City of Atlanta CDP

Current Conditions

Even though Atlanta is constantly changing, it remains the transportation hub of the South, a major financial center, a center of learning and a city of neighborhoods and parks.  Each decade that has passed has brought additions to the City's historic fabric.  In 2004, the City’s historic fabric is a diverse collection of buildings, sites, and districts that reflect all decades of the City’s past and has significance for all of the City’s residents, workers, and visitors.

Inventory

The current condition of the City’s historic fabric is best described through the following inventories and designations. 

Atlanta's Lasting Landmarks, most recently updated in 1987, is the City’s official inventory of historic properties within the City.  At the time of its publication, the inventory listed over 275 buildings, sites and districts that met the minimum criteria necessary to be considered for historic designation.  The inventory includes railroad, industrial, business, government, religious, and school buildings, as well as single-family and multifamily residential buildings.  There are also numerous districts that contain a similar cross section of buildings.  These properties are located throughout the City.  Of those properties listed in the inventory and other properties, the City has designated 66 buildings, sites and districts to the various categories of protection established by the Historic Preservation Ordinance of 1989 (see  Table 12.1 ‘City of Atlanta Designated Buildings, Sites and Districts’).

In addition to the survey and designation work by the City, 151 historic resources in the City have been listed since 1966 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in the National Register of Historic Places (see  Table 12.2 ‘City of Atlanta Properties Listed in the National Register of Historic Places’).  The National Register of Historic Places is the country’s list of historic places worthy of preservation.  Generally, properties need to be at least 50 years old, have physical integrity, and be significant for at least one of four broad criteria to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  It includes buildings, districts, structures, sites and objects.  The listing of 147 properties does not include those historic resources that are considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  (Being listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places takes on added significance if such resources will be affected by a federal undertaking.)  In addition, there are 10 to 30 buildings and districts currently in the process of being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  There are many more, as yet undocumented, historic resources in the City that could be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

The City’s historic fabric that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places is almost all buildings and districts, with the exception of one site and one object.   There is a wide variety of building types represented: single-family houses, large office buildings, apartments, warehouses, religious buildings, etc.  Most of the districts, however, are residential in nature.  

Over 60 pre-World War II neighborhoods in the City could also be considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as potential historic districts.  These neighborhoods were substantially developed before World War II and are mostly located adjacent to or near the City’s CBD.  A few of these neighborhoods are located farther from the City’s CBD in what were considered in the past to be suburban areas, or in some cases, separate towns.   

There are 19 park sites owned by the City and maintained by the Department of Parks and Recreation that have major historic significance.  In addition, there are many other parks that have more moderate significance, including many small, neighborhood parks.    The parks’ significance includes history, landscape architecture, archeology, architecture, park design, and community planning.  (see  Map 12.1 ‘Historic Parks’)

There are also 36 39 buildings properties for which facade easements have been donated to the non-profit organization Easements Atlanta, Inc. (see Table 12.3 ‘Easements Atlanta, Inc. Properties’).  These historic properties have their facades protected in perpetuity.   To be considered for this program, the buildings must be eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.   

As evidenced by the inventories and various designations, the City’s historic fabric contains a wide variety of resources.  The physical condition of the historic fabric described above ranges from buildings in standard condition in no need of repair to buildings that are severely deteriorated due to neglect, fire damage, or vandalism.  While some of these historic resources are in areas or neighborhoods with constant interest and revitalization activity, others have had little attention paid to them.

     

Assessment

Atlanta's Lasting Landmarks does establish a significant record of many of the City's historic resources.  However, it does not account for all the historic resources in the City due to the following current conditions: 1) properties that have become 50 years old or older since 1987; 2) the current categories of protection established by the Historic Preservation Ordinance of 1989; 3) properties which have been demolished or have lost their character-defining elements; and 4) previously undocumented or unrecognized historic resources which are a significant part of the City’s history.  This last condition accounts for a significant portion of Atlanta Lasting Landmarks deficiencies. 

While the National Register of Historic Places includes many listings, there are many more properties, including residential and commercial districts that are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  For a variety of reasons, these properties have not been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, even though many of them should be considered equally as historic as those properties actually in the National Register of Historic Places.  In addition, as noted above,there are numerous properties with partially completed nominations. 

Even though all of the over 60 neighborhoods substantially developed before World War II would be considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, only some of them are recognized in Atlanta’s Lasting Landmarks or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.   Thus, many do not have as “official” standing as they should given their historic nature.  In addition, there are neighborhoods (or large parts of neighborhoods) in the City that were substantially developed immediately after World War II which could now be considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  This is because the length of time since their development has increased to over 50 years and their continued or emerging significance.  In short, using World War II as a time threshold becomes less useful as the years pass.  

While 19 historic parks have been identified in the inventory, in most cases minimal information is available about the archeological resources that are potentially contained within them.  As with other parks and recreation facilities owned or operated by the City, the 19 historic parks are in need of certain management tools, site improvements and maintenance work to enhance their appearance, recreational potential, and conserve their historic value.  In addition, there are parks with historic significance that have not been similarly recognized.   

While the inventories and designation lists noted above document a large collection of historic resources, there are many more buildings, districts, and sites in the City that are historic resources, but have not been officially documented.  It is important to note that because a potential historic resource has not been officially surveyed or otherwise recognized, it should not be assumed that it is not historic.  With the complex history, changing physical environment, and passage of time, the current condition of historic resources in the City, whether documented or not, is always evolving.  

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