At A Glance
In A Nutshell
Grant Park, East Atlanta, Ormewood Park and Kirkwood/Edgewood are pleasant close-in Eastside neighborhoods filled with a mix of housing, a wealth of amenities and enough attractions to appeal to a wide range of ages and interests. Grant Park is home to Zoo Atlanta and sports a great mix of bungalows and larger Victorians joined by old brick sidewalks that encourage strolling and socializing. Ormewood Park has experienced rapid gentrification in the last decade and a half, and still has original Craftsman homes scattered among newer townhomes and retail districts.
Getting Around
Moving about this area is a bit more difficult than in most Atlanta neighborhoods. Although East Atlanta is hip and trendy, it's not as walkable and public transportation not as available as in other areas. In fact, you have to transfer from rail to bus to reach East Atlanta Village, the commercial, shopping and entertainment hub of the district, because it's not easy to reach without a car.
The Scene
Primarily residential, East Atlanta is bounded roughly by Interstates 20 and 85 on the north and west. Grant Park is the oldest and fourth-largest public park in the city, and the atmosphere in these neighborhoods is settled and stable. Newer homes and townhomes mix well with the traditional, and about 70% of households are owner-occupied. In the area of Grant Park, just east of I85, the ownership rate drops to under 50%.
The Backstory
These are the neighborhoods just southeast of Downtown Atlanta and, although they date to the late 1800s, their major growth occurred in the years bracketing World War II, after which they declined somewhat. In recent years, the East Atlanta Strut effort has focused attention on the "good stuff" happening in the area, including the Strut Artists Market.
Grant Park’s distinctive landscape includes rolling hills and scenic vistas. The neighborhood’s grid street pattern and narrow rectangular lots which developed during the 1890s and early 1900s are representative of Atlanta residential plans of this era. The streets are lined with mature trees and there is an extensive sidewalk system, portions of which are the original brick. Due to the topography, retaining walls are an important landscape feature.
Throughout its existence, Grant Park has provided a respite for the city dweller as a place for recreation and amusement. The neighborhood’s retention of its street patterns, landscape architecture, and public amenities from its formative period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributes to the historic environment which makes Grant Park one of Atlanta’s most valuable and significant early residential districts.