Westview, Atlanta

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Westview, Atlanta, Georgia
CDP
Westview-atlanta.jpg
1910/20s bungalows are the most common house style in Westview
Country United States
State Georgia
County Fulton
Population
 (2010)
  Total3,020
ZIP code
30310
Area code 404

Westview is a historic intown neighborhood located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. It is named for the Westview Cemetery that borders the neighborhood to the northwest. The neighborhood is made up of a mixture of architectural styles including Arts & Crafts bungalows, Four-Squares, Tudors, Minimal Traditional houses, and Ranch style houses.

Contents

Location

Westview's bordering streets are I-20 and Derry Avenue to the north, Langhorn Street and Cascade Avenue to the east, Beecher Street to the south, and South Gordon Street and Westmeath Drive to the west. Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard runs through the Westview neighborhood and houses a small historic commercial village center at the corners of East Ontario Avenue, Inman Street and Lucile Avenue.

History

Plan for Westwood Park, a subdivision that did not materialize Westwood park 1888.pdf
Plan for Westwood Park, a subdivision that did not materialize

Westview is a prime example of an Atlanta streetcar neighborhood. In 1884 land was purchased to create the new Westview Cemetery. [2] This, in turn, encouraged the West End and Atlanta Street Car Company to start grading in 1886 to extend its street car line 2 (the Ponce de Leon – Westview line) to the Westview Cemetery. [3] Line 2 came from downtown Atlanta along Lucile Avenue to Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and terminated in front of the Westview Cemetery gate. Thanks to the convenient connectivity the street car provided to the area development naturally continued to occur.

In 1888 the Ontario Land Company purchased several tracts of land for their newly planned suburban neighborhood named Westwood Park. [4] Some of Westwood Park's original street boundaries were New Green's Ferry Avenue (now Westview Drive) to the north, Inman Street, Green's Ferry Road (now Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.) to the east, and Sandtown Road (now Cascade Avenue) to the southeast. The Ontario Land Company graded and beautified the land [5] and promised amenities such as croquet and tennis courts based on the neighborhood plan.

Advertisement in The Atlanta Constitution for West End Park lot sales, June 9, 1910 West End Park Lots Advertisement.jpg
Advertisement in The Atlanta Constitution for West End Park lot sales, June 9, 1910

Nevertheless, Westwood Park never materialized beyond land preparation. [6] It was not until 1910 when William J. Davis bought portions of the Ontario Land Company parcel and hired civil engineer and landscape expert Solon Zachery Ruff (who also designed the Ansley Park neighborhood) to turn the area into a "residence park" known as West End Park. [5] Streets in West End Park included East and West Ontario Avenue, Ontario Avenue, Willard Avenue, and the eastern portions of Stokes Avenue, South Gordon Street, Westwood Avenue, and Rogers Avenue. Davis continued to improve the land by laying water mains, gas mains, and adding cemented sidewalks before auctioning off subdivided parcels of land through Forrest and George Adair, [7] leading to the construction and population of West End Park.

When the West End Park Company (led by Davis) applied for its charter with the superior court [8] in 1909 it also applied for an extension of the City of Atlanta city limits [9] so as to include the newly planned neighborhood within its boundaries. And so in 1910, the same year in which Davis created a housing boom by selling the subdivided Westwood Park lots, the City of Atlanta expanded its city limits to include West End Park within its boundaries. The neighborhood's changing architectural housing styles and seven additional city limit expansions (in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1940, and 1952) [10] towards the west make it evident how the neighborhood naturally continued to grow over the years.

West End Park flourished for many years with an active neighborhood commercial district along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Many longtime and former residents still recall fond memories of the grocery store, butcher store, sundry, Clyatt's drug store with a soda fountain, and the Teddy Bear Grill at the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. and Cascade Avenue.

Today West End Park is simply known as Westview, presumably due to its proximity to the adjacent Westview Cemetery. To this day many neighborhood real estate listings still appear under the name West End Park.

The neighborhood has benefited from the renewed interest of living intown. Senior citizens that have lived in the neighborhood for the last 30 to 40 years are now joined by young professionals who enjoy the conveniences and amenities of intown living. [11] As a result, neglected and vacant homes are being restored and the neighborhood in general is benefiting from renewed activities. In August 2005, the Westview Lofts, a mixed-use development including retail storefronts opened in the village. In December 2005, Westview was chosen to be the neighborhood of the month by the Atlanta Development Authority. After decades of decline, Westview rebounded with growing demand and property values. Also Westview has strongly increased in diversity since the 2000s. [12] [13]

Government

The neighborhood belongs to neighborhood planning unit T (NPU-T) and has an active neighborhood association. Westview is in zone 4 of the Atlanta Police Department.

BeltLine

The Belt Line passes through the eastern edge of the Westview neighborhood as part of the BeltLine's "Model Mile". (See the map displaying the proposed areas.) The first trail to be built on the BeltLine, the 2.4-mile West End Trail, was opened in 2008. It edges the neighborhood of the same name as well as serving Mozley Park and Westview. The trail stretches from White Street to Westview Cemetery. In Westview the trail will be anchored by Enota Park. When the park is completed in late 2019 it will be transformed formed from a 1/3 acre parcel to a 10-acre multi use park with multi-purpose play fields, playground, and entry plaza for bicyclists and pedestrians on the Westside Trail.

Education

Atlanta Public Schools:

Charter Schools:


Neighborhood Organizations

There are two active neighborhood organizations within Westview:

Westview Community Organization (WCO) – The Westview Community Organization, which formed in 1974, is the largest and oldest neighborhood organization in Westview and encompasses the entire neighborhood. Key committees within the WCO are the Development Committee, which focuses on master planning and neighborhood improvement projects, and the Beautification Committee, which focuses on park maintenance and street cleanups. The WCO organizes a number of festivities throughout the year, such as a summer block party, National Night Out, and a Christmas party at Fire Station #17. Executive committee members are voted into office for one-year terms. The WCO meets the first Monday of every month at 7:00 PM via Zoom since the COVID-19 pandemic but will go back to meeting at Calvary United Methodist Church (1471 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.) at the beginning of the 2023 year.

West End Coalition Group (WEC) – The West End Coalition formed in 1992 when neighbor's organized to prevent housing deterioration, blight and community destabilization. Despite what the name implies, the organization is located in Westview and encompasses a northeastern portion of the neighborhood. Its streets include Laurel Avenue, Wellington Street, Inman Street, Mathewson Place, Altoona Place, Enota Place, and Lucile Avenue. WEC meets the third Tuesday of every month at the Westview Lofts (1530 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.) at 7:30pm.

Related Research Articles

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West End is a historic neighborhood in the U.S. city of Atlanta, one of the oldest outside Downtown Atlanta, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. West End is located southwest of Castleberry Hill, east of Westview, west of Adair Park Historic District, and just north of Oakland City. Architectural styles within the neighborhood include Craftsman Bungalow, Queen Anne, Stick style, Folk Victorian, Colonial Revival, American Foursquare and Neoclassical Revival.

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Gentrification of Atlanta's inner-city neighborhoods began in the 1970s, and it has continued, at varying levels of intensity, into the present. Many factors have contributed to the city's gentrification. A major increase in gentrification that occurred in the last years of the 20th century has been attributed to the 1996 Summer Olympics. However, during the 2000s, Atlanta underwent a profound transformation demographically, physically, and culturally. Suburbanization, rising prices, a booming economy, and new migrants decreased the city's black percentage from a high of 67% in 1990 to 54% in 2010. From 2000 to 2010, Atlanta gained 22,763 white residents, 5,142 Asian residents, and 3,095 Hispanic residents, while the city's black population decreased by 31,678. Much of the city's demographic change during the decade was driven by young, college-educated professionals: from 2000 to 2009, the three-mile radius surrounding Downtown Atlanta gained 9,722 residents aged 25 to 34 holding at least a four-year degree, an increase of 61%. Between the mid-1990s and 2010, stimulated by funding from the HOPE VI program, Atlanta demolished nearly all of its public housing, a total of 17,000 units and about 10% of all housing units in the city. In 2005, the $2.8 billion BeltLine project was adopted, with the stated goals of converting a disused 22-mile freight railroad loop that surrounds the central city into an art-filled multi-use trail and increasing the city's park space by 40%. Lastly, Atlanta's cultural offerings expanded during the 2000s: the High Museum of Art doubled in size; the Alliance Theatre won a Tony Award; and numerous art galleries were established on the once-industrial Westside.

The History of Virginia–Highland, the Intown Atlanta neighborhood, dates back to 1812, when William Zachary bought and built a farm on 202.5 acres (0.819 km2) of land there. At some point between 1888 and 1890 the Nine-Mile Circle streetcar arrived,, making a loop of what are now Ponce de Leon Avenue, North Highland Avenue, Virginia Avenue, and Monroe Drive. Atlantans at first used the line to visit what was then countryside, including Ponce de Leon Springs, but the line also enabled later development in the area. Residential development began as early as 1893 on St. Charles and Greenwood Avenues, must most development took place from 1909 through 1926 — solidly upper-middle class neighborhoods, kept all-white by covenant.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastside, Atlanta</span> City district of Atlanta, Georgia

Eastside refers to the city district comprising the easternmost portion of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The Eastside generally encompasses the area bounded on the west by Midtown Atlanta and Downtown Atlanta and on the east by the city limits. The central corridor of the district is the BeltLine Eastside Trail, which connects northern Eastside neighborhoods with those to the south. The Eastside is known for its nightlife establishments, craftsman architecture, local eateries, and quirky public art.

Enota Park is a 0.3 acre playlot in the Westview neighborhood of Atlanta, GA. Enota park is located near the Westview cemetery and Interstate 20. The park is currently being redesigned to be incorporated into the Westside Trail portion of the Atlanta BeltLine. Enota Park was identified as one of 4 parks to be expanded by Alexander Garvin and Associates in a 2004 study commission by The Trust for Public Land called The Beltline Emerald Necklace: Atlanta's New Public Realm.

References

  1. West End file, Atlanta History Center
  2. The Atlanta Constitution, August 6, 1884
  3. The Atlanta Constitution, September 13, 1886
  4. The Atlanta Constitution, April 8, 1888
  5. 1 2 The Atlanta Constitution, February 2, 1910
  6. "Read the Rich History of Our Historic Bungalow Neighborhood - Westview".
  7. The Atlanta Constitution, June 16, 1910
  8. The Atlanta Georgian, October 8, 1909
  9. The Atlanta Georgian, July 6, 1909
  10. Annexation Map of Atlanta, City of Atlanta, 1981
  11. "The Atlanta Beltline may be a success, but it comes with a dark side for many".
  12. "Westview Demographics and Statistics".
  13. "Gentrification in the West End: Bringing Positive Changes [VIDEO]". 15 June 2018.

33°44′23″N84°26′23″W / 33.73972°N 84.43972°W / 33.73972; -84.43972