Piedmont Avenue is a major thoroughfare in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, beginning in

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county ...

and ending at its continuation as Piedmont Road (

Georgia State Route 237 State Route 237 (SR 237) is a state highway located entirely within the city limits of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its path is entirely within Fulton County. Route description SR 237 begins just south of SR 13 ( ...

) just before crossing under

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

. Along the way, Piedmont Avenue passes through

Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown, is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business ...

where several historic properties are located on the street.

History

Piedmont Avenue was originally called Calhoun Street. As of 1872, Calhoun Street reached north to Seventh Street in today's Midtown. For the 1895 Cotton States Expo, in order to connect downtown to the exposition grounds at Piedmont Park, Plaster's Bridge Road south of 10th street was rerouted to connect to an extension of Calhoun Street, and all of this new through street was renamed Piedmont Avenue.

Route

Source
Google Maps

Downtown, SoNo and Old Fourth Ward

Piedmont Avenue Southeast begins at the Georgia State Capitol in

at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. It proceeds (one-way northbound) northeast, crossing under the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) line at Georgia State station. It passes various

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

buildings. After crossing Edgewood Avenue, the street turns due north and becomes Piedmont Avenue Northeast, then passes

Auburn Avenue Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Au ...

, the historic heart of the

black community Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

. It then crosses the

Downtown Connector In Downtown Atlanta, the Downtown Connector or 75/85 (pronounced "seventy-five eighty-five") is the concurrent section of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through the core of the city. Beginning at the I-85/ Langford Parkway interchange, ...

freeway. At this point Piedmont Avenue forms the border between the SoNo neighborhood on the west and Old Fourth Ward on the east. In this section, Piedmont passes the Georgia Power headquarters, Renaissance Park, many gated apartment communities and several newer high-rise residential buildings, and the

Atlanta Civic Center The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations an ...

, former site of the Buttermilk Bottom slum.

Midtown

Passing North Avenue and

Ponce de Leon Avenue Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs, in turn from explorer Juan Ponce de León, but is not pronounced ...

, Piedmont enters

, first through the NRHP-listed Historic Midtown, known for its bungalow houses. In Historic Midtown there are several historic properties of note, including the Craigie House, 705 Piedmont and the William P. Nicolson House (now the Shellmont Inn) at 821 Piedmont Ave. Piedmont and Tenth is considered the heart of the gay community in Atlanta, with several popular gay bars located here."New Midtown eateries reflect the evolving tastes of gay Atlanta?"
''

Georgia Voice ''The Georgia Voice'' is an LGBT-oriented bi-weekly newspaper based in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georg ...

'', December 5, 2013 North of 10th, the streetscape turns into mostly early 20th century multi-unit residential buildings. North of 12th Street, Piedmont Avenue borders Piedmont Park, to its east.

Ansley Park and Piedmont Park

After 14th Street, Piedmont Avenue becomes two-way (southbound traffic is forced to turn west on 14th Street). North of 14th, Piedmont forms the border between the posh, historic

Ansley Park Ansley Park is an intown residential district in Atlanta, Georgia, located just east of Midtown and west of Piedmont Park. When developed in 1905-1908, it was the first Atlanta suburban neighborhood designed for automobiles, featuring wide, win ...

neighborhood on the west and Piedmont Park, the Piedmont Driving Club and the

Atlanta Botanical Garden The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of displa ...

on the east. Then Piedmont crosses the

BeltLine The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect nei ...

trail and Clear Creek at the northern tip of Piedmont Park and intersects with Monroe Drive, at the northwest corner of which the open-air

Ansley Mall Ansley Mall is an open-air shopping mall in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood of Atlanta at 1544 Piedmont Avenue at the intersection of Monroe Drive near the Atlanta BeltLine trail. Ansley opened in 1964, sending Midtown Atlanta's Tenth Str ...

is located.

Piedmont Heights and Morningside/Lenox Park

After the intersection with Monroe, Piedmont Avenue forms the border between Piedmont Heights and Morningside/Lenox Park where the NRHP-listed Rock Spring Presbyterian Church is located. It intersects

Cheshire Bridge Road Cheshire Bridge Road is a mainly north–south thoroughfare of Atlanta, Georgia, USA traversing the Morningside-Lenox Park and Lindridge-Martin Manor neighborhoods from Piedmont Avenue to Buford Highway just north of Interstate 85. While the c ...

and then changes its name to Piedmont Road and becomes

Georgia 237 State Route 237 (SR 237) is a state highway located entirely within the city limits of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its path is entirely within Fulton County. Route description SR 237 begins just south of SR 13 (B ...

, continuing north to

Buckhead Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downto ...

; at Roswell Road Piedmont Road becomes Blackland Road NW.

References

External links

Photos of Piedmont Avenue through the years at ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' site
{{LGBT in Georgia (U.S. state) Roads in Atlanta LGBT African-American culture