Buckhead (Atlanta)

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Buckhead (sometimes Buckhead Village, and on some signs Buckhead Community) is a community, comprising several neighborhoods, forming approximately the northern one-fifth of Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

A small portion of the Buckhead skyline

1 History and economy
2 Buckhead High-Rise Buildings
3 Education
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History and economy

Lenox Square

Buckhead acquired its unusual name from a long-gone local tavern that prominently displayed a large stuffed buck's head. The community was annexed by Atlanta in 1952, following an earlier attempt by Mayor William B. Hartsfield in 1946 that was voted down by residents.

The main east-west street is West Paces Ferry Road, named for a former ferry across the Chattahoochee River. Hardy Pace, one of Atlanta's founders, operated the ferry and owned much of what is now Buckhead, and as far west as Vinings. The main north-south street is Peachtree Road, which extends south into the heart of the city as Peachtree Street. This name change is significant in that it defines a border between Buckhead and midtown. The area north of Buckhead, beyond the Atlanta city limit, is Sandy Springs.

Buckhead is one of Atlanta's most important business districts, and includes Atlanta's wealthiest neighborhoods, with the Georgia Governor's Mansion, a part-time residence of Elton John, and the Atlanta History Center with its museum and library. Buckhead was also the home of golf legend Bobby Jones until his death in 1971. Although there are some moderately priced homes in the area, the price of most homes and condos starts at around $500,000 and extends well beyond $10,000,000[1]. Buckhead also helps to cement Atlanta reputation as the "Shopping Mecca of the Southeast" with more than 1,400 retail units where shoppers spend in excess of $1 billion a year.[2] The primary shopping district comprises Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. Located diagonally across the street, these sister malls together feature more than 350 boutiques and also offer the highest concentration of high end stores in the United States.[3] [4]

The area has numerous luxury hotels, including the InterContinental, the Grand Hyatt, the JW Marriott, and the Ritz-Carlton. The area also includes more modest lodgings, as well as many restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Buckhead is home to two of the nation's only fourteen Mobil five-star restaurants, Seeger's and The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.^[1] Local residents and many publications often refer to Buckhead as the "Beverly Hills of the South", and Robb Report magazine has consistently ranked it one of the USA's "10 Top Affluent Communities" for "some of the most beautiful mansions, best shopping and finest restaurants in the southeastern United States".[5][6][7][8]

To reverse a downturn in the village area during the 1980s, minimum parking spot requirements for bars were lifted which quickly led to it becoming the densest concentration of bars and clubs in the city. [9] During the late 1990s Buckhead experienced an increased crime rate around the area's nightclubs and shopping districts, culminating in several gang-style shoot-outs and homicides including one involving NFL star Ray Lewis. Beginning in 2004, residents sought to ameliorate this situation by taking measures to reduce the community's nightlife and re-establish a more residential character. The Buckhead Coalition was instrumental in persuading Atlanta City Council to pass an ordinance to close bars at 2:30 a.m. rather than 4 a.m., and liquor licenses were made more difficult to obtain. The combination of these two factors left the village with a third of its storefronts vacant by late 2005.^{[citation needed]} A number of projects, under proposal or under construction, have been initiated to replace these vacant properties, most being oriented towards upscale patrons.

Buckhead's heritage as an entertainment district has continued but in a much safer manner. Today, over 50 bars and restaurants thrive in Buckhead.

[edit] Buckhead High-Rise Buildings

While much of west and north Buckhead maintains itself in single-family unit residential, forested settings, the Peachtree Road corridor has become a major focus of high-rise construction. The first 400-foot (121 m) office tower, Tower Place, opened in 1974. Park Place, in 1986, was the first 400+ foot (121+ m) condominium. 1986 Also saw the completion of the 425-foot (129 m), 34-story Atlanta Plaza, then Buckhead's tallest and largest building. In 2000, Park Avenue Condominums upped the ante, pushing the record to 486 feet (148 m). Since that time, a wave of development has followed. Currently the 660-foot (201 m) Sovereign and 580-foot (177 m) Mansion on Peachtree are in a race for the sky (both set for completion in late 2007). Today Buckhead has over 50 high-rise buildings, almost one-third of the city total. [10]

[edit] Education

Buckhead, like all areas of Atlanta, is part of the Atlanta Public Schools district.

The following public elementary schools serve Buckhead:

Morris Brandon Elementary School
Garden Hills Elementary School
Warren T. Jackson Elementary School
Margaret Mitchell Elementary School
Sarah Rawson Smith Elementary School
E. Rivers Elementary School (replaced Peachtree Heights School)

The area is served by Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High School.

Local private schools include the Atlanta International School, The Galloway School, Holy Spirit Preparatory School, The Lovett School, Pace Academy, The Atlanta Speech School and The Westminster Schools.

Also located in Buckhead is the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business Executive Education Center. This facility houses the e.M.B.A. program and Terry Third Thursday, a lecture series featuring business leaders.

[edit] Trivia

Buckhead is featured heavily in Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full.

Robert B. Parker's Spencer has lunch at Buckhead Life Group's Corner Cafe in Hugger Mugger.

The novel Peachtree Road by Anne Rivers Siddons takes place almost entirely in Buckhead, and explores the values, morals and accomplishments of the community through the eyes of Shep Bondurant, a quintessential Buckhead gentleman.