Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, founded in the early 20th century as a streetcar community. The locus and origin of the name is the commercial district at the intersection of Virginia and North Highland Avenues. It is bounded on the north by Amsterdam Ave. and the neighborhood of Morningside, on the east by Briarcliff Road and the Druid Hills neighborhood, on the south by Ponce de Leon Ave. and the Poncey-Highland neighborhood and on the west by the Belt Line which is the border with Piedmont Park and Midtown.
Over the decades, the term "Virginia-Highland" has morphed in the speech of many an Atlantan into "Virginia Highlands" or "the Highlands". These terms are even included in some business names, but are incorrect. One may sometimes see Virginia-Highland abbreviated in writing to VaHi, imitating the New York style of naming neighborhoods (SoHo, TriBeCa), though many would also consider this incorrect.
This eclectic neighborhood is prosperous with many restaurants, bars, and shops, and hosts its own major festival, Summerfest, the first weekend of June each year.
History
The first record of settlement of the area that is now Virginia-Highland was in 1812, when William Zachary bought and built a farm on 202.5 acres of land there.
Nine Mile Trolley
In the 1880s, Georgia Railroad executive Richard Peters and real estate developer George Washington Adair organized the Atlanta Street Railway Company. Their first project was the Nine Mile Trolley, which started running in 1890 from downtown Atlanta, north along N. Boulevard (now Monroe Dr.) to Ponce de Leon Blvd. from where it made a loop north along N. Boulevard (now Monroe Dr.), east on Virginia Ave., south along N. Highland Ave., and west on Ponce de Leon back to the intersection of Ponce de Leon and Boulevard. This streetcar line opened up the area to development. Adair built his home at 964 Rupley Drive (still standing and divided into upscale apartments). The iconic curves in the street at the intersections of Virginia Ave. with N. Highland and Monroe are remnants of the trolley line which required gentle curves. The Trolley Square Apartments near Virginia and Monroe were built on the site of trolley maintenance facilities.
The majority of the houses and streets in Virginia-Highland were constructed between 1910 and 1930.
Development of Commercial Districts
Commercial establishments began to establish themselves around the intersection of Virginia and N. Highland starting in 1908, though many more businesses established themselves there starting in 1925. At the same time development started in the Atkins Park commercial district around St. Charles. Ave. and N. Highland, including the present-day Atkins Park restaurant in 1927. Today Atkins Park Restaurant is reported to have the oldest liquor license in the City of Atlanta. Between 1928 and 1930, the Howard Dry Cleaning Company and the Phelps Millard Grocery were established at N. Highland and Amsterdam Ave.
The Samuel N. Inman School, named after the nineteenth century cotton merchant, was built in 1923. In 1924, Fire Station #19 was built on N. Highland.
Streetcar service to Virginia-Highland ended in the 1940s.
Decline
Virginia-Highland, like most intown Atlanta neighborhoods, suffered decline starting in the 1960s as residents moved to the suburbs. Less affluent residents moved in, some single-family houses were turned into apartments, and crime increased. Some businesses closed and were replaced by lower-rent tenants such as pawn shops. Others, such as Moe’s and Joe’s (which opened in 1947) and Atkins Park Restaurant, stayed open. Many buildings deteriorated.
Threat and Defeat of I-485
What could have been the death knell for the neighborhood sounded in the mid-1960s when the Georgia Department of Transportation proposed building I-485 to connect what is now Freedom Parkway through the neighborhood and along Jonesboro Road to I-85 and Georgia 400. It would have included a massive interchange at Virginia Ave., where John Howell Memorial Park is today, that would have decimated the area and encouraged strip development along the neighborhood’s major street.
Despite the I-485 proposal moving forward, a few middle class families began moving back into the neighborhood, renovating homes. Between 1972 and 1975, property values increased from 20 to 50 percent. Home ownership levels rose 20 percent. A tour of thirteen renovated homes started in 1972. In June 1975, six young couples led by former Atlanta councilwoman Mary David, founded the Virginia-Highland Civic Association (VHCA), whose mission was to defeat I-485. They along with residents of Stone Mountain, Inman Park, and Morningside finally defeated I-485, and became a political force to be reckoned with. The current Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) system is an outgrowth of these events.
The Georgia Department of Transportation began selling properties it had acquired for I-485, virtually all of them for infill housing. The 3 acres (12,000 m 2 ) of land on Virginia Avenue where 11 houses had been demolished to make way for a Virginia Avenue exit, however, was finally opened in 1988 as John Howell Park, in memory of Virginia-Highland resident and anti-freeway activist John Howell, who died from complications of HIV in 1988.
During the 1970s and 1980s the VHCA also worked to improve the city's process of home inspection, to develop a resource network of quality, affordable service providers to aid homeowners in renovation, and to encourage developers to lease renovated commercial buildings “as is” at low rates in order to encourage new and unique businesses, and thus a truly distinct commercial district.
In the early 1980s Atkins Park restaurant was renovated. Meanwhile, Stuart Meddin bought and renovated the 1925 commercial block at North Highland and Virginia.
In November 2006, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation added Virginia-Highland to its list of "places in peril" due to an acceleration of teardowns and infill projects by real estate developers and newcomers to the area. However, Virginia-Highland remains one of the most architecturally historic, distinct and vibrant neighborhoods in Atlanta.
Commercial Districts
Corner Virginia-Highland
At the corner of North Highland and Virginia, the historic Corner Virginia-Highland shopping and dining neighborhood retail district was developed in 1925, was renovated in the 1980s and is currently owned by The Meddin Company.
In 2009, Virginia-Highland became the first carbon-neutral zone in the U.S., through cooperative work with Verus Carbon Neutral and the Chicago Climate Exchange.
The carbon-free zone is the result of a partnership, developed by Verus Carbon Neutral, that links 17 merchants through the Chicago Climate Exchange, to fund the Valley Wood Carbon Sequestration Project as well as charitable foundation in Atlanta. Verus audited each participating business to determined the carbon footprint and helped the group to reduce or completely offset the exact amount of emissions needed to bring the area to carbon neutrality. The offsets purchased directly fund thousands of acres of forest in rural Georgia. The businesses in Atlanta's Virginia-Highland display the Verus Carbon Neutral seal in each storefront and posted a sign prominently declaring the area's Carbon Neutral status.
The seventeen businesses that are part of the "Carbon Neutral Zone" include: Bella Cucina, dabberdoo, Dakota J's, Everybody's Pizza, Fontaine's Oyster House, Half Moon Outfitters, The Highland Tap, La Tavola Trattoria, Lulu Blue, M/3, Mitzi & Romano's, Mitzi's Shoebox, Nadine's Triple Crown, Noche, Paper Source, South of Market, and Wired & Fired Studio.
St. Charles and North Highland Commercial District
Near the corner of St. Charles and N. Highland are numerous businesses including:
- restaurants American Roadhouse, Osteria 832. Panita Thai Kitchen, and Surin of Thailand,
- the historic Atkins Park Tavern and Grill as well as the Dark Horse Tavern,
- the pubs Hand in Hand, Limerick Junction Pub, and Neighbors Pub
- blues club Blind Willies
- delicatessen Belly, formerly the 1914 Atkins Park Pharmacy, later Fleeman's Pharmacy
- salons/spas Key Lime Pie and Van Michael
Amsterdam and North Highland Commercial District
At the northwest corner of Amsterdam Ave. and North Highland Ave. is a complex of business sharing a parking lot, including the U.S. Post Office, San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company, Highland Pet Supply and restaurants Mali (Thai), DBA Barbeque, and the Original El Taco.
Amsterdam Walk
At the far west end of Amsterdam Ave. between Monroe Ave. and the Belt Line is Amsterdam Walk, over 25 businesses built in old warehouse space adjacent to the old rail line. Shops sell furniture, jewelry, clothing, floral design, antiques, shoes, baked goods, cooking accessories, rugs and more. There are also restaurants and bars including and two gay bars.
Ponce de Leon Place
Backing up to the old rail line, Ponce de Leon Place, just north of Ponce de Leon Blvd., is the location of old warehouse space housing the
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