Sandwiched between Downtown and Buckhead, Midtown Atlanta is one of the city’s most well-known, bustling neighborhoods. Home to Piedmont Park, miles of skyscrapers, three MARTA stations, and even more Fortune 500 company offices, this dense district is a modern metropolis. The area has a rich history that spans nearly 150 years.
As settlers expanded north after the Civil War, Peachtree Street transformed from a rural path to a premiere road lined with mansions and shops. Midtown hosted the Piedmont Exhibition in 1887, and later the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, touting innovations and boosting Atlanta’s reputation. After the success of both events, the city purchased the land, which became today’s Piedmont Park. Expanded streetcar lines and prime locations attracted wealthy residents. The area around Peachtree and 10th became a signature retail spot.
The introduction of the Downtown Connector and the popularity of newer, flashier suburbs caused a decline in Midtown by the 1960s. But the decline also meant cheap rent and opportunity, which attracted artists, hippies and the counterculture movement. It’s here where the origins of Midtown’s reputation as an LGBT oasis bloomed. Artists found Midtown a budding hub with the development of the Memorial Arts Center and the Atlanta College of Art. While the areas between Ponce and 14th now conjure images of sterile glass towers and office workers on scooters, 50 years ago it was home to seedy businesses and struggling artists.
The development of Colony Square, MARTA’s new subway system, and several corporate towers in the 1970s sharply reversed this trend as big money was once again attracted to Midtown. AT&T’s desire to bulldoze the historic Fox Theatre for development spawned a successful movement to “Save the Fox” and the theater was protected with historic designation. However many of the old mansions and apartment buildings were not as lucky in the coming decades of development.
The…
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