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, Atlanta, SoNo neighborhood on the west and Old Fourth Ward on the east. In this section, Piedmont passes the Georgia Power headquarters, Renaissance Park (Atlanta), Renaissance Park, many gated apartment communities and several newer high-rise residential buildings, and the Atlanta Civic Center, former site of the Buttermilk Bottom slum.

Midtown

Passing North Avenue (Atlanta), North Avenue and Ponce de Leon Avenue, 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 Street (Atlanta), 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'', 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 neighborhood on the west and Piedmont Park, the Piedmont Driving Club and the Atlanta Botanical Garden on the east. Then Piedmont crosses the BeltLine trail and Clear Creek (Atlanta), 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 is located.

Piedmont Heights and Morningside/Lenox Park

After the intersection with Monroe, Piedmont Avenue forms the border between Piedmont Heights, Atlanta, Piedmont Heights and Morningside/Lenox Park where the NRHP-listed Rock Spring Presbyterian Church is located. It intersects Cheshire Bridge Road and then changes its name to Piedmont Road and becomes Georgia 237, continuing north to Buckhead; at Georgia State Route 9, 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