Avondale Estates


East Atlanta

Neighborhood Website

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

Walk Score : 48 Walk Score (go to Walk Score)

 

It doesn’t take long to realize that Avondale Estates is a unique place. While Tudor Revival homes can be seen throughout neighboring communities in Decatur and Atlanta, nowhere else is an entire downtown district composed of the striking architectural style. Couple that with a burgeoning small business community, dynamic schools, and a long list of city amenities and you have a community with a lot to offer.

Originally developed around the turn of the 19th century as a community called Ingleside, the area took on a whole new shape in 1924 when local magnate George Francis Willis bought the entire town for a planned community, the southeast’s first. Having just returned from a trip to Shakespeare’s home of Stratford-upon-Avon, Willis had the community redesigned with strong influences from the British style.

The architecture isn’t the only notable aspect of Avondale’s unique history. Few would have imagined how successful a little restaurant called “Waffle House” would become. The very first one opened in Avondale Estates in 1955 and now functions as a museum to the company. Just south of the business district is the lovely Lake Avondale, surrounded by ranch homes which give residents a surprisingly country setting for being so close to Atlanta. And just under a mile north of the town, one of Atlanta’s other most prized businesses, the “Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market” beckons customers to sample an astonishing array of produce and foods from around the world. The distinctive business district has managed to weather the economic upheavals of the last century, and has seen a surge of new investment in the last decade.

Served by the Avondale and Kensington MARTA stations, residents of Avondale Estates have the opportunity to have a distinctly comfortable, country-style home, while also having convenient access to the job opportunities in Decatur and Atlanta, just minutes away.