford to buy cars, were drawn to such faraway places as Druid Hills, Morningside and Buckhead. Grant Park remained upper middle class into the 1950's. In the 1960's, the automobile was responsible for cutting the neighborhood in half by means of a six-lane highway. Grant Park was severely disrupted and declined in the wake of I-20's construction.
A restoration trend began in Grant Park in the early 1970's and the neighborhood began to blossom in the late 80s and into the 1990s. Demolition of older homes has largely been halted and new construction seeks to conform to the character of the old neighborhood. During the 1980's, the entire area, both north and south of I-20, was placed on the national register of historic places.
Grant Park today is a mixture of the old and new residents with people of all levels of education, age and racial backgrounds living in the same neighborhood. The park is today visited by more than a million visitors yearly. Some Information provided by http://gpna.org/
Home Park
Home Park, a little-known Atlanta neighborhood nestled in between Georgia Tech and the Atlantic Station development west of the Downtown Connector (I/75-85), offers all the benefits of in-town living in a well-established community. Welcome! You may browse public areas of our site.
Home Park's motto has always been "Atlanta's Best Kept Secret..."
... referring to the fact that no one seemed to know where or who we are. Well, thanks to developers, the Georgia Conservancy, Georgia Tech, and others our secret's out! Home Park has been discovered! We're excited to welcome new residents - read on to see what Home Park has to offer you!
Convenience: Home Park is located west of I/75-85, just North of Georgia Tech. Atlanta's midtown skyline is our eastern vista. Some of us can watch fireworks at Centennial Park from our windows! We are only minutes from the best Atlanta has to offer - work, school, shopping, cultural & sporting events.
Schools and education: Home Park is served by Centennial Place Elementary School, Inman Middle School, and Grady High School. Home Park Community Improvement Association also operates an affordable non-profit childcare center, Home Park Learning Center, . Finally, our neighborhood is home to Dar-un-Noor school, a parochial school which offers children in grades pre-K through 8 general education with emphasis on Islamic character and understanding.
Cultural and Sporting events: Residents can walk to the High Museum, Piedmont Park, and Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts. Several galleries are near or in Home Park, such as Rolling Stone Press lithography on Calhoun Street. We also enjoy quick access to Atlanta's pro sports teams, and we are only a short walk from all Georgia Tech athletic events.
Churches: 10th Street United Methodist Church , West Merritts Baptist Church, Midtown Mission Church of God, and Al Farooq Masjid provide for the spiritual needs of many Home Park residents.
We are fortunate to have our own little public park, Home Park, which we use for community gatherings or just to play in.Home Park has curbside recycling (Tuesday pick-up) and lots of trees. Many of our residents are avid gardeners. Sidewalks on most streets are heavily used throughout the day! We have several trained Neighborhood Deputies who work closely with the City and with our Land Use Committee to see that properties are well maintained. Also, our R5/SPI-8 zoning (duplexes or single family residences) requires all new home building or major remodeling to include one off-street parking space for each bedroom. The HPCIA Land Use Committee and NPU-E must approve zoning changes. HPCIA is tenacious about enforcement of these requirements.
Shopping: Several major chain grocery stores are only 5 minutes away, as are 3 office supply stores, pharmacies, and a hardware store. We are 10 minutes from Lenox Square and 15 minutes from Cumberland Mall. The coming development on the Atlantic Steel site will provide additional retail shopping and dining experiences for our neighborhood.
Transportation and Parking: Home Park is convenient to I-75/85 and MARTA. We are a 15-minute drive from the airport or almost anywhere else in Atlanta. We have sidewalks and we know how to use them! Since many homes do not have off-street parking, we have instituted resident-parking-only restrictions on some of our streets. Some houses have back yard access through public alleys that have become shared driveways.
Public safety and crime: This is the city. We'd be lying if we said there is no crime in Home Park. Property crimes are the most common (car break-ins, burglaries) but we have occasionally had other problems. However, we have an expanding neighborhood watch program, bolstered by many caring "nosy" neighbors. We take pride in knowing who our neighbors are. Our beat officers are extremely responsive and helpful, and know many residents by sight if not by name. We regularly publish crime prevention tips for our residents (also listed on this website) and residents are kept informed of reported incidents (forewarned is forearmed). Some Information provided by Home Park Community Improvement Association!
Howell Station
Coming Soon!
Inman Park
Atlanta’s first planned community, Inman Park was founded in the late 1800’s and is a Victorian lovers paradise. Your eyes will fill up with the plethora of Painted Ladies, cast iron fences, and beautiful landscaping. This neighborhood is where Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler hung his hat!
During the Battle of Atlanta, the land which later became Inman Park was the center of many skirmishes. After the Civil War, Inman Park became Atlanta's first planned community and one of the nation's first garden suburbs. It was conceived and developed in the 1880s by entrepreneur Joel Hurt, who believed people should live in a countrylike atmosphere convenient to the central business district. To achieve this goal, he insisted on large lots, curving streets and open park areas throughout the neighborhood.
In 1889 he sold, at auction, land lots upon which gracious Victorian mansions were built. In the center of the new community Hurt set aside ten acres for Crystal Lake and Springvale Park, whose spacious grounds were landscaped with rare trees and shrubs, many of which were new varieties to Atlanta.
Never short of innovations, Hurt also formed one of the nation's first streetcar systems to provide "rapid transit" from Inman Park to downtown. The trolley route terminated at the Trolley Barn, which still stands today on Edgewood Avenue, just one block from the neighborhood's new MARTA station.
Inman Park was an immediate success, and many of Atlanta's most prominent citizens took up residence in the community. Families picnicked in beautiful Springvale Park and took leisurely strolls around Crystal Lake. Churches were active, and a strong community spirit prevailed. Those were sunny days for Inman Park. It was not only a good place to live, it was the place to live.
By 1910, clouds started to gather over the community's future. The exuberant architecture, so fitting for the late Victorian mood, had become passé. Greater mobility with the motorcar assisted in the flight of many of the community's elite to the newer subdivisions being developed to the north. Zoning restrictions in the area expired, allowing the construction of apartment buildings, smaller homes and businesses. Gradually, most of Inman Park's elegant homes became the property of absentee landlords, who divided many of them into small apartments (often as many as ten to one house). By the early 1950's, the neighborhood's original glory was little more than a memory.
No one cared enough to protest when the city passed a blanket rezoning ordinance that brought the community to the lowest point in its decline. Crystal lake, clogged with garbage and uncut weeds, became a mosquito-ridden swamp and was drained. Joel Hurt's careful landscaping in Springvale Park went uncared for; again, no one protested when part of it was removed and paved over for the convenience of motorists from the outer edges of town who passed through Inman Park on their way to work. Junk cars lined the streets and sat in yards, and neglect was rampant.
Though Hurt's conception of suburban living became quite popular, the first execution of that concept was forgotten. It seemed to many that Inman Park had become a casualty of a culture that chose to forget things that are old.
Happily, someone chose to remember. Someone who fell in love with an Inman Park home, and, against everyone's advice, bought it and began restoring it to its original grandeur. Other urban pioneers soon joined in, and Inman Park began to rise again. In 1970 Inman Park Restoration, Inc., was formed, and within a year, forty houses were in the process of renovation.
As the people worked together to reclaim their long-neglected homes from the ravages of slum conditions, they soon realized that more was going on in Inman Park than the restoration of a few isolated houses. Almost without being aware of it, the new residents were reweaving the fiber of a neighborhood and creating a living community of people who cared about each other.
Not long after the restoration of Inman Park began, the neighborhood was again threatened... this time by the Georgia Department of Transportation. A freeway was proposed that would have cut through the neighborhood. Inman Park residents worked with other inner-city neighborhoods to block construction of the freeway. Unfortunately, many fine old mansions had already been demolished, in the name of "progress," before the project was canceled.
Before Inman Park could become a really respectable neighborhood again, something had to be done to change the zoning pattern. At this time, almost the entire area was zoned industrial and commercial. After two years of concentrated work and planning, Inman Park succeeded in doing something that had rarely been done before: the entire neighborhood was zoned back to residential. On July 22,1973, Inman Park was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
There are now over 300 homes in various stages of restoration or renovation in Inman Park. The special spirit of caring and cooperation that brought the community back is manifested in many ways. There is a strong neighborhood association, a hard-working garden club and an excellent pre-school program.
Each year Inman Park welcomes its neighbors everywhere to the Spring Festival and Tour of Homes, a two day celebration of parades, entertainment, dancing and open houses. A mammoth undertaking for this small community, the event annually draws thousands of visitors to the neighborhood.
Inman Park takes pride in its characterization as a "SmallTown DownTown," combining the desirable elements of small town living with a dedication to the growth of the inner city. No longer a forgotten, tumble-down, crime-ridden pocket of Atlanta, the Inman Park of today is looking both ways... at the charm of the past and to the excitement of the future. Some Information provided by www.inmanpark.org
Kirkwood
One of Atlantas first streetcar subdivisions, Kirkwood was a prestigious neighborhood at the turn of the century. Home to many notables such as Atlanta mayors, and Georgia Governor and Civil War General John B. Gordon, Kirkwood is known for its tree-lined streets, tight knit neighborhood, and lovely architecture.
Kirkwood traces its beginnings to residential development begun as early as the 1870s. While no one would consider Kirkwood a suburb of Atlanta today, an early tour book described it as an "area of beautiful suburban villas." Kirkwood was an early streetcar suburb to Atlanta. By 1910 streetcars provided express service to and from Atlanta three times daily, and street cars continued service along some streets including Kirkwood Road until the early 1950s.
Kirkwood was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1899. Governed beginning in 1899 by its own city council and mayor, the town boasted its own water system, school systems and fire department. The former Kirkwood School is a handsome building from this period, located on Kirkwood Road just north of Bessie Branham Park. Individually nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, the primary building on the propertys south side was originally designed by John Francis Downing, the son of the noted Atlanta architect W. T. Downing. Both buildings now comprise the Kirkwood Lofts apartments as a result of a $1 million renovation in 1997.
In 1922, Kirkwood residents voted for annexation into the city of Atlanta.
Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing into the 1960s, Kirkwood experienced a transition into decline. Up until 1965 as the racial composition of the community changed, black citizens made up an increasingly large percentage of the communitys populations, but were denied the opportunity to attend the white, segregated Kirkwood School. As a result of community pressure, the Atlanta School Board in 1965. abruptly integrated Kirkwood School, having declared a phased-in, grade-by-grade attempt at integration a failure.
Beginning in the 1980s, the neighborhood began to witness another influx of new residents interested in renovating the neighborhoods stock of historic housing. Still underway, this influx of the middle-class brings with it a whole host of new issues, among them issues related to gentrification, and the clash of people of different social, racial and economic histories living together in one community.
While rich in history, Kirkwoods rise, its fall into decline, and its recent arrival again as a neighborhood attractive to middle and upper-middle income homeowners illustrate how economic, racial and social forces have shaped this historic inner-city community and many others like it.
Kirkwood's largest homes were built during the community's early years of development in the Queen Anne, East Lake, Arts and Crafts and Victorian Folk styles, primarily along Howard St. between Howard and College Avenue and along Kirkwood Road just north of Hosea Williams Drive. Additional fine larger homes may be found in the Sutherland Terrace subdivision built on the site of the General John B. Gordon estate along Gordon Avenue, Oxford Avenue, and Sutherland Terrace just north of DeKalb Avenue. Although originally part of the Kirkwood, the 1970-era MARTA east rail line severed Sutherland Terrace permanently from the larger Kirkwood community to the south and as a result, Sutherland Terrace is usually now associated more with the Lake Claire neighborhood than with Kirkwood.
As architectural styles changed and evolved following the Kirkwood community's first few decades of growth, we begin to see the craftsman-style two-story American Foursquare homes and the crafts bungalows that today are perhaps the most recognizable features of an Atlanta streetcar suburb community. From the 1920's through the close of the 1930's, Kirkwood would continue to experience great popularity as a suburb convenient to both Atlanta and Decatur. The neighborhood continued to grow for the thirty years following this period, experiencing another surge in development following the second world war with the development of smaller tract houses typical of that period.
The Kirkwood neighborhood has been experiencing a dramatic resurgence in the past 5 years. Many residents are part of the strong Kirkwood Neighbors Association, which holds monthly meetings in a neighborhood church. Demand for homes in the area has skyrocketed as young professionals return to the intown neighborhoods to reclaim the strong sense of community they lost in the suburbs. They can select from the renovated historic architecture of the 1920's or new construction that is designed in the craftsman bungalow or two-story styles that fit in with existing homes in this historic neighborhood. The Craftsman Bungalow was the predominant style of architecture in the intown neighborhoods throughout the 1920s and 30s. These new homes have old-fashioned charm in a historic, intown neighborhood, but benefits from modern design, construction, and amenities.
Currently a new 50 home Craftsaman Bungalow subdivision is under construction in Kirkwood called Hawthorn Park. The homes of Hawthorn Park have been designed to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood. Fifty homes will be built in 8 different styles based on Craftsman architecture from the 1920s - the predominant style of Atlanta's intown neighborhoods. The development will have sidewalks and street lights to complement the adjoining streetscape. A one-third mile greenway walking trail will also be developed as an additional amenity. These homes start in the mid $360's. Completion of these homes will begin in early 2003.
One of the best things about Kirkwood is its location. Kirkwood is just 5 miles from downtown Atlanta. Were surrounded by fun areas filled with shopping and restaurant such as downtown Decatur, Little 5 Points, Candler Park, East Atlanta and Virginia-Highland. Read here about the 2004 Kirkwood Tour of Homes. Also find our more about the neighborhood by taking a look at one of our local realtors, and kirkwood resident's, John Allen's agent newsletter.
Neighborhood amemities include: Bessie Branham Park (with community cyber center); DeKalb Memorial Park; Wesley Coan Park; East Lake Park; Charlie Yates Public Golf Course; East Lake YMCA; Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (Kirkwood Branch) Charles Drew Charter School
Restaurants: Baddabing! (Gourmet Take-away), Flying Biscuit, La Fonda, Fellini's, Gato Bizco Cafe, Joe Coffee, MoJo Pizza, Mammy's Kitchen, Universal Joint, Heaping Bowl and Brew, Margie's Pantry, Oz Pizza, Our Way Cafe, Mick's; Restaurants of Downtown Decatur
Shopping: DeKalb Farmers Market; Publix; Kroger; Shops of Downtown Decatur; Oakhurst Village; East Atlanta Village; Little Five Points; Avondale Estates
Kirkwood is also convenient to the airport; universities including Emory, Georgia State and Georgia Tech; and interstates including I-20 and the Downtown Connector (I-75/I-85). Best of all, were on the MARTA east rail line, with a station right here in Kirkwood (East Lake Station). Some Information provided by www.historic-kirkwood.com
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