Tiny Avondale Estates covers the majority of 30002. There’s an interesting history to this part of town: it was one of the first “planned communities” (long before the term was coined) in the city. The developer in charge had spent some time in the overseas, and was so taken with Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford Upon Avon that he decided to take a few notes out of the medieval playbook and transplant the distinctive architectural style of the English countryside to Atlanta.
The result, today, is one of the most downright charming downtowns you’re going to find; over the decades, it’s been maintained to resemble a sleepy British town from days of yore, arched roofs, exposed wooden beams, and all. In the back streets, gable-adorned manor homes are an interesting deviation from the traditional, of-the-time Victorian, craftsman, and midcentury homes more common to Atlanta’s neighborhoods.
For all its quirk and circumstance, there’s a palpable charm to Avondale Estates. The neighborhood’s not for everyone, but those who call it home are fiercely proud of their slice of the city, and wouldn’t have it any other way. At the very least, architecture buffs owe themselves a stroll through the area.