A (very) brief history of Buckhead
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Many people are familiar with what is probably Atlanta most famous neighborhood; Buckhead. Perhaps fewer, however, know about the history of Buckhead. The backstory of how Buckhead got started, and the path it took to become what it is today, is an interesting one, and one that I look foreword to sharing with you.
Buckhead owes it's name to Henry Irby, who founded a pub and general store in the 1830s north of Atlanta. This establishment was located at the intersection of present day Roswell Road, Peachtree Road and Paces Ferry Road. The pub became a popular watering hole for travelers in what was then a sparsely populated outback.
A community developed around Irby's business, and took on the name Irbyville. Ironically, a seemingly inconsequential move that Irby would soon make would end up having the consequence of forever changing the name of the community named after him. Irby would kill a large deer, and place the head of this buck in a location conspicuous to the numerous folks who traveled through this area. Soon, people began referencing this buck head when referring to this area. Before long, the whole community became known as Buckhead.
In the early 1900s the area began to see more residential development. The area would become an affluent suburb of Atlanta. By mid-century, the Lenox Square Mall would be developed. Some would draw parallels of the importance of this new center for commerce and social gathering and that of Irby's pub and store over 100 years earlier.
Buckhead would enjoy several decades of growth, not only residential but commercial. The area would become famous for shopping, dining and entertainment. By 2000, Buckhead would have a thriving night-life scene, perhaps a little too thriving for local residents. A dense strip of night clubs developed along Peachtree between Pharr Road and East Paces Ferry Road. Weekends began to resemble a raucous Mardi Gras atmosphere, with party-goers spilling into the streets. Eventually there were criminal incidents associated with some of the nightclubs. Residents of Buckhead petitioned the city and were able to obtain increased police presence and restricted hours for nightclubs.
Soon after, local developer Ben Carter put together an aggressive plan to redevelop the entire nightclub area into a high-end shopping district. Dubbed as the "Rodeo Drive of the South", the development was to be known as "The Streets of Buckhead." It was a complex transaction, involving buying out dozens of existing land owners. After construction was well underway, the 2008 recession lead to financing issues, which caused construction to halt for an extended period. As of this writing, the project has obtained new financing and construction is once again underway. The completion of the project is sure to restore any luster that Buckhead may have lost.
In Buckhead's very recent history, an activist group of property owners angry about high property taxes floated an idea for Buckhead to leave the city of Atlanta and become its own city. There is precedent for this, as Sandy Springs had just completed such a move. This idea sparked a lot of emotion on both sides of the issue, and some say the whole idea was just promoted to bring attention to local government waste.
Naturally, there's a lot more to Buckhead history, but hopefully this "Cliff Notes" version gives you some background on the area. If you'd like to learn more, I'd highly recommend a visit to the Atlanta History Center, located on West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead, very close to Heny Irby's place that started it all.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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