Avondale Estates is a city in DeKalb County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. The population was 3,567 in 2020. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area and is near Decatur.

History

In the 1890s, lots were sold in the area, which was known as Ingleside. Avondale Estates was founded in 1924 by George Francis Willis, a patent medicine magnate, who purchased the entire village of Ingleside to create a planned community. The city was named after

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, England, birthplace of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Downtown buildings were designed in a Tudor style to reinforce this image, as were many of the houses in the city. The city incorporated in 1927.

Geography

Avondale Estates is entirely underlain by

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, and clay-rich soil developed on it. Some of this granite can be seen outcropped along the shore of Lake Avondale. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which 0.88% is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,567 people, 1,422 households, and 865 families residing in the city.

Arts and culture

The mostly Tudor-style downtown area of Avondale Estates, known as the commercial district, is home to a variety of businesses including consignment stores. Pizza, southern comfort food, and Chicago style hot dogs are some of the restaurant fare options within the city limits. The city is the location of the first Waffle House restaurant which opened on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

weekend in 1955 having been converted into a museum, along with an existing operational full-time Waffle House nearby, with numerous others in the Decatur, Georgia area as well. The Avondale Salad, featured on certain Waffle House lunch menus, derives its name from the city. A selection of art galleries and studios are located in an area of the city known as the Rail Arts District. Little Tree Art Studios located on Franklin Street, is a warehouse that includes multiple artist studios and a music rehearsal space. The movie, ''

Instant Family ''Instant Family'' is a 2018 American family comedy-drama film starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne as parents who foster three siblings, played by Isabela Merced, Gustavo Quiroz, and Julianna Gamiz. It also stars Margo Martindale, Julie Hagert ...

'' (2018), starring Mark Wahlberg, was filmed in Avondale Estates.

Government

The city is governed by a mayor and a board of commissioners. Avondale Estates also has a city manager and other administrative positions. The city uses the DeKalb County Fire Service for fire and EMS calls, but provides its own police service. The Avondale Estates Police Department (AEPD) has approximately 15 members providing around the clock coverage. Officers drive Dodge Chargers equipped with PIT bumpers, LED lights, in-car computers with e-tickets, and digital video cameras. City Court is held multiple times a month. The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice has its headquarters in Avondale Estates. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Avondale Estates Post Office.

Education

Avondale Estates is served by the DeKalb County School System. Avondale Elementary School is in the city limits. Druid Hills Middle School, and Druid Hills High School serve the community. Avondale Middle School and Avondale High School, formerly adjacent to the city limits and serving the city, closed at the end of May 2011, and the students were distributed to neighboring schools. The campus is now used exclusively by the magnet school DeKalb School of the Arts. In 2008, local parents began organizing formal efforts through the Avondale Education Association, a local grass-roots non-profit organization that was founded in October 2003, to create a charter school that would achieve the standards required by law, while establishing an elementary school that reflected the values of the community. Their proposal was initially rejected by the Dekalb County School Board, but it was subsequently selected by the Georgia Charter Schools Commission as one of a small number of schools to be chartered directly by the State of Georgia. The school, Museum School of Avondale Estates, opened in 2010, and Avondale Estates therefore lies within its attendance zone. The Museum School admissions are accepted through a lottery.

References

External links

City of Avondale Estates official website

Museum School of Avondale Estates
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in DeKalb County, Georgia Cities in the Atlanta metropolitan area Populated places established in 1924 1924 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)