Kirkwood

East Atlanta

Good For : Walkability, Parks, Festivals, Festaurants, MARTA | Home Cost : $$$

Walk Score : 57 Walk Score | 39 Transit Score | 65 Bike Score (go to Walk Score)

Embodying many of Atlanta’s most desirable traits, including fine homes in a variety of styles, a rich and varied community history, and a thriving local business district, Kirkwood truly has a lot to offer. In the last 15 years, many investments in public infrastructure and the growth of the business district have led the intersection of Hosea Williams Drive and Oakview Road to become the beating heart of the neighborhood, with the casually vibrant feel of so many small southern towns.

Kirkwood began, like nearly every intown neighborhood, as a streetcar suburb. Many of the largest Victorian homes in the area were built from the 1870s to the turn of the century, at which time Kirkwood was incorporated as a distinct municipality, with its own city government. In the first few decades of the 20th century, new Craftsman bungalows filled in the lots between the older estates, and now the styles blend well with the occasional modern home thrown into the mix.

Even as infill development continues to add to Kirkwood’s density, the neighborhood has preserved a great deal of green space, including the wonderfully wild Kirkwood Urban Forest, where old hardwoods tower over a spring-fed stream. It’s a fantastic sanctuary, one of the somewhat hidden away treasures that nonetheless make a significant contribution to Atlanta’s reputation as a “city in a forest.”