English Avenue and Vine City

English Avenue banner on street light pole

Vine City sign with Georgia Dome in background

English Avenue and Vine City are two adjacent and closely linked neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia. Together the neighborhoods make up neighborhood planning unit L.^[1] The two neighborhoods are frequently cited together in reference to shared problems and to shared redevelopment schemes and revitalization plans.^[2][3][4][5]

English Avenue is bounded by the railroad line and the Marietta Street Artery neighborhood to the northeast, Northside Drive and downtown Atlanta to the east, Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. (formerly Ashby St.) and the Bankhead neighborhood to the west, and Joseph E. Boone Blvd. (called Simpson St. until 2008) and Vine City to the south. Its population was 3,309 in 2010.^[6]

Vine City is bounded by Joseph E. Boone Blvd. (Simpson) and the English Avenue neighborhood to the north, Northside Drive and downtown Atlanta to the east, Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. (formerly Hunter St.) and the Atlanta University Center to the south, and Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. (Ashby) and the Washington Park neighborhood to the west. Its population was 2,785 in 2010.^[6]

A section of the area, "The Bluff," is infamous throughout Metro Atlanta as a high crime area, but in late 2011, English Avenue and Vine City were the focus of multiple improvement plans, including a network of parks and trails,^[2][7] increased police presence, and "rebranding" for a more positive image.^[8][9][10]

History

Herndon Home, built by black insurance magnate Alonzo Herndon

Houses in proposed Sunset Avenue Historic District

Houses in proposed Sunset Avenue Historic District - in background, Herndon Stadium and Fountain Hall at Morris Brown College

Former church on King Dr., Vine City

John F. Kennedy Park, Vine City

Development

What is now the English Avenue neighborhood was purchased in 1891 by James W. English, Jr., son of Atlanta mayor James W. English. It was created as a white working-class neighborhood. Simpson Road was long a residential race barrier with whites to the north and blacks to the south.^[11] Today's English Avenue was known at different times as Bellwood^[12] and as Western Heights. In 1910 the Western Heights school (later renamed Kingbery after a principal of the school, then renamed English Avenue Elementary School) was built at the northeast corner of English Ave. and Pelham St.^[13]

Overcrowding in the neighborhood's school is documented as a serious issue from at least 1910 through 1946 (photo), notwithstanding multiple expansions of the facility.^{[14][15][16][17]}

The area south of Simpson Road — today's Vine City — was settled at the end of the 1800s by large land owners, and a predominantly African-American residential area was established, though there were also white subdivisions, schools, and churches. A mix of social classes were present. In 1910 Alonzo F. Herndon, founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, built his home at 587 University Place, now listed on the National Register and open to visitors.^[18]

Racial tension and transition

The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 contributed to the already great need for housing for African Americans and by the 1920s-1940s, despite violence and bombings trying to prevent it, blacks started to move north across Simpson Road,^[11] which resulted in the community falling into disrepair due to a massive increase in crime.

In 1941, the Eagan Homes and Herndon Homes public housing projects opened and as a result, the black population in the area increased. On Hunter Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), white business owners once lived behind their stores, but in the 1940s, black owners started taking over these businesses.^[18] In 1947 Paschal's Restaurant, an Atlanta soul food landmark and meeting place for civil rights leaders, opened in its original location on West Hunter Street.^[18] In 1951, the English Avenue Elementary School's designation was changed from white to black in response to most whites having moved out of the area.^[19]

Heyday and Civil Rights

During the mid-20th century, the area was a middle-class African-American neighborhood.^[20] Commercial areas included English Avenue; Simpson Street/Road, in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s; and Bankhead Highway, which was part of the US Highway system, and was in its splendor in the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. moved to the area in 1967, and his widow Coretta Scott King continued to live here until she moved to a Peachtree Road luxury condominium purchased for her by Oprah Winfrey in 2004.

In 1960, the English Avenue elementary school was dynamited, likely in retaliation for civil rights demonstrations by blacks. Mayor William B. Hartsfield condemned the dynamiting as the work of those from outside Atlanta, "the outhouse set".^[19] The area experienced notable pro- and anti-Black Power riots in 1966^[21] and 1967.^[22]

Decline and crime

Abandoned houses, Proctor at Oliver streets, English Avenue

Suburbanization started draining the area's vitality starting in the 1970s.^[11] Over the following decades, it attracted buyers and sellers of heroin, and deteriorated into a corner of poverty in the city, characterized by large numbers of abandoned, boarded-up houses.^[20]

In 1995 the English Avenue Elementary School closed.^[13]

In 2006, a "no-knock raid" in search of a drug dealer, burst into the home of Kathryn Johnston. Ms. Johnston, in her 80s, opened fire on the officers and wounded three and was killed by return fire from the officers. The incident resulted in much anger in the neighborhood and in close scrutiny of police use of "no-knock warrants" in drug raids.^[23]

The 2008 tornado caused major damage in areas of Vine City (photos).

The 2010s foreclosure crisis hit the neighborhoods hard.^[24] In April 2012, Creative Loafing reported that "on some streets more houses are boarded up than are lived in". Occupy Atlanta protested the Vine City foreclosure of Mrs. Pamela Flores by Bank of America.^[25]

The desperate state of the area was described by reporter Thomas Wheatley in Creative Loafing in September 2012 as:^[26]

"boarded-up homes built among the trees along the narrow streets,…people loitering in the middle of vacant lots, casting hollow stares at passing motorists, and…young men hanging out on street corners, hollering at passers-by and then to lookouts down the street"

Revitalization

Recent revitalization efforts in the Vine City neighborhood include the Westside Commons town home complex, photographed here during the 2014 snowstorm.

Former Attempts

Failure of empowerment zone

In November 1994, the Atlanta Empowerment Zone was established, a 10-year, $250 million federal program to revitalize Atlanta's 34 poorest neighborhoods including the Bluff. Scathing reports from both the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs revealed corruption, waste, bureaucratic incompetence, and interference by mayor Bill Campbell.^[27][28]

Replacement of public housing projects

As part of the Atlanta Housing Authority's systematic replacement of public housing projects by mixed-income communities (MIC), Eagan Homes was demolished and the Magnolia Park MIC replaced it. Herndon Homes was demolished in 2011.^[29]

Current efforts at revitalization

Historic Westside Village mixed-use project and WalMart

New townhomes at Westside Village, August 2012

A WalMart under construction at Westside Village, August 2012

In 1999, the Atlanta Housing Authority first announced plans for the "Historic Westside Village", a $130 million commercial, residential and retail project at the area's southern end near Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. at Ashby St.^[30] A Publix supermarket opened in May 2002^[31] but the overall project stalled by 2003 as further anchor tenants did not materialize.^[32] This, along with disappointing sales, caused the Publix - the only full-sized supermarket for miles around - to close in December 2009.^[33] Creative Loafing called the project the most notorious "municipal boondoggle...to have tarred Atlanta" during mayor Bill Campbell's era; the project "fell victim to...cronyism, bureaucratic incompetence and a flagrant disregard for federal lending guidelines".^[34] In December 2010 things looked up as the Atlanta Development Authority announced plans for Wal-Mart to open a store on the site, which Mayor Kasim Reed called "an end to the food desert in the area".^[35][36] In January 2013 the Wal-Mart opened for business.^[37][38]

Black-white coalition

The Christian Science Monitor reported that by 2008, businessman John Gordon and Rev. Anthony Motley, a 20-year resident of The Bluff, "Atlanta's roughest 'hood", had "formed a black-white coalition seeking angel investors" and brought together "local businesses, neighboring Georgia Tech, and church leaders to inspire not just city and private investment, but also to light a spark of hope among law-abiding residents – many of them older people fearful of the streets outside their front doors. Their unusual friendship" had "helped inspire two massive clean-up efforts, a small but significant drop in crime, and glimmers of fresh paint and clean-swept front walks."^[39]

Mims Park

Mims Park was once a prominent city park in Vine City named after Livingston Mims, who was mayor of Atlanta from 1901 to 1903. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed Piedmont Park in Midtown and Central Park in New York City, however it was demolished to build Bethune Elementary School decades ago.^[40]

In 2011 an effort surfaced to rebuild Mims Park in a different location, in a series of vacant lots located along the south side of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, pushed by the National Monuments Foundation and Rodney Cook, a descendant of mayor Mims. In 2012, the Atlanta city council approved re-creating Historic Mims Park. Incorporating Olmsted's original plans, Mims Park will also include "sculptures of civil rights leaders, an urban farm, and an 80-foot "peace column.""^[41][42]

In December 2011 Park Pride, a greenspace advocacy group, proposed a network of streams and ponds, covered up for a century, which would be re-exposed and linked by 200 acres (81 ha) of parkland and trails in Vine City and English Avenue.^[2] In 2015, cleanup of the site began as a step towards overhauling the park, to include monument of a number of prominent Atlantans and Civil Rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Booker T. Washington.^[43]

English Avenue Elementary School, site of a proposed "green technology global community center"

Other recent improvement efforts

In May 2010 the non-profit Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, founded and directed by "Able" Mable Thomas bought the English Avenue Elementary School with the intention to convert it into a "state of the art green technology global community center".^[44]

In March 2011, NPU L voted in favor of a Sunset Avenue Historic District from Joseph E. Boone Blvd. southward to Magnolia Street.^[5]

In December 2011, the nonprofit Friends of English Avenue arranged for a married couple, both police officers, to live rent-free in a neighborhood house. "Able" Mable Thomas and others expressed the need for a "rebranding" of the area similar to the one which rebranded crime and prostitution-infested Stewart Avenue in Southwest Atlanta as Metropolitan Parkway.^[45]

Other transformative efforts continued in 2014. A new Urban Perform gym opened on Joseph E. Boone Blvd designed to empower residents to make healthy lifestyle changes.^[46] The gym also hosts a local farmer's market on Saturdays which offers fresh, organic, produce from local community gardens. One of these gardens is the Historic Westside Gardens, which hopes to expand through a cooperative effort with the National Monument Foundation into Mims Park.

The Westside Works, a non-profit and jobs training center, opened in 2014 at the site of former E.R. Carter School at 80 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. NW. Their mission is to serve the underserved by teaching new skills crucial to the modern workforce. As of summer 2014, they have graduated their first class of trainees.^[47]

Current Investment

There are multiple efforts underway to encourage and promote home ownership in Vine City and English Avenue. Invest Atlanta has a trust fund which provides up to 10% of the downpayment for a first time homeowner, up to $15,000. ^[48] Home Atlanta 4.0 provides up to 5% of the house cost, but waives the first-time buyer requirement.

Invest Atlanta and the Arthur M. Blank Foundation have also recently partnered up to provide $30 million in seed money for innovative and transformative non-profits to help revitalize the two neighborhoods.

More recently, Friendship Baptist church has been in talks with developers regarding Downtown West, a new construction development adjacent to the new Falcon's stadium.^[49]

Culture

The Westside Beltline is a yet unpaved mixed-use green space in the Atlanta Metropolitan region. Established on the site of a former railroad line, the Westside Beltline links the neighborhoods of West End, Adair Park, Washington Park, and Vine City.

Revitalization in English Avenue continues with work on multiple community gardens. A before & after picture of the English Avenue Community Farm.

The nearby Washington Park Natatorium features one of the largest competition sized pools in the city of Atlanta and offers low-cost fitness classes.

Festival

In 2012, an annual festival was established, the Historic Westside Village Festival. The event includes educational seminars, vendors, a Kids Zone, and a concert stage, with proceeds going to local charities and services. In 2013 the festival took place on September 21.^[50]

English Avenue Festival of Lights

The annual Festival of Lights is directed by the English Avenue Cultural Arts Council. The Festival is an exhibition of the community and encourages community members to be a light in their neighborhood. There is a Children's pavilion, free food and drinks, and an exhibition of local non-profits.

Local attractions

Vine City abuts the future site of the Westside Beltline. At this time, the pathway is unpaved, but remains a scenic hike which connects southward to the West End neighborhoods.

Another nearby facility is the Washington Park Natatorium, one of the largest public competition pools in the city. It consists of a 10 lane 25 yard by 25 meter heated competition pool. The pool depth goes from 6 feet 7 inches to 9 feet. There is a large bleacher section that overlooks the pool for viewing our aquatics programs and spectator seating during swim meets and swim lessons. Various fitness classes are also offered at low-cost.^[51]

"The Bluff"

The Bluff is a district within the area that is infamous throughout metro Atlanta for the availability of drugs, heroin in particular.^[52][53][20]

The borders of The Bluff are defined differently by different sources. For example the Atlanta Journal-Constitution^[20] and Creative Loafing^[53] both defined The Bluff as including all of English Avenue and Vine City. However, a more recent and in-depth December 2011 series of reports by 11 Alive TV news, referred to The Bluff as a "section of English Avenue".^[8][9][10] The English Avenue/Vine City area has some of the highest poverty and crime rates in the city, with the Carter St. area surrounding the Vine City MARTA station ranking in 2010 as the #1 most dangerous neighborhood in Atlanta and #5 in the United States.^[54][55]

The Bluff in films, music, and books

• The 2012 film "Snow on tha Bluff" directed by Damon Russell "the story of an Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer". The film stars Curtis Snow, "whose livelihood revolves around armed robbery and drug pushing" and "sought out Russell to make a film about his life". It premiered at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival, a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry.^{[56][57][58][59][60]}
• The 2006 independent docudrama, "The Bluff", focused on the crime, drugs and violence in the neighborhood.^[61][62]
• Many rap music lyrics include references to the Bluff, including Young Jeezy in his songs "Vacation" ("I'm goin' to da Bluff where it's rough") and "Paper Chasin'"^[63]
• The Bluff is a key location in Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full^[64]
• The Bluff is featured in the July 10, 2012 episode of Frontline entitled ENDGAME: Aids in Black America, and includes a discussion of a needle exchange program.^[65]
• The Bluffs mentioned in Bradford Cox/Deerhunter's track "Basement Scene", off of album 'Halcyon Digest': "In The Bluffs they know my name, in The Bluffs they know".^[66]

Public transportation

The area is served by the MARTA rail Blue Line and Green Line at the Vine City and Ashby stations. Bus lines serving the neighborhood are the 3 along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, the 51 along Joseph E. Boone Blvd., and the 26 along Cameron M. Alexander Blvd. (known as Kennedy St. until 2010),^[67] English Avenue and Donald L. Hollowell Pkwy.^[68]

Famous residents

• Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King
• 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain spent his early youth here, attending English Avenue School and the age of 10 joining Rev. Cameron M. Alexander's Baptist mega-church.^[69]
• Singer Gladys Knight and two of the Pips attended English Avenue Elementary School^[70]
• Judge Marvin S. Arrington, Sr.^[71]
• Mayor Maynard H. Jackson, Jr.^[71]
• Comedian Bruce Bruce grew up in the Bluff ^[72]
• Gangster and Star of the 2012 movie "Snow on Tha Bluff", Curtis Snow

References

External links

• Photographs of "the forgotten Bluff"

Coordinates: 33°45′48″N 84°24′37″W / 33.763441°N 84.410341°W / 33.763441; -84.410341