Buckhead

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Buckhead
—  Community  —
The Buckhead skyline as seen from Cobb County, Georgia
Coordinates: 33°50′22″N 84°22′48″W / 33.83942°N 84.37992°W / 33.83942; -84.37992Coordinates: 33°50′22″N 84°22′48″W / 33.83942°N 84.37992°W / 33.83942; -84.37992
Elevation	225-320 m (738-1,050 ft)
Population (2007)
- Total	100,000 (approximately)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website	buckhead.net

This page is about the neighborhood of Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. For the city see Buckhead, Georgia.

Buckhead is the uptown district within the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Comprising over 100,000 residents^{[citation needed]} and approximately the northern one-fifth of the city, Buckhead is legally defined as that portion of the city of Atlanta northwest of Interstate 85 and northeast of Interstate 75.

It is sometimes promoted as the "Beverly Hills of the South" in reference to Beverly Hills, California, an area to which it is often compared.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

History

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The name "Buckhead" comes from a story that Henry Irby, who had a general store and tavern at what is now the intersection of West Paces Ferry Road and Roswell Road, killed a large buck deer and placed the head in a prominent location.^[9] Prior to this, it was called Irbyville through most of the 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

The community was annexed by Atlanta in 1952, following an earlier attempt by Mayor William B. Hartsfield in 1946 that was voted down by residents.^{[citation needed]}

The main north/south street is Peachtree Road, which extends south into the heart of the city as Peachtree Street. This name change is significant in that it defines a border between Buckhead and Midtown Atlanta. The main east/west street is Paces Ferry Road, named for a former ferry across the Chattahoochee River. Hardy Pace, one of Atlanta's founders, operated the ferry and owned much of what is now Buckhead, and as far west as Vinings. The area north of Buckhead, beyond the Atlanta city limit, is since 2005 the city of Sandy Springs.^{[citation needed]}

Wealth

According to Forbes Magazine, Buckhead is home to the ninth-wealthiest zip code in the nation (30327), with a household income in excess of $341,000 per year and is the location of one of the wealthiest of Atlanta's neighborhoods.^[10] Home to the Georgia Governor's Mansion, the area's real estate market is also the most expensive in the state of Georgia with an average home value in 2005 of approximately $761,000.^[11][12] Two of the nation's fourteen Mobil five-star restaurants — Seeger's and The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, can be found here and Robb Report magazine has consistently ranked it one of the nation's "10 Top Affluent Communities" for "some of the most beautiful mansions, best shopping, and finest restaurants in the Southeastern United States".^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Shopping

Buckhead is an internationally renowned shopping district with more than 1,400 retail units where shoppers spend more than $1 billion a year.^[18] In addition, Buckhead contains the highest concentration of upscale boutiques in the United States.^[19] Historically the primary shopping district comprises Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, sister regional malls located diagonally across Peachtree Road and Lenox Road from each other. In regards to high fashion, countless designer and upscale boutiques are found in the district. Some of these include Coach, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Club Monaco, Tiffany & Co, Hermès, Cartier, Gucci, Burberry, Bill Hallman, Bvlgari, Versace, Vidal Sassoon, Karen Millen, French Connection, BCBG Max Azria, Kenneth Cole, Roche Bobois, Zara, Stuart Weitzman, Barneys Co-Op, Wolford, Cole Haan, Jimmy Choo, Ed Hardy, Elie Tahari, Betsey Johnson, Theory, Valentino, Max Mara, Nicole Miller, Polo Ralph Lauren, True Religion, Diesel, Lacoste, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Charriol, Salvatore Ferragamo, David Yurman, Roberto Coin, Tory Burch, Bally, BOSS Hugo Boss, 7 For All Mankind, Juicy Couture, Bang & Olufsen, St. Croix, and Max Studio. Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's & Belk are the primary department stores in the vicinity.

Currently stalled, the area's newest shopping destination, The Streets of Buckhead aims to bring even more exclusive boutiques to Atlanta in a street level shopping district as well as the 5 star St. Regis Atlanta, additional upscale dining options, new multi-million dollar condominiums and office space. Some of the tenants announced to come to The Streets of Buckhead include Bottega Veneta, Domenico Vecca, Baccarat, Vilebrequin, Etro, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès, Oscar de la Renta, Brioni, Christofle, John Lobb, Van Cleef & Arpels, Luigi Borrelli, and Loro Piana.^[20] Other stores such as Vera Wang, Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Dior, Ermenegildo Zegna, Chloé, CH Carolina Herrera, and Prada have all mentioned interest in expanding in Buckhead.^[21] The development is quoted as being part of a vision to turn Peachtree Road into a viable shopping and entertainment vicinity much like Fifth Avenue, with Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza to the north and the Streets of Buckhead to the south.^[22][23]

Local activity

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Lenox Square

To reverse a downturn in the Village area during the 1980s, minimum parking spot requirements for bars were lifted, which quickly led to it becoming the most dense concentration of bars and clubs in the city.^[24] During the late 1990s Buckhead experienced an increased crime rate around the area's nightclubs and shopping districts, culminating in several gang-style shoot-outs and homicides including one involving NFL star Ray Lewis. Beginning in 2004, residents sought to ameliorate this situation by taking measures to reduce the community's nightlife and re-establish a more residential character. The Buckhead Coalition was instrumental in persuading the Atlanta City Council to pass an ordinance to close bars at 2:30 a.m. rather than 4 a.m., and liquor licenses were made more difficult to obtain. Buckhead maintains its title as Atlanta's entertainment district, with more than 300 restaurants, bars and nightclubs still in operation.^{[citation needed]}

Buckhead high-rise buildings

A portion of the Buckhead skyline.

While much of west and north Buckhead maintains itself in single-family unit residential in forested settings, the Peachtree Road corridor has become a major focus of high-rise construction. The first 400-foot (121 m) office tower, Tower Place, opened in 1974. Park Place, in 1986, was the first 400+ foot (121+ m) condominium. 1986 Also saw the completion of the 425-foot (129 m), 34-story Atlanta Plaza, then Buckhead's tallest and largest building. In 2000, Park Avenue Condominiums upped the ante, pushing the record to 486 feet (148 m). Since that time, a wave of development has followed. Recently, the 660-foot (201 m) Sovereign and 580-foot (177 m) Mansion on Peachtree were completed in late 2008. Today, Buckhead has over 50 high-rise buildings, almost one-third of the city's total.^[25]

Diplomatic missions

The Consulate-General of Australia and the Australian Trade Commission are located in the Atlanta Financial Center building.^[26] The Consulate-General of France and the French Trade Commission are located in the Prominence in Buckhead building.^[27][28][29] The Consulate-General of Brazil and the Consulate-General of Japan are located in the One Alliance Center building.^[30][31] The Consulate of Greece is located in Tower Place.^[32]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Buckhead, like all areas of Atlanta, is part of the Atlanta Public Schools district.

The following public elementary schools serve Buckhead:

• E. Rivers Elementary School
• Garden Hills Elementary School
• Morris Brandon Elementary School
• Sarah Rawson Smith Elementary School
• Warren T. Jackson Elementary School

The area is served by Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High School.

Private schools

Local private schools include the Atlanta International School, the Atlanta Speech School, Christ the King School, the Atlanta Girls School, The Galloway School, The Heiskell School, Holy Spirit Preparatory School, The Lovett School, Pace Academy,Trinity School, and The Westminster Schools.

Colleges and universities

Also located in Buckhead is the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business Executive Education Center. This facility houses the e. M.B.A. program and Terry Third Thursday, a lecture series featuring business leaders.

Public libraries

Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System operates the Buckhead Branch.^[33]

Healthcare

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Buckhead is home both to Piedmont Hospital and the private, catastrophic care hospital Shepherd Center which specializes in spinal cord injury and acquired brain injury. The two hospitals are located adjacent to one another along Peachtree Road. This location is called "Cardiac Hill" by runners of the annual Peachtree Road Race.

Transportation

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Besides Peachtree, other arterial roads include Piedmont Road (Georgia 237), Roswell Road (Georgia 9), and Paces Ferry Road. In the early 1990s, after a bitter fight against GDOT by residents, Buckhead was severed by Georgia 400, a tolled extension of a freeway which was to connect all the way to the south side of Atlanta. However, MARTA's new north line was put in the road median, providing mass transit for Buckhead and Sandy Springs residents.

MARTA has three stations in Buckhead, the southernmost being Lindbergh Center. Just north of there, the original northeast (orange) and later north (red) lines split, with Lenox at the southwest corner of the Lenox Square parking lot, and (since late 1996) Buckhead on the west side of the malls at Peachtree and 400. A free circulator bus called "the buc" (Buckhead Uptown Connection) notes that "the buc stops here" at all three stations. The proposed Peachtree Streetcar project would provide street-level service with frequent stops all the way to downtown Atlanta, complementing the existing subway-type MARTA train service.

Proposed secession

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In June 2008, a newsletter ^[34] by the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation began circulating that proposes the secession of Buckhead into its own city after more than 50 years as part of Atlanta. This comes on the heels of neighboring Sandy Springs, which finally became a city in late 2005 but was previously unincorporated, and which triggered other such incorporations in metro Atlanta's northern suburbs. Like those cities, the argument is one of local control and taxes, although unlike Fulton and neighboring DeKalb counties, Atlanta has divisions called neighborhood planning units intended to address such issues.

Trivia

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• Buckhead is featured heavily in Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full.

• Robert B. Parker's Spencer has lunch at Buckhead Life Group's Corner Cafe in "Hugger Mugger".

• The novel Peachtree Road by Anne Rivers Siddons takes place almost entirely in Buckhead, and explores the values, morals and accomplishments of the community through the eyes of Shep Bondurant, a quintessential Buckhead gentleman.

• Author James Dickey of Deliverance fame grew up in the area.

• The novel The Red Hat Club takes place in Buckhead and has many references to Atlanta culture.

• On his debut for the Atlanta Braves in 2007, fans initially believed that back-up catcher Corky Miller had been recruited by the club from the ESPNZone restaurant located in Buckhead.

• In the movie Little Darlings, Tatum O'Neal's character lives in Buckhead. The Swan House, part of the Atlanta History Center, is shown as she is driven downtown to meet the bus for summer camp.

See also

• List of leading shopping streets and districts by city

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia