Thibadeau Co., Inc. Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods
The neighborhood section is a non-comprehensive listing of many of Atlanta’s communities. I would like to recognize that every neighborhood has its merits and demerits. Different people fit into different neighborhoods. Even if I won the big lottery, I don’t think I would move to Buckhead. Also neighborhoods have a life cycle all their own. Almost every neighborhood mentioned here has had a heyday, as well as a down time. If I don’t show a little bias or insight, this might as well be a Chamber of Commerce advertisement. Civil Rights laws have taught us not to steer people away from areas just because we think someone might not fit in. But people are people and they deserve to know a little about what they are buying into.
DECATUR - This
sleepy little town is starting to wake up to the fact that its young
neighboring city (Atlanta) is having a profound influence on its provincial
habits. As the story goes, the City
Fathers of Decatur were not interested in the commotion that the intersection
of railroads would bring to their dignified life in the early 1800's. This attitude seems to have prevailed to this
date. While surrounded by the Behemoth County of DeKalb, the City of Decatur
goes about its day-to-day life as though it is the center of the universe. And it may be. A plethora of craftsmen bungalow homes were built in the first
twenty years of this century, and their rocking chair front porches lend
themselves to true neighborhoods where people actually know each other, and do
go across the street to borrow a cup of sugar. Leave it to say that the general mood in Decatur is one where
people enjoy their families, friends, proximity to Atlanta, somewhat moderate
home prices, and a business community sensitive to the surrounding
neighborhoods. Try Decatur's Web Site www.decatur-ga.com.
EMORY - The defining element of the Emory area is, of course, Emory University and Hospital. I once had a health insurance sales person make a condescending remark about the neighborhoods around the Hospital. Well it was obvious that he didn't know sh.. from shinola. Start your driving tour with the home where "Driving Miss Daisy" was shot and drive down Lullwater Road and you will get the picture real quick. When you roll Emory University and Hospital, the Center for Disease Control, and the VA Hospital complex together, it creates an instant high demand for all kinds of housing. Because it was built out so long ago, the commercial development is limited and centered around Emory Village at the intersection of North Decatur Road and Oxford Road. This is a good place to make a home.
DRUID HILLS - Same as Emory. This is the name of the subdivision laid out many years ago by Frederick Law Olmstead that pretty much surrounds Emory University to the South and West.
VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS - Oh if I was young and single again, or just single, or just young! THE place to be - known as the popular Virginia Highland area. Very good 1930's housing stock, meandering streets, and a vibrant commercial area at the intersection of Virginia and Highland Avenues. Horace still greets his long time customers at Moe and Joe's and George still holds forth at the tavern that bears his name. The Virginia Highland running club still leaves out at about 6:30 on Wednesday evenings. "Semi affordable housing in a great location."
PONCEY HIGHLAND - Due south of Virginia Highland; similar housing stock, funkier neighborhood. You might say that places like Ray Lee's Blue Light Tavern (actually gone now), the Clermont Hotel and Lounge and Traveler's Rest on Highland Avenue set the tone for Poncey Highland. Traveling west on Ponce de Leon you cross Briarcliff/Moreland and it's a little like going from Switzerland into northern Italy. George Mitchell's book "Ponce de Leon" tells the human side of the story a lot better than I do. Plaza Drugs, where the door never used to close, Manuel's Tavern, the Plaza Theatre, Green's Liquor Store, and the Majestic are old landmarks that hold the commercial entities together.
- Centered around the nine hole golf course and the Freedom Park leading to the Carter Presidential Library, this is a comfortable, moderately affordable, intown neighborhood, a little bit off the beaten path. The funkiness of Little 5 Points tones down as you drive west on McClendon Avenue--very little commercial development, except along DeKalb Avenue. There is excellent access to MARTA rail line. Good people live here.
LAKE CLAIRE - Sleepier neighborhood till the mid eighties. Above average housing stock mixed with the magic dust of Emory and great access to Atlanta via MARTA or DeKalb Avenue. There actually was a lake there many years ago. Now there is a small park with one tennis court. Some big hills here, and as the bumper sticker says, "Ski Lake Claire."
MORNINGSIDE - Upscale intown neighborhood anchored by Morningside Elementary School. 1930's housing stock of larger brick homes. You will pay a premium for this location, but many people think it's worth it.
LITTLE FIVE POINTS - This is really the shopping district that is surrounded by Inman Park and Candler Park. It has long been known as the center of the true counter culture in Atlanta. Some people might be put off by some of the different groups such as skin heads (I don't think they are a protected class), but there is good food and shopping to be found. Visit Sevananda, a health food store that has been around since the early seventies.
ANSLEY PARK - This is a grand old section of Atlanta. The Governor's Mansion used to be located here. This was built out as the first neighborhood mimicking the aristocratic homes built on Peachtree Street after Sherman’s demolition project was completed. There are also many more modest homes for the economically challenged. Ansley is laid out around a series of parks. It has been said that a lost cat couldn’t find its way out of Ansley Park. Ansley is bordered by Piedmont Park, Peachtree Street, Sherwood Forest, Ansley Mall and 14th Street. Other points of interest would include the Botanical Garden, including the Dorothy Fuqua Conservatory, and The High Museum of Art.
BROOKHAVEN - Built around the Brookhaven Golf Course, Brookhaven might be considered uptown. Located just off Peachtree just beyond Lenox Square, Brookhaven is in a world and class of its own. With downtown Atlanta only six miles away (Peachtree Road Race as a yardstick) and the Lenox Square Complex around the corner, Brookhaven has become a hot neighborhood. Many of the homes built in the fifties, on the perimeter of the neighborhood, are being torn down and replaced with more appropriate and unaffordable homes.
BROOKWOOD HILLS - A little oasis tucked away just off Peachtree Street near Piedmont Hospital. Early twentieth century housing stock.
PEACHTREE HILLS - Built out in the twenties and thirties as a middle class uptown neighborhood, between Peachtree Street and Piedmont Road. Very popular because of its location along the Peachtree Corridor and its more affordable homes.
GARDEN HILLS - Similar to Peachtree Hills, but a little farther out Peachtree and closer to the golden mecca of Buckhead.
BUCKHEAD - I think there is a story about a poor dead buck’s head being nailed to a tree outside a tavern or something at the confluence of Peachtree Road, Roswell Road and West Paces Ferry. Whatever, it is now the social and commercial center of uptown Atlanta. Some of the nicest homes in Atlanta are found here. The Governor's Mansion and the Atlanta Historical Complex can be found on West Paces Ferry. Despite the occasional gridlock, this is high-class living.
DUNWOODY - This was the first area that was developed to meet the demand for suburban housing in Atlanta. Dunwoody proper is actually at the intersection of Mount Vernon Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The development started in the mid sixties, and only by the eighties had surrounded the once sweet little intersection. Dunwoody also became the housing darling for corporate transferees. Jim Cowart is probably the name best known for the standardization of the four bedroom, two and a half bath Dunwoody two-story with bonus room over the garage. Dunwoody now spills into Gwinnett County.
EAST COBB - At the risk of being completely snobbish or biased, I could leave it to say that only the racially and sexually pure need apply. I have friends that live there and they appear to be completely normal, well healed and well read. There is something for everybody in Atlanta!
ORMEWOOD - Just east of Grant Park and bordered on the west by Moreland Avenue, the houses tend to be smaller than those in Grant Park, but with a good bit of brick, indicating construction in the thirties.
EAST ATLANTA - Maybe, just maybe, there is a spark of new life here. Once a viable commercial area, urban decay has taken its toll. If the Heaping Bowl and Brew is any indicator, locals now prefer to dine closer to home and are rewarded for it.
GRANT PARK - Built out around the turn of the century, Grant Park has ridden the roller coaster of high times and low times. The Atlanta Zoo and the Cyclorama are the centerpieces for the park, which is surrounded by the neighborhood. You will see beautiful Victorian, Queen Anne and craftsmen style homes in various stages of renovation.
SUMMERHILL - Just west of Grant Park, more moderate homes can be found here. In recent years Summerhill has gained popularity with the help of Karras Communities and Habitats for Humanity and redevelopment associated with the ‘96 Summer Games.
PEACHTREE PARK - Is it fair that a select few get to live such normal lives in such a normal, but classy, neighborhood in the shadow of Lenox Square? They have even successfully routed traffic totally out of the neighborhood. Try to reach it off Piedmont.
BEDFORD PINES - Between Georgia Baptist Medical Center and the Civic Center, this old neighborhood has just about fallen completely to urban decay. Total urban renewal in the form of the homes in Renaissance Park and McGill Place may eventually breathe life back into this area. Located close to the King Center and Sweet Auburn.
SHERWOOD FOREST - Built out in the 1950’s as an outgrowth of Ansley Park. Perhaps long known for its wonderful yard displays at Christmas time, it has now come into its own as a middle-aged, intown neighborhood just off Peachtree.
POINTS OF INTEREST - The Carter Center, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the Michael C. Carlos Museum, the High Museum of Art, The Fernbank Forest, the Fernbank Planetarium, the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Stone Mountain Park, Lake Lanier, Lake Alatoona, the Georgia mountains, the Georgia coast, M.L.K. Center, the Children’s Museum, the Atlanta History Center, and the new Georgia Aquarium.
For your personal tour contact us
at
Thibadeau Company, Inc., 1549 Clairmont Road, Suite 204, Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 325-3900Email leonthib@bellsouth.net