- Scott Martin
- The West End area gained historic district status 10 years ago.
The area was settled in 1835, and was a key part of the Confederate Army's defense of Atlanta in 1864. The city of Atlanta annexed the West End in 1894, and by the early 1900s, the neighborhood already was showing its age. The area gained historic district status 10 years ago.
Author Joel Chandler Harris of "Uncle Remus" fame lived in the West End in the Wren's Nest. While the well-preserved 19th-century home seems a bit out of place on busy Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, dozens of smaller Victorian homes can be found on the narrow residential streets to the north and south.
District 4 City Councilwoman Cleta Winslow moved to the West End as a graduate student in the late 1970s. She stayed because of the convenient location and the sense of community.
"I moved in back in 1977 with the original urban pioneers," Winslow said. "Now we have a resurgence of people coming in and buying the historic homes and restoring them."
Candy-colored homes line most streets in the West End. It's not unusual to find old-fashioned street lamps and house numbers hung on poles out front. Many homes have decorative stained-glass windows, high ceilings and hardwood floors -- the kind of detail that's difficult to find in modern homes.
The historic homes are in varying states of repair, but a wave of investment in the neighborhood has brought higher home prices. Newly renovated homes in the area are listed at $215,000 and $299,000.
"Two years ago, you could have gotten something for $40,000 or $50,000," said Gwen Porter, president of West End Neighborhood Development Inc. "Now you can't find anything under $100,000, and that's with work left to do on it."
Porter bought a dilapidated home 20 years ago in the West End, and has seen her investment pay off. Crime in the area has decreased since the early '90s, and the Atlanta Regional Commission is developing plans to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
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As an interior designer, I looked at so many homes all over the city and settled on the West End. This place not only has some incredible historic homes, but the neighbors I've met are professionals and visionaries who are working together to make this great location more and more sought after. I've felt completely safe here and am encouraged by the new people who are choosing to move in and invest in this part of the city. You can't beat the location...literally minutes from downtown and the airport. The water and sewer lines are in the process of being completely revitalized and when that project is complete the roads are all being repaved, street lights added and enhanced sidewalks installed. The first section of the beltway starts in the West End. Very few parts of city living offer this much promise. I would highly recommend anyone thinking of moving closer to the city to check out the West End.
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