East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side 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 498,7 ...

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 ...

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The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's

commercial district A commercial district or commercial zone is any part of a city or town in which the primary land use is commercial activities ( shops, offices, theaters, restaurants and so on), as opposed to a residential neighbourhood, an industrial zone, or ...

Geography

East Atlanta lies entirely within

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Mis ...

and is bounded by: *

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Betwe ...

Edgewood Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

and Kirkwood to the north. *

Moreland Avenue The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

, and the neighborhoods of

North Ormewood Park North Ormewood Park is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located in the northern part of Ormewood Park. It is located between Reynoldstown, East Atlanta and Grant Park and adjacent to the mixed-use development Gle ...

Ormewood Park Ormewood Park is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History This area was the territory of the Creek Indian Nation until approximately 1825 when the Treaty of Indian Springs was signed under Governor George Troup. ...

and Woodland Hills, to the west. *Parts of

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

DeKalb County, such as Gresham Park Candler-McAfee Decatur, share borders with East Atlanta to the south and east.

History

Early history

Prior to the arrival of

American colonists The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

, the area had been dominated by the Creek Native American people. The Sandtown-Flat Shoals Trail existed along high ground as part of a trade route system between the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatt ...

and the coast. This trail would eventually become Flat Shoals Avenue. After the forcible removal of the Creek in the 1820s, American citizens began acquiring land in the area through the Georgia land lotteries.

Civil War

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, Atlanta became a major supply hub of the southern war effort and a major target of the northern war effort.

Lemuel P. Grant Lemuel Pratt Grant (1817–1893) was an American engineer and businessman. He was Atlanta's quintessential railroad man as well as a major landowner and civic leader. In railroads he served as a laborer, chief engineer, speculator and executi ...

designed the city's fortifications to protect his

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

on the eastside of the city in what is now Grant Park. General James B. McPherson placed his Yankee forces on high ground a mile east of Grant's plantation, the area today known as East Atlanta. A Union cannon was placed at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Road to protect the flank of the front line. The Confederate forces were able to attack from behind, however. The Battle of Atlanta, which was part of the Atlanta Campaign and sealed the fate of the Confederacy, was fought in East Atlanta behind Union lines resulting in more than 12,000 deaths. Today many historic markers dot the neighborhood including two upturned cannons where Confederate General Walker and Union General McPherson were killed.

Reconstruction Era

East Atlanta recovered after the Civil War, quickly becoming a developing unincorporated town. The Marbut and Minor Mercantile Store was soon established at the crossroads of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Road. By the late 1890s, the store had grown to encompass five different businesses including a dry goods store, feed and seed, blacksmith, livery stable, and grocery store.

Asa Candler Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon and politician who in 1888 purchased the Coca-Cola recipe for $238.98 from chemist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. Candler founded The Coca-C ...

Joel Hurt Joel Hurt (1850–1926) was an American businessman. He was the president of Trust Company of Georgia, and a developer in Atlanta. He was one of the many founders of SunTrust Bank. Early life Hurt was born on July 31, 1850, in Hurtsboro, Ala ...

, Frederic Patterson, and Aaron Haas, founders of the Metropolitan Streetcar Company, developed the McPherson Park subdivision to provide ridership for their electric streetcar line and housing for new store clerks in the area.

20th Century

In 1905, lumber and railroad baron William Zuber built a large white columned frame mansion as a wedding present for his new bride on property that fronts Flat Shoals. The house is currently listed on the

National Register of Historic Places 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 ...

. The East Atlanta Banking Company entered the East Atlanta community in 1911, moving into its new building at Flat Shoals and Glenwood - shaped like an old fashioned "flat iron". The building is now home to a bar (appropriately named "Flatiron"). A post office, a newspaper, a silent movie theatre and a carriage dealership were also added to the commercial district and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

congregations in the area immediately began to grow. The land to the south of Glenwood Avenue was owned by former Georgia Governor Joseph Emerson Brown. With Brown's support, a grid of streets was planned around a public green space, a model for the "urban utopian living" that was being touted at the time. After 1915, in a series of votes, East Atlanta residents chose to be annexed into the city limits of Atlanta in order to gain access to fire protection and public education. Water and sewer service also enabled residents to enjoy indoor plumbing. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the undeveloped center of the neighborhood was subdivided and developed by the Williams brothers who were born and raised in East Atlanta and had built a lumber and concrete business nearby on Glenwood Avenue. As the residential area grew, nearby businesses prospered. The

Madison Theatre Madison Theatre is a historic theater in Peoria, Illinois, United States that opened on October 16, 1920, as a silent picture theatre. History The building was commissioned by Dee Robinson and designed by Frederick J. Klein; it was added to the ...

talking picture show and a new public library were built with the help of public donations. During the 1960s, East Atlanta was targeted by

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

groups as an example of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

of housing because members of the white-supremacy group

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

lived in an adjacent neighborhood. Under the protection of the

Fair Housing Act The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which appl ...

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

black families were assisted in efforts to purchase houses in the area. In response, many white families left the area, selling their homes for as low as $1,500 for a 3-bedroom home. Eventually, East Atlanta

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

was valued much lower than other areas of the city. The neighborhood's appearance and

reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...

suffered as a result. In 1981, the East Atlanta Community Association was founded to bolster a sense of community in the neighborhood.

21st Century

In 2005 East Atlanta acquired a new

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

building which is located at the corner of Flat Shoals and McPherson. That same year, the first phase of a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

project to enhance the

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

environment in the

business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

occurred. The result was much wider

sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone ...

s and benches to sit on. In 2007 and 2008, the East Atlanta Village was voted "Best Neighborhood" in the city by readers of the Atlanta weekly newspaper ''

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 ...

''. Due to determined efforts by residents to improve their neighborhood and demand for affordable in-town housing, the average price of a house in East Atlanta has risen steadily since the late 1990

In 2017 the East Atlanta Community Association began efforts to include the neighborhood on the

Culture

In recent decades, East Atlanta has seen a rise of street art. Many of East Atlanta's murals were brought to the neighborhood by

Living Walls Living Walls, The City Speaks is an annual street art conference co-founded in 2009 by Monica Campana & Blacki Migliozzi. Blankenship, Jessica (13 August 2010)"Living Walls" ''Creative Loafing''. The conference was first held in 2010. It was origina ...

and the Outerspace Project. Some of East Atlanta's murals are easily visible from the street, but an equal number of murals are hidden in back parking lots, alleyways and behind buildings. Images and locations of East Atlanta's murals are found on th
Atlanta Street Art Map

Events

East Atlanta hosts a number of popular annual events, including: * East Atlanta Strut - East Atlanta's free annual one day neighborhood festival, always on the third Saturday in September featuring a parade, food, live music, art, and events. The festival is held to highlight the businesses in East Atlanta Village as well as raise funds for schools, senior programs and Neighbor In Need East Atlanta. The Festival is run completely with Volunteers

* B*ATL - Neighborhood festival commemorating the anniversary of the Civil War's

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Un ...

, which was fought on July 22, 1864 on land that is now part of East Atlanta. Events include a period costume gala dinner and house tour; a 5K fun run; van and walking tours of neighborhood historic sites including Oakland Cemetery; Civil War Battle re-enactment featuring soldiers, live artillery, and civilian re-enactors; and historic music concerts

* East Atlanta Craft Beer Festival - Annual one day craft beer festival held the third weekend in May at Brownwood Park in East Atlanta, Georgia. Festival includes over 230 beers from all regions of the planet, music and food vendors. Produced by The East Atlanta Foundation, a 501c3 non profit, 100% of proceeds benefit local charitie

via a grant process that serves the Atlanta Community. * East Atlanta Twilight Criterium - A day of bicycle races and events that takes place in East Atlanta Village and the surrounding residential streets every Augus

* EAV Farmers Market - A local non-profit farmers market each Thursday evening (4:00 to dark) from April through Decembe

Education

Schools

Public schools

East Atlanta is in the Atlanta Public Schools System and nearby

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

alternatives are also available.
Burgess Peterson Academy
- Elementary school in the Atlanta Public School system and part of the Maynard Jackson Cluster.
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter SchoolWesley International Academy

Private schools

* Mohammed Schools, a private K-12 school in unincorporated DeKalb County.

Library

Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System The Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System is a network of public libraries serving the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, both in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is administered by Fulton County. The system is composed of the Atlanta Cen ...

operates the East Atlanta Branch.East Atlanta Branch
" Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. Retrieved on April 21, 2015.

References

External links

East Atlanta Community AssociationEast Atlanta Business AssociationEast Atlanta Kids ClubCreative Loafing's City Guide for East Atlanta/Ormewood ParkPet Buddies Food Pantry
Located in East Atlanta Non-Profit, serving pets in need {{coord, 33.74001, N, 84.34546, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Neighborhoods in Atlanta DeKalb County, Georgia Streetcar suburbs Hipster neighborhoods