Reprinted courtesy of Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Just beyond the striking skyline and bright lights of Atlanta lies a rich Southern history and heartland within the city’s neighborhoods. These in-town neighborhoods summon visitors to experience the many unique areas that create the landscape of this varied city.

One of Atlanta’s most popular neighborhoods is located just north of the downtown convention district. Ansley Park is about three miles from downtown, just off Peachtree at 15^th St. The neighborhood began construction in 1905 and has always been one of Atlanta’s premier residential areas. Renovated homes of early American heritage line the cobblestone walkways encircling Ansley Park’s forest gardens and parklands. The entire neighborhood is a National Historic District.

Just east of Ansley Park is an area known as Virginia-Highlands because of its location at the intersection of Virginia and North Highland avenues. A popular spot with Atlanta’s young professionals, Virginia-Highlands is noted for its renovations of 60 to 80-year-old homes, as well as its 50-year-old shopping district with family-owned, one-of-a-kind restaurants and retail stores. 

Just south of the neighborhood is Little Five Points, Atlanta’s source for eclectic dining, shopping and artistic creativity, reminiscent of New York’s Greenwich Village. Embracing every lifestyle, from Rasta to Gothic, the residents and local businesses offer a flavor unique to Atlanta.  Local restaurants, shops and arts venues include 7Stages, Variety Playhouse and the Star Community Bar, which converted a former bank’s vault into a shrine to Elvis.

West of Little Five Points is Atlanta’s quintessential example of restoration: Inman Park, Atlanta’s first planned suburb, was built in the 1900s and originally provided residents transportation downtown via trolley. The neighborhood was named for Edward H. Inman, owner of Atlanta’s famed Swan House, located at the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead. 

Inman Park was once the home of prominent figures, including Asa Candler and Ernest Woodruff, both of the Coca-Cola Company. Sadly, during the 1950s, the area became depressed and was abandoned, and beautiful homes fell to the hands of derelicts and transients too poor to provide their own accommodations. 

However, in the early 1970s, Inman Park became a focus of restoration. After years of improvement, it is now one of Atlanta’s most prestigious neighborhoods. The streets are lined with shade-providing willow trees and authentic Victorian-style homes, complete with gazebos and scalloped awnings. When visiting the neighborhood, visitors are amazed that they are only a few miles from Atlanta’s business and convention district. Inman Park is also noted for its annual tour of homes, when proud homeowners open their doors to visitors dreaming of home remodeling.

One notable neighborhood located in southwest Atlanta is West End. West End is actually older than the city of Atlanta itself. Settled in 1835, West End was established 10 years before the city of “Terminus” became “Atlanta.” The most notable of the restored Queen Anne and Victorian-style houses built in West End during the 1860s and 1870s is the Wren’s Nest, once home to author Joel Chandler Harris, famous for his Uncle Remus Tales.

Traveling east, toward Zoo Atlanta, is Grant Park, one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods, built from 1895 to 1915. Grant Park’s 100 acres were originally a gift from Colonel L.P. Grant in preparation for Sherman’s impending attack on the city. The area avoided destruction during the burning of Atlanta during the Civil War. Like Inman Park, it became a center for restoration in the mid-1970s when old architecture and bygone urban beauty became influences on Atlanta’s mainstream culture. The neighborhood is now a center of revitalization hosting seasonal festivals and tours of homes.

West of Inman Park is Atlanta’s famed Sweet Auburn district. This area is noted for being the center of African-American nightlife during a time when African Americans were restricted by white-owned businesses. The neighborhood’s Auburn Avenue was once hailed as the richest black street in America.  Today, Auburn Avenue is the center of Atlanta’s African-American history and features the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Martin Luther King National Park Service Visitors’ Center, King’s birth home and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father preached. This area underwent extensive renovation in preparation for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

One of Atlanta’s most prominent neighborhoods, Buckhead, is located north of Midtown and downtown.  Long a younger professional’s paradise and noted as the most exclusive area of Atlanta, this neighborhood is comprised of many high-rises, exclusive townhouses and uniquely styled homes from the 1950s and 1960s. West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead is the location of the Governor’s Mansion and the Atlanta History Center. Buckhead is also Atlanta’s hottest nightspot and features some of the city’s most popular nightclubs and restaurants.

Downtown is Atlanta’s newest “neighborhood.” The William Oliver Building and the Metropolitan Building, once prestigious office buildings, have been converted into loft apartments, as has the former Muses Department Store. In addition, a number of small commercial buildings have been converted to loft space, art galleries and shops. Friendly, helpful “Downtown Ambassadors” patrol the streets offering security and assistance. Evolving into a 24-hour city, Downtown presents an in-town experience that’s surrounded by a bustling metropolis imbued with Southern hospitality.

Once known as Uptown, Midtown today is an area known for its residential diversity combined with an energetic business district. Now known as the heart of the arts in Atlanta, Midtown has recently experienced a rejuvenation and become a dynamic and vital in-town neighborhood. From the Atlanta Botanical Garden to the Piedmont Park, the Woodruff Arts Center to the Fox Theater, bungalows, skyscrapers, restaurants and churches, Midtown offers an eclectic blend of dining, cultural attractions and nightlife in an urban setting with the domestic comforts of an increasingly residential area.