Was Decatur City ever undesirable? (Atlanta, Druid Hills: house, neighborhoods, best schools)

[equinox63]

Was Decatur City ever undesirable? If so when... (between what years)? And how bad was it? Lastly, what caused it to become one of the most desirable communities in the Atlanta Area?

[cmtiger]

I would say that it was pretty undesirable in the 70s and 80s. I remember downtown had a lot of empty store fronts and a lot more wig shops and dingy dime stores than it has now. Things started to turn around in the early 90s.

I think that excellent city planning/marketing that attracted interesting and unique shops, living areas and restaurants is a big reason for the resurgence. All of this took place just as the movement to return to urban areas started to take root. Many people are looking for a more authentic, less planned community and want to be able to walk to school, shopping, work and entertainment. Decatur provides an opportunity for all of that.

Also, parents were willing to take some chances with their kids and put some serious sweat equity into the schools. It paid off and now Decatur has some of the best schools in the state. Our schools also have unique, hands on curricula that you don't see in most public schools which attracts families that are turned of by the test prep mill mentality that you see in some public schools.

So, in my mind, Decatur is a niche community. It doesn't appeal to everyone, but it definitely has a fan base in folks who are looking for something a little different from the norm. It works for folks who want an urban existence but still want to feel that they live in a neighborhood. Folks who like Decatur tend to be more left leaning, though we do have our share of Republicans. They value education, diversity and anything relating to living green.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Was Decatur City ever undesirable? If so when... (between what years)? And how bad was it? Lastly, what caused it to become one of the most desirable communities in the Atlanta Area?

A big part of the City of Decatur turnaround was what happened with the schools...

Many say the new movement/initiative started with Clairemont Elementary in the late 1980's...it was very close to be shut down. The new principal that arrived was instrumental in turning around the school and the community. She brought the community back to the school.

Expeditionary Learning in Decatur started with Clairemont Elementary in the early 1990's.

"The Clairemont Way" (which involved a host of things) spread throughout the system and city.

[SSPD53]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Was Decatur City ever undesirable? If so when... (between what years)? And how bad was it? Lastly, what caused it to become one of the most desirable communities in the Atlanta Area?

When they raised the taxes over and over until the poor could not afford taxes and lost there homes! Thats when Decatur changed!!!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by SSPD53

When they raised the taxes over and over until the poor could not afford taxes and lost there homes! Thats when Decatur changed!!!

Tru dat.

And that is the unfortunate side...

The City of Decatur will eventually be a wealthy enclave...it has been a victim of its own success.

[atlantagreg30127]

When I moved to Atlanta in the mid 80s, downtown Decatur was pretty slummy. The stores/shops surrounding the downtown MARTA station were boarded up and mostly empty and there were quite a few vagrants hanging around there and the bus areas surrounding it. Big turnaround since those days.

[gumboula]

Looking for a bigger house last year, a friend in her late-30s who grew up in Decatur-proper suggested Great Lakes as a place to find an affordable fixer-upper. She howled when I told her the price of homes in the neighborhood. So I would date Great Lakes as an up-and-coming neighborhood to the mid-1980s.

[ericsonga]

My grandparents built a postwar bungalow in 1946 on Alexander Dr., which is at the corner of Candler and Glenwood. They lived there till 1963, when they built a house on Lullwater in Druid Hills. They said that even in '63 they noticed the neighborhood changing. By the seventies I think the whole place had really gone downhill. Eventually they moved out of Atlanta all together in the 80s and moved back to Elbert County where both or their families are from. I would love to see what that house on Lullwater is worth now, haha.

[StellarsellsEmory]

Wow! I've been selling homes in Decatur since the early 1980's and I don't remember when the neighborhoods were not desireable. The downtown area back then was a bit shabby, but neighborhoods like Glendale Estates, Great Lakes & Lamont/Vidal were considered prime areas to live.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by StellarsellsEmory

Wow! I've been selling homes in Decatur since the early 1980's and I don't remember when the neighborhoods were not desireable. The downtown area back then was a bit shabby, but neighborhoods like Glendale Estates, Great Lakes & Lamont/Vidal were considered prime areas to live.

I'm a native, and I never remember Decatur neighborhoods being "undesirable" either. The downtown was a bit tired and unexciting, but not outright dangerous. The residential areas went through a period where they were mostly inhabited by older residents (as did Va-Hi, Morningside, et al) and they began flipping in the late 70's and early 80's.