Lakewood Heights | |
|---|---|
 location of Lakewood Heights in southeast Atlanta | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Fulton County |
| City | City of Atlanta |
| NPU | Y |
| Population (2008)[1] | |
• Total | 2,750 |
Lakewood Heights Historic District | |
    | |
| Location | jct. of Jonesboro Rd. and Lakewood Ave.,Atlanta, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Area | 219 acres (89 ha) |
| Built | 1895 |
| Architect | William Augustus Edwards, William J. Sayward |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 02000712[2] |
| Added to NRHP | July 5, 2002 |
Lakewood Heights is a historic neighborhood established in the late 19th century.[3] It experienced significant growth in the 1920s and 1930s as both an industrial and residential area. Originally, it was a predominantlyJewish working-class community but gradually changed to a predominately African American working-class community. However, as of the 2010s, the neighborhood is again undergoing notable changes. Gentrification has increased diversity and rising demand have positively transformed the area, driven by new developments along the nearbyAtlanta Beltline andDowntown Atlanta. For many years before this revitalization, Lakewood Heights struggled with high vacancy rates and low home sales.[4] It is bounded by:
Lakewood Heights contains theLakewood Heights Historic District, listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
Lakewood Heights developed as the result of three separate factors:[5]
One section of Lakewood Heights isOak Knoll, which was noted in a 1937 meeting betweenTechwood Homes organizerCharles Forrest Palmer, PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt, first ladyEleanor Roosevelt andSecretary of the TreasuryHenry Morgenthau Jr. Roosevelt was delighted that private enterprise—backed by guarantees theFederal Housing Administration—could provide good homes at moderate rentals. The conversation about Oak Knoll drew the conclusion that private projects were in fact strengthened by public housing projects serving as a "pace setter", and helped support arguments for a more proactive nationwide public housing policy.[6] The house at 1099 Oak Knoll Drive was featured in a 1938 issue ofLife magazine, as it was aLife "model house"; the model kits were available for purchase from retailers around the country.[7]
The neighborhood was home to theLakewood Fairgrounds which until 1979 had a racetrack,Lakewood Speedway. Now theCellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood is located on the old fairgrounds.
Around 1970 the area began to decline as middle-class families moved away becauseblue-collar jobs in the neighborhood were slowly disappearing. The assembly plant finally closed in 1990.[8]
The area is now an important center of the growing Atlanta-area film and television production industry. TheEUE/Screen Gems Atlanta soundstages were established there in mid-2010 and by Autumn 2011 were already expanding.[9]
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