![Vine City sign with Georgia Dome in background](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Vine_City_sign_with_Georgia_Dome_in_background.JPG)
English Avenue and Vine City are two adjacent and closely linked neighborhoods of
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 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Together the neighborhoods make up
neighborhood planning unit The neighborhood planning unit (NPU) is a community-scale governmental structure used in the City of Atlanta, Georgia.
History
The system was established in 1974 by Atlanta's first black mayor, Maynard Holbrook Jackson. His aim was to ensure that ...
L.
The two neighborhoods are frequently cited together in reference to shared problems and to shared redevelopment schemes and revitalization plans.
[Thomas Wheatley, "Ambitious parks plans could give Vine City, English Avenue another chance", ''Creative Loafing'', December 8, 2011]
/ref>["grants to the Vine City and English Avenue communities" i]
/ref>["The Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods have voiced their support" i]
Sunset Avenue Historic District
English Avenue is bounded by the railroad line and the Marietta Street Artery
Marietta Street Artery (formerly designated as "Bellwood") is an officially defined neighborhood of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, part of the West Midtown area of Atlanta, also known as the "Westside."
The neighborhood consists of Marietta Stree ...
neighborhood to the northeast, Northside Drive, the North Avenue railyards and 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, s ...
to the east, Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. (formerly Ashby St.) and the Bankhead neighborhood to the west, and Joseph E. Boone Blvd. (called Simpson St. until 2008) and Vine City to the south. Its population was 3,309 in 2010.[2010 U.S. census figures as tabulated b]
WalkScore
/ref>
Vine City is bounded by Joseph E. Boone Blvd. (Simpson) and the English Avenue neighborhood to the north, Northside Drive and 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, s ...
to the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. (formerly Hunter St.) and the Atlanta University Center
The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and universi ...
to the south, and Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. (Ashby) and the Washington Park neighborhood to the west. Its population was 2,785 in 2010.[
A section of the area, "The Bluff," is infamous throughout Metro Atlanta as a high crime area, but in late 2011, English Avenue and Vine City were the focus of multiple improvement plans, including a network of parks and trails,][ increased police presence, and "rebranding" for a more positive image.]["The Bluff: Atlanta's forgotten neighborhood", ''11 Alive'' News (Atlanta)]
/ref> Construction is to start on the new Rodney Cook Sr. Park.
History
Development
What is now the English Avenue neighborhood was purchased in 1891 by James W. English Jr., son of Atlanta mayor James W. English. It was created as a white working-class neighborhood. Simpson Road was long a residential race barrier with whites to the north and blacks to the south. Today's English Avenue was known at different times as Bellwood and as Western Heights. In 1910 the Western Heights school (later renamed Kingbery after a principal of the school, then renamed English Avenue Elementary School) was built at the northeast corner of English Ave. and Pelham St.
Overcrowding in the neighborhood's school is documented as a serious issue from at least 1910 through 1946
photo
, notwithstanding multiple expansions of the facility.
The area south of Simpson Road — today's Vine City — was settled at the end of the 1800s by large land owners, and a predominantly African-American residential area was established, though there were also white subdivisions, schools, and churches. A mix of social classes were present. In 1910 Alonzo F. Herndon, founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company
The Atlanta Life Financial Group was founded by Alonzo Herndon in Atlanta, Georgia. Born into slavery, he started in Atlanta as a young barber, eventually owning three shops. He became Atlanta's richest African American and a highly successful ...
, built his home at 587 University Place, now listed on the National Register
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and open to visitors.
Racial tension and transition
The Great Atlanta fire of 1917
The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 began just after noon on 21 May 1917 in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds which propelled the fire. The fire, ...
contributed to the already great need for housing for African Americans and by the 1920s-1940s, despite violence and bombings trying to prevent it, blacks started to move north across Simpson Road.[
In 1941, the Eagan Homes and Herndon Homes public housing projects opened and as a result, the black population in the area increased. On Hunter Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), white business owners once lived behind their stores, but in the 1940s, black owners started taking over these businesses.][ In 1947 Paschal's Restaurant, an Atlanta ]soul food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
landmark and meeting place for civil rights leaders, opened in its original location on West Hunter Street.[ In 1951, the English Avenue Elementary School's designation was changed from white to black in response to most whites having moved out of the area.]["Furtive Dynamiters Blast Big Atlanta Negro School", ''Meriden Record'', December 13, 1960]
/ref>
Heyday and Civil Rights
During the mid-20th century, the area was a middle-class African-American neighborhood. Commercial areas included English Avenue; Simpson Street/Road, in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s; and Bankhead Highway, which was part of the US Highway system
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
, and was in its splendor in the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
moved to the area in 1967, and his widow Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...
continued to live here until she moved to a Peachtree Road luxury condominium purchased for her by Oprah Winfrey in 2004.
In 1960, the English Avenue elementary school was dynamited, likely in retaliation for civil rights demonstrations by blacks. Mayor William B. Hartsfield condemned the dynamiting as the work of those from outside Atlanta, "the outhouse set".[ The area experienced notable pro- and anti- Black Power riots in 1966 and 1967.
]
Decline and crime
Suburbanization
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
started draining the area's vitality starting in the 1970s.[ Over the following decades, it attracted buyers and sellers of heroin, and deteriorated into a corner of poverty in the city, characterized by large numbers of abandoned, boarded-up houses.][
In 1995 the English Avenue Elementary School closed.][
In 2006, a "no-knock raid" in search of a drug dealer, burst into the home of Kathryn Johnston. Ms. Johnston, in her 80s, opened fire on the officers and wounded three and was killed by return fire from the officers. The incident resulted in much anger in the neighborhood and in close scrutiny of police use of "no-knock warrants" in drug raids.
The 2008 tornado caused major damage in areas of Vine City]
photos
.
The 2010s foreclosure crisis hit the neighborhoods hard. In April 2012, ''Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. The company publishes a 60,000 circulation monthly publication which is distributed to in-town locations and neighborhoods on the first Thursday of ...
'' reported that "on some streets more houses are boarded up than are lived in". Occupy Atlanta
Occupy Atlanta has included protests and demonstrations. Occupy Atlanta began on October 6, 2011 in Woodruff Park, located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. As part of the Occupy movement, it is inspired by Occupy Wall Street which began in New Y ...
protested the Vine City foreclosure of Mrs. Pamela Flores by Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
.
The desperate state of the area was described by reporter Thomas Wheatley in ''Creative Loafing'' in September 2012 as:
"boarded-up homes built among the trees along the narrow streets,…people loitering in the middle of vacant lots, casting hollow stares at passing motorists, and…young men hanging out on street corners, hollering at passers-by and then to lookouts down the street"
Revitalization
1990s: Failed "empowerment zone"
In November 1994, the Atlanta Empowerment Zone was established, a 10-year, $250 million federal program to revitalize Atlanta's 34 poorest neighborhoods including the Bluff. Scathing reports from both the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs revealed corruption, waste, bureaucratic incompetence, and interference by mayor Bill Campbell.[Scott Henry, "Federal grants go to groups with shaky past"]
''Creative Loafing'', September 26, 2007
Replacement of public housing projects
As part of the Atlanta Housing Authority
The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) is an agency that provides affordable housing for low-income families in Atlanta. Today, the AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving approximately 50,000 ...
's systematic replacement of public housing projects by mixed-income communities (MIC), Eagan Homes was demolished and the Magnolia Park MIC replaced it. Herndon Homes was demolished in 2011.
Historic Westside Village and Walmart
In 1999, the Atlanta Housing Authority
The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) is an agency that provides affordable housing for low-income families in Atlanta. Today, the AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving approximately 50,000 ...
first announced plans for the " Historic Westside Village", a $130 million commercial, residential and retail project at the area's southern end near Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. at Ashby St. A Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...
supermarket opened in May 2002 but the overall project stalled by 2003 as further anchor tenants did not materialize. This, along with disappointing sales, caused the Publix - the only full-sized supermarket for miles around - to close in December 2009. ''Creative Loafing'' called the project the most notorious "municipal boondoggle...to have tarred Atlanta" during mayor Bill Campbell's era; the project "fell victim to...cronyism, bureaucratic incompetence and a flagrant disregard for federal lending guidelines". In December 2010 things looked up as th
Atlanta Development Authority
announced plans for Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
to open a store on the site, which Mayor Kasim Reed
Mohammed Kasim Reed (born June 10, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 59th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia's state capital and largest city, from 2010 to 2018.
A Democrat, Reed was a member of the Georgia House of Represe ...
called "an end to the food desert in the area". In January 2013 the Wal-Mart opened for business.
Black-white coalition
The Christian Science Monitor reported that by 2008, businessman John Gordon and Rev. Anthony Motley, a 20-year resident of The Bluff, "Atlanta's roughest 'hood", had "formed a black-white coalition seeking angel investors" and brought together "local businesses, neighboring Georgia Tech, and church leaders to inspire not just city and private investment, but also to light a spark of hope among law-abiding residents – many of them older people fearful of the streets outside their front doors. Their unusual friendship" had "helped inspire two massive clean-up efforts, a small but significant drop in crime, and glimmers of fresh paint and clean-swept front walks."
Rodney Cook Sr. Park
Cook Park is under construction by a partnership consisting of the City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management, The Trust for Public Land of Georgia, and the National Monuments Foundation. The park will consist of a system of storm water management including a retention pond similar to the one in nearby Historic Old Fourth Ward Park, walking trails and amenities including a terraced amphitheater and splash pad and statues and monuments honoring a number of prominent Atlantans and Civil Rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
and Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
.
The site, located along the south side of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, has been vacant for many years, after the city purchased several homes there that perpetually fell victim to severe flooding caused by historic mismanagement in the Proctor Creek watershed. In December 2011 Park Pride, a greenspace advocacy group, proposed a network of greenspaces and parks that—through the incorporation of green infrastructure—would help mitigate the recurring flooding from stormwater runoff that plagued the neighborhoods of Vine City and English Avenue for years. In 2015, the City began cleaning the site, and the Trust For Public Land joined the partnership to plan, raise funds, and construct the park above and around the stormwater management solutions. The National Monuments Foundation and Rodney Cook will fund and construct "sculptures of civil rights leaders, an urban farm, and an 80-foot "peace column."
The design mimics Mims Park, now demolished, which was once a prominent city park in Vine City named after Livingston Mims
Livingston Mims (1833March 4, 1906) was an American politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia during the early 20th century.
Biography
Born in Edgefield, South Carolina, Mims later moved to Mississippi and represented Hinds Co ...
, who was mayor of Atlanta from 1901 to 1903. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
's sons, who also designed Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
in Midtown.
In 2017, it was announced that construction will commence, however the park will be named Rodney Cook Sr. Park and it is hoped to stimulate revitalization. Along with this park, Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park, named in honor of former neighborhood resident Kathryn Johnston, was also built in the neighborhood, being officially opened in 2019.
Other efforts since 2010
In May 2010, the non-profit Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, founded and directed by "Able" Mable Thomas
Mable Able Thomas (born November 8, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for District 56. She previously represented District 55, which includes areas immediately west and southwest of Downt ...
bought the English Avenue Elementary School with the intention to convert it into a "state of the art green technology global community center".
In March 2011, NPU L voted in favor of a Sunset Avenue Historic District from Joseph E. Boone Blvd. southward to Magnolia Street.[
In December 2011, the nonprofit Friends of English Avenue arranged for a married couple, both police officers, to live rent-free in a neighborhood house. "Able" Mable Thomas and others expressed the need for a "rebranding" of the area similar to the one which rebranded crime and prostitution-infested Stewart Avenue in ]Southwest Atlanta
:
The city of Atlanta, Georgia is made up of 243 neighborhoods officially defined by the city. These neighborhoods are a mix of traditional neighborhoods, subdivisions, or groups of subdivisions. The neighborhoods are grouped by the city planni ...
as Metropolitan Parkway.
Other transformative efforts continued in 2014. A new Urban Perform gym opened on Joseph E. Boone Blvd designed to empower residents to make healthy lifestyle changes. The gym also hosts a local farmer's market on Saturdays which offers fresh, organic, produce from local community gardens. One of these gardens is the Historic Westside Gardens, which hopes to expand through a cooperative effort with the National Monument Foundation into Mims Park.
The Westside Works, a non-profit and jobs training center, opened in 2014 at the site of former E.R. Carter School at 80 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. NW. Their mission is to serve the underserved by teaching new skills crucial to the modern workforce. In Summer 2014 they graduated their first class of trainees.
2010s investments
There are multiple efforts underway to encourage and promote home ownership in Vine City and English Avenue. Invest Atlanta
Invest Atlanta is the City of Atlanta's Development Authority. It is also known by its previous name, the Atlanta Development Authority.
Invest Atlanta consists of the Urban Residential Finance Authority, Downtown Development Authority and the Atl ...
has a trust fund which provides up to 10% of the downpayment for a first time homeowner, up to $15,000. Home Atlanta 4.0 provides up to 5% of the house cost, but waives the first-time buyer requirement.
Invest Atlanta and the Arthur M. Blank Foundation partnered to provide $30 million in seed money for innovative and transformative non-profits to help revitalize the two neighborhoods.
In 2018, Friendship Baptist church held talks with developers regarding Downtown West, a new construction development adjacent to the new home of the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) ...
.
Culture
Festivals
In 2012, an annual festival was established, the Historic Westside Village Festival. The event includes educational seminars, vendors, a Kids Zone, and a concert stage, with proceeds going to local charities and services. In 2013 the festival took place on September 21.
The annual English Avenue Festival of Lights is directed by the Historic Westside Cultural Arts Council. The Festival is an exhibition of the community and encourages community members to be a light in their neighborhood. There is a Children's pavilion, free food and drinks, and an exhibition of local non-profits.
Churches
The area is home to a large concentration of churches, including:
*Amazing Grace Church
*Antioch Baptist Church North
*Apostolic Faith Church
*Atlanta Presbyterian Fellowship
*Atlanta Revival Center
*Beulah Baptist Church
*Body of Christ TEemple
*Cosmopolitan AME Church
*Faith, Hope and Deliverance Temple
*Faithful Friends Baptist Church
*Grace Midtown Church
*Greater Bethany Baptist Church
*Greater Deliverance Baptist Church
*Greater New Hope Baptist Church
*Greater Springfield Baptist Church
*Greater Vine City Baptist Church
*Heavenly Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church
*Higher Ground Empowerment Center
*Lilly of the Valley Baptist Church
*Lindsay Street Baptist Church
*Live Life Tabernacle of Praise
*New Jerusalem Baptist Church
*Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church
*Redeemer Community Church
*Simpson Street Church of Christ
*Sims Avenue Baptist Church
*St. James Baptist Church
*St. Mark's Baptist Church
Points of Interest
* Rodney Cook Sr. Park (site, to be developed)
* John F. Kennedy Park
* Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park
* Lindsay Street Park
* Westside Village shopping center
* Herndon Home museum
*King Plow Arts Center
The King Plow Arts Center is a commercial, performing, and visual arts center located on Marietta Street in the Marietta Street Artery district of West Midtown, Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state ...
*Morris Brown College
Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...
* Architecture of the Sunset Avenue Historic District (proposed)
* Vine City (MARTA station)
*across Northside Drive
Northside Drive is a road in Atlanta which begins on Whitehall Street in Castleberry Hill just north of Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20 (I-20), and ends by abruptly turning right near the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Sprin ...
: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) ...
, Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the worl ...
"The Bluff"
The Bluff is a district within the area that is infamous throughout metro Atlanta for the availability of drugs, heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
in particular.[Andria Simmons, "Heroin a deadly draw in 'Bluff'", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', September 7, 2011]
/ref>
The borders of The Bluff are defined differently by different sources. For example, the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
''[ and '']Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. The company publishes a 60,000 circulation monthly publication which is distributed to in-town locations and neighborhoods on the first Thursday of ...
''[ both defined The Bluff as including all of English Avenue and Vine City. However, a more recent and in-depth December 2011 series of reports by 11 Alive TV news, referred to The Bluff as a "section of English Avenue".][
The English Avenue/Vine City area has some of the highest ]poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
and crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
rates in the city, with the Carter St. area surrounding the Vine City MARTA station ranking in 2010 as the #1 most dangerous neighborhood in Atlanta and #5 in the United States.
Public transportation
The area is served by the MARTA rail Blue Line and Green Line at the Vine City
English Avenue and Vine City are two adjacent and closely linked neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia. Together the neighborhoods make up neighborhood planning unit L. The two neighborhoods are frequently cited together in reference to shared ...
and Ashby Ashby may refer to:
People
* Ashby (surname)
* Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), governor of Rockingham Castle and steward of Rockingham Forest, England
* Walter Ashby Plecker (1861–1947), American physician and publi ...
stations. Bus lines serving the neighborhood are the 3 along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the 51 along Joseph E. Boone Blvd., and the 26 along Cameron M. Alexander Blvd. (known as Kennedy St. until 2010), English Avenue and Donald L. Hollowell Pkwy.
Famous residents
* Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...
*Comedienne Ms. Pat
* State Senator Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the e ...
and family resided on Sunset Avenue. The home is still owned and occupied by the family.
* Mary Phagan
Leo Max Frank (April 17, 1884August 17, 1915) was an American factory superintendent who was convicted in 1913 of the murder of a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia. His trial, conviction, and appeals attracted national at ...
, victim of notorious 1913 murder at National Pencil Company.
* 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain
Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...
spent his early youth here, attending English Avenue School and the age of 10 joining Rev. Cameron M. Alexander's Baptist mega-church.
* Singer Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
and two of the Pips attended English Avenue Elementary School
* Judge Marvin S. Arrington Sr. Marvin Stephens Arrington Sr. (born February 10, 1941) is an American judge in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia and a former politician in the city of Atlanta. Elected to the Atlanta Board of Aldermen in 1969 (a precursor to the present ...
* Mayor Maynard H. Jackson Jr.[
* Comedian ]Bruce Bruce
Bruce Church (born February 9, 1965), better known as Bruce Bruce, is an American actor and stand-up comedian from Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in The Bluff.
He was the host of BET's ''ComicView'' and has appeared in various stand-up comedy ...
grew up in the Bluff
*Gangster and Star of the 2012 movie ''Snow on tha Bluff
''Snow on tha Bluff'' is a 2012 American found footage-style drama film directed by Damon Russell. It stars Curtis Snow, a real-life Atlanta "robbery boy" and drug dealer, playing a fictionalized version of himself, as he gets into various dan ...
'', Curtis Snow
* Rapper Ralo
Terrell Davis, known by the stage name Ralo, is an American rapper signed to Gucci Mane's 1017 Records via Interscope Records and his own label Famerica Records. Ralo gained recognition following the release of his single, "Can't Lie" featuring ...
grew up in The Bluff
References
External links
*
Photographs of "the forgotten Bluff"
{{Atlanta neighborhoods
Urban decay in the United States