Druid Hills-Atlanta Real Estate Listings of Houses and Homes for Sale in DeKalb County, Georgia


	Druid Hills-Atlanta Houses for Sale

Druid Hills-Atlanta

Druid Hills was the innovation of Atlanta developer Joel Hurt. He hired Fredrick Law Olmsted to develop Hurt’s “ideal residential suburb.” Olmsted began the design work in 1893, after Central Park, the US Capitol grounds, the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Stanford University and Riverside, Illinois. Olmsted’s design for Riverside was revolutionary because the thought of creating a beautiful, scenic environment with plenty of open space, curving streets, and transitional public and private areas filled with lush plantings was a new concept in city planning. Riverside was the model on which Druid Hills was based. Olmsted wanted Druid Hills homeowners coming home after a day of work in the city to pass through parks to homes “well shaded by handsome, umbrageous, permanently thrifty trees” in neighborhoods with a “pleasing rural, or, at least, semi-rural, character of scenery… to be permanently enjoyed” as he wrote in a letter to Hurt in 1890.

Ponce de Leon Avenue functions as a central corridor for the neighborhood and features a separate space for vehicles and non-vehicular traffic. The streets fit Olmsted’s description in an early proposal for "roads of moderate grace and curves, avoiding any great disturbance of the natural topography." The parks along the Avenue provide green spaces that are distinct in their landscaping, and create transitional public space to the large private home lots. Later developments in Druid Hills retain the spirit of Olmsted’s design with vistas, parks and parkways. The homes and gardens in Druid Hills are on display during the annual home and garden tour.

Atlanta is a city of strength and diversity. Nearly destroyed during the Civil War by General Sherman’s troops during the “March to the Sea,” Atlanta rebuilt and thrived. The city is filled with history, architecture and artifacts from Indian mounds built thousands of years before the Christ, to plantation life and the coming of the railroad, to the racial upheavals during the 1960s when Atlanta was known as "the city too busy to hate," to the election of Andrew Young, the first African-American elected to Congress and who later became the mayor of Atlanta, to the site of the Democratic National Convention in 1988 to hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 1996. Today, Atlanta is the “city not too busy to care.”

Atlanta was founded in 1837 as a survey stake for the developing Western & Atlantic Railroad line. Originally called Marthasville and nicknamed Terminus for its location at the end of the line, Atlanta was named for the railroad using the feminine version of Atlantic. The Atlanta History Center, formed in 1926, exists to “inspire people to connect to the past so they may better understand the present and prepare for the future.” This Center is located in the Buckhead Forest neighborhood and includes one of the Southeast’s largest history museums, a research library, the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, gardens, the Swan House and the Tullie Smith Farm on 33 acres. Other historic places to visit include the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the Henry W. Grady Monument (Grady coined the term “The New South”), the Herndon Home where the first black millionaire, Alonzo Herndon, lived, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the Wren’s Nest where Joel Chandler Harris created the Uncle Remus Stories, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University, and Grant Park where the Battle of Atlanta took place. Old Fort Walker, scenic trails, the Atlanta Cyclorama and Zoo Atlanta are in Grant Park.

The Chattahoochee River offers canoeing and rafting for adventurous types. Those who want a different sort of adventure can hike, ride horses or bikes, or play tennis in the many parks in Atlanta. Golf courses for players of every ability can be found throughout the city. For fans of professional sports, the Atlanta Braves call their balls and strikes at Turner Field, the Atlanta Falcons pass the pigskin at the Georgia Dome, and the Atlanta Hawks tip off at Phillips Arena. The Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts NASCAR racing.

Unique shopping can be found at Underground Atlanta. The underground portion of the shopping area existed before the Civil War. Historic buildings and storefronts have been preserved and restored both above and below ground. There are over 130 shops and 10 restaurants at Underground Atlanta. A number of other malls and shopping centers can be found around Atlanta. Nightclubs in the area feature music, comedy and dancing. Performances at live theatre venues, the Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Symphony are cultural pursuits for young and old. The Dogwood Festival is held each April, the 10k Peachtree Road Race is held on July 4, and the Atlanta History Center’s Folklife Festival is held in October.

Atlanta is located in both Fulton County and DeKalb County. Downtown Atlanta and the Intown neighborhoods of Poncey-Highland, Inman Park, Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown are in Fulton County. Fulton County was formed out of DeKalb County in 1853. The County is named for Robert Fulton who invented the first commercially successful steamboat, the Clermont, in 1807. Intown neighborhoods of Druid Hills, Lake Claire and Candler Park are located in DeKalb County. DeKalb County is named for Baron Johann DeKalb, the only general in the American Revolution to die on the battlefield. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Camden in South Carolina. Decatur was chartered as the county seat of DeKalb in 1823.