English Avenue and Vine City

{{Short description|Neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia, United States}} {{redirect|Vine City|the MARTA train station|Vine City station}} {{Use American English|date = January 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date = January 2020}}

{{Infobox settlement |name = English Avenue and Vine City |official_name = |settlement_type = [[Neighborhood of Atlanta|Neighborhoods of Atlanta]] |nickname = |motto =

|timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]] |utc_offset = -5 |timezone_DST = EDT |utc_offset_DST = -4 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_ft = |coordinates = {{Coord|33.763441|-84.410341|display=inline}}

|postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s |postal_code = }}

[[File:English Avenue banner.JPG|thumb|English Avenue banner on street light pole]] [[File:Vine City sign with Georgia Dome in background.JPG|thumb|Vine City sign with [[Georgia Dome]] in background]]

'''English Avenue''' and '''Vine City''' are two adjacent and closely linked neighborhoods of [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Together the neighborhoods make up [[neighborhood planning unit]] L.<ref name=npumap>{{cite web|url=http://174.37.215.145/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_l.pdf|title=City of Atlanta, NPU L Map|website=174.37.215.145|access-date=16 April 2018}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The two neighborhoods are frequently cited together in reference to shared problems and to shared redevelopment schemes and revitalization plans.<ref name=clatl_12_2011>[https://creativeloafing.com/content-170637-ambitious-parks-plans-could-give-vine-city-english-avenue-another Thomas Wheatley, "Ambitious parks plans could give Vine City, English Avenue another chance", ''Creative Loafing'', December 8, 2011]</ref><ref name=ajc_10_2010>"grants to the Vine City and English Avenue communities" in [http://www.ajc.com/business/vine-city-targeted-for-689003.html "Vine City targeted for revitalization", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', October 23, 2010]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.investatlanta.com/buildDev/VineCityTrustFundHomeBuyers.jsp|title="Vine City/English Avenue Trust Fund", Invest Atlanta|website=Investatlanta.com|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211215858/http://www.investatlanta.com/buildDev/VineCityTrustFundHomeBuyers.jsp|archive-date=11 February 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=vinecitynet>"The Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods have voiced their support" in [http://www.vinecity.net/historicdistrict/Research%20Data/2010_11_03_14_24_36.pdf Sunset Avenue Historic District] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081228/http://www.vinecity.net/historicdistrict/Research%20Data/2010_11_03_14_24_36.pdf |date=2012-04-25 }}</ref>

English Avenue is bounded by the railroad line and the [[Marietta Street Artery]] neighborhood to the northeast, Northside Drive, the [[Southern Railway North Avenue Yards Historic District|North Avenue railyards]] and [[downtown Atlanta]] to the east, [[Joseph E. Lowery]] Blvd. (formerly Ashby St.) and the [[Bankhead (Atlanta)|Bankhead]] neighborhood to the west, and [[Joseph E. Boone]] Blvd. (called Simpson St. until 2008) and Vine City to the south. Its population was 3,309 in 2010.<ref name=walkscore>2010 U.S. census figures as tabulated by [http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/ranking-methodology.shtml WalkScore]</ref>

Vine City is bounded by Joseph E. Boone Blvd. (Simpson) and the English Avenue neighborhood to the north, Northside Drive and [[downtown Atlanta]] to the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. (formerly Hunter St.) and the [[Atlanta University Center]] to the south, and Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. (Ashby) and the [[Washington Park (Atlanta, Georgia)|Washington Park]] neighborhood to the west. Its population was 2,785 in 2010.<ref name=walkscore/>

A section of the area, "The Bluff," is infamous throughout Metro Atlanta as a high crime area, but in late 2011, English Avenue and Vine City were the focus of multiple improvement plans, including a network of parks and trails,<ref name=clatl_12_2011/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.parkpride.org/get-involved/community-programs/park-visioning/content/more-info/2010_pna_overview.pdf |title="Proctor Creek North Avenue Watershed basin", ''Park Pride'' |access-date=2011-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420233812/http://www.parkpride.org/get-involved/community-programs/park-visioning/content/more-info/2010_pna_overview.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> increased police presence, and "rebranding" for a more positive image.<ref name=11alive1>[http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/211502/40/The-Bluff--Atlantas-Forgotten-Community "The Bluff: Atlanta's forgotten neighborhood", ''11 Alive'' News (Atlanta)]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=11alive2>{{Cite web |url=http://www.11alive.com/news/article/218478/3/Re-Branding-The-Bluff-And-English-Ave-In-The-ATL |title="Re-branding The Bluff and English Avenue in the ATL', ''11 Alive'' News (Atlanta), December 22, 2011 |access-date=February 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116035313/http://www.11alive.com/news/article/218478/3/Re-Branding-The-Bluff-And-English-Ave-In-The-ATL |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name=11alive3>{{Cite web |url=http://www.11alive.com/news/article/218019/40/Return-To-The-Bluff-Not-Forgotten-Any-Longer |title="Return to The Bluff: Not Forgotten any longer", ''11 Alive'' News (Atlanta), December 19, 2011 |access-date=February 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115235840/http://www.11alive.com/news/article/218019/40/Return-To-The-Bluff-Not-Forgotten-Any-Longer |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Construction is to start on the new [[Rodney Cook Sr. Park]].

==History== [[File:Sunset Avenue house.JPG|thumb|right|Houses in proposed [[Sunset Avenue Historic District]]]] [[File:Sunset Avenue houses - Herndon - MBC.JPG|thumb|Houses in proposed [[Sunset Avenue Historic District]] - in background, [[Herndon Stadium]] and Fountain Hall at [[Morris Brown College]]]] [[File:Former church on King Dr., Vine City.JPG|thumb|Former church on King Dr., Vine City]] [[File:John F. Kennedy Park.JPG|thumb|John F. Kennedy Park, Vine City]]

===Development=== What is now the English Avenue neighborhood was purchased in 1891 by son of Atlanta mayor [[James W. English]], James W. English Jr., a hot-headed man<ref>{{cite news |title=Berry and English Fight at the Club |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/34074786/ |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Atlanta Constitution |date=March 5, 1898 |page=5 |language=en |quote=Judge Berry charges that Mr. English, Jr., drew a pistol and struck him in the face. ...I saw young English's pistol and I am told that he tried to shoot me, but failing to do so, struck me in the face with the weapon.}}</ref> who earned income by subletting convict labor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Prisoners Secured From State For $8 Per Month and Hired Out For $14 and $20. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/969505081 |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Atlanta Journal |date=October 27, 1902 |page=5 |language=en |quote=James W. English, Jr., sublets 55 convicts to Thomas Jones, at Adrian, Ga.}}</ref> It was created as a white working-class neighborhood. Simpson Road was located along a residential race barrier with whites to the north and blacks to the south.<ref name=english>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/english%20ave/section%201.pdf|title=English Avenue Community Redevelopment Plan update|website=Atlantaga.gov|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710225129/http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/english%20ave/section%201.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Today's English Avenue was known at different times as Bellwood<ref>"Years of neglect turn English Avenue home into rotted shell", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', May 26, 2002</ref> and as Western Heights. In 1910 the Western Heights school (later renamed Kingbery after a principal of the school, then renamed [[English Avenue School|English Avenue Elementary School]]) was built at the northeast corner of English Ave. and Pelham St.<ref name=gvcop>{{cite web|url=http://englishavenuecampus.net/homepage/?page_id=18|title="English Avenue Community Campus", Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, Inc.|website=Englishavenuecampus.net|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425082948/http://englishavenuecampus.net/homepage/?page_id=18|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Overcrowding in the neighborhood's school is documented as a serious issue from at least 1910 through 1946 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=hk0EAAAAMBAJ&q=kingsbery&pg=PA40 photo]), notwithstanding multiple expansions of the facility.<ref>[http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers/view?docId=news/aga1910/aga1910-3791.xml&query=%22western%20heights%20school%22%20crowded&brand=atlnewspapers-brand "Citizens ask for better facilities: Crowded condition of Western Heights school cause of complaint", ''Atlanta Georgian and News'', August 19, 1910, p.8]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lw2fF0k0i5gC&dq=kingsbery+atlanta&pg=PA131 Clifford M. Kuhn et al., ''Living Atlanta: An Oral History of the City, 1914–1948'']</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers/search?text=%22english+avenue%22+school&text-exclude=&text-prox=&coverage.year=&title=|title=Metro Atlanta « Georgia Historic Newspapers|website=atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hk0EAAAAMBAJ&q=kingsbery&pg=PA40 "Crowded schools: more students than ever before threaten to clog all facilities"] ''Life'' magazine, October 7, 1946, p.40</ref>

The area south of Simpson Road — today's Vine City — was settled at the end of the 1800s by large land owners, and a predominantly African-American residential area was established, though there were also white subdivisions, schools, and churches. A mix of social classes were present. In 1910 [[Alonzo F. Herndon]], founder of the [[Atlanta Life Insurance Company]], built his [[Herndon Home|home at 587 University Place]], now listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places|National Register]] and open to visitors.<ref name=vchhm>{{cite web|url=http://www.vinecity.net/home/Web%20Pages/AboutVineCity.aspx|title="About Vine City", Vine City Health and Housing Ministry|website=Vinecity.net|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081030/http://www.vinecity.net/home/Web%20Pages/AboutVineCity.aspx|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Racial tension and transition=== The [[Great Atlanta fire of 1917]] contributed to the already great need for housing for African Americans and by the 1920s-1940s, despite violence and bombings trying to prevent it, black residents started to move north across Simpson Road.<ref name=english/>

In 1941, the [[Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta#Eagan Homes|Eagan Homes]] and [[Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta#Herndon Homes|Herndon Homes]] public housing projects opened and as a result, the black population in the area increased. On Hunter Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), white business owners once lived behind their stores, but in the 1940s, black owners started taking over these businesses.<ref name=vchhm/> In 1947 [[Paschal's]] Restaurant, an Atlanta [[soul food]] landmark and meeting place for civil rights leaders, opened in its original location on West Hunter Street.<ref name=vchhm/> In 1951, the English Avenue Elementary School's designation was changed from white to black in response to most whites having moved out of the area.<ref name=meriden>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lsVHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mf8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2597,4967787&dq=english+avenue+atlanta&hl=en "Furtive Dynamiters Blast Big Atlanta Negro School", ''Meriden Record'', December 13, 1960]</ref>

===Heyday and Civil Rights=== During the mid-20th century, the area was a middle-class [[African-American neighborhood]].<ref name="ajc1"/> Commercial areas included English Avenue; Simpson Street/Road, in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s; and Bankhead Highway, which was part of the [[United States Numbered Highways|US Highway system]], and was in its splendor in the 1960s. Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] moved to the area in 1967, and his widow [[Coretta Scott King]] continued to live here until she moved to a Peachtree Road luxury condominium purchased for her by Oprah Winfrey in 2004.

In 1960, the English Avenue elementary school was dynamited, likely in retaliation for civil rights demonstrations by Black activists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://atlantastudies.org/2020/12/12/terror-in-the-city-too-busy-to-hate-how-the-english-avenue-school-bombing-challenged-atlantas-popular-myth-of-racial-progress/|title= Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate: How the English Avenue School Bombing Challenged Atlanta’s Popular Myth of Racial Progress|last1=Blau|first1=Max|last2=Michney|first2=Todd|date=December 12, 2020|website=Atlanta Studies|access-date=March 24, 2023}}</ref> Mayor [[William B. Hartsfield]] condemned the dynamiting as the work of those from outside Atlanta, "the outhouse set".<ref name=meriden/> The area experienced notable pro- and anti-[[Black Power]] riots in 1966<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0vFfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=b1QMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6998,5118414&dq=vine-city+atlanta&hl=en "Forming Mobs Turn into Anti-Black Power Rally", ''Lodi News-Sentinel'', September 6, 1966]</ref> and 1967.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ojEwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yjUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3858,6094672&dq=vine-city+atlanta&hl=en "Negro Disorders Erupt in Atlanta Slum Section", ''Rome News-Tribune'', October 24, 1967]</ref>

===Decline and crime=== [[File:English Avenue abandoned houses.JPG|thumb|Abandoned houses, Proctor at Oliver streets, English Avenue]]

[[Suburbanization]] started draining the area's vitality starting in the 1970s.<ref name=english/> Over the following decades, it attracted buyers and sellers of heroin, and deteriorated into a corner of poverty in the city, characterized by large numbers of abandoned, boarded-up houses.<ref name=ajc1/>

In 1995 the English Avenue Elementary School closed.<ref name=gvcop/>

In 2006, a "no-knock raid" in search of a drug dealer, burst into the home of Kathryn Johnston. Ms. Johnston, in her 80s, opened fire on the officers and wounded three and was killed by return fire from the officers. The incident resulted in much anger in the neighborhood and in close scrutiny of police use of "no-knock warrants" in drug raids.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1129/p03s03-ussc.html Patrik Jonsson, "After Atlanta raid tragedy, new scrutiny of police tactics", ''Christian Science Monitor'', November 29, 2006]</ref>

The [[2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak|2008 tornado]] caused major damage in areas of Vine City ([https://creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/blogs/Post?id=freshloaf&year=2008&month=03&day=16&basename=vine-city-tornado-photos photos]).

The [[2010 United States foreclosure crisis|2010s foreclosure crisis]] hit the neighborhoods hard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/error/404|title=11alive.com|website=WXIA|access-date=16 April 2018}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In April 2012, ''[[Creative Loafing]]'' reported that "on some streets more houses are boarded up than are lived in". [[Occupy Atlanta]] protested the Vine City foreclosure of Mrs. Pamela Flores by [[Bank of America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2012/04/10/occupy-atlanta-fights-forclosures-in-vine-city|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410172647/http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2012/04/10/occupy-atlanta-fights-forclosures-in-vine-city|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 10, 2013|title=Search - Atlanta Creative Loafing|website=Atlanta Creative Loafing|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

The desperate state of the area was described by reporter Thomas Wheatley in ''Creative Loafing'' in September 2012 as:<ref>[https://creativeloafing.com/content-185628-cover-story-the-stadium-effect "The Stadium Effect", Thomas Wheatley, ''Creative Loafing'', September 6, 2012]</ref> <blockquote>"boarded-up homes built among the trees along the narrow streets,…people loitering in the middle of vacant lots, casting hollow stares at passing motorists, and…young men hanging out on street corners, hollering at passers-by and then to lookouts down the street"</blockquote>

==Revitalization== [[File:Rare snow day in Vine City 2014.JPG|thumb|left| Recent revitalization efforts in the Vine City neighborhood include the Westside Commons town home complex, photographed here during the 2014 snowstorm.]]

===1990s: Failed "empowerment zone"=== In November 1994, the Atlanta Empowerment Zone was established, a 10-year, $250 million federal program to revitalize Atlanta's 34 poorest neighborhoods including the Bluff. Scathing reports from both the U.S. [[Department of Housing and Urban Development]] and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs revealed corruption, waste, bureaucratic incompetence, and interference by mayor [[Bill Campbell (mayor)|Bill Campbell]].<ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2000/11/06/editorial5.html "Empowerment zones: Boondoggle or aid to poor?"], ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'', November 6, 2000</ref><ref name=cl2>[https://creativeloafing.com/content-170454-federal-grants-go-to-groups-with-shaky Scott Henry, "Federal grants go to groups with shaky past"], ''Creative Loafing'', September 26, 2007</ref>

===Replacement of public housing projects=== As part of the [[Atlanta Housing Authority]]'s systematic replacement of public housing projects by mixed-income communities (MIC), Eagan Homes was demolished and the [[Atlanta mixed-income communities#Magnolia Park|Magnolia Park]] MIC replaced it. Herndon Homes was demolished in 2011.<ref>[https://creativeloafing.com/content-203080-photo-of-the-day-herndon-homes-demolition-february-19 Joeff Davis, "Photo of the Day: Herndon Homes demolition"], ''Creative Loafing'', February 2010]</ref>

===Historic Westside Village and Walmart=== {{Main|Historic Westside Village}} [[File:Westside Village - new development in Vine City.JPG|thumb|New townhomes at Westside Village, August 2012]] [[File:Westside Village - new development in Vine City 2.JPG|thumb|A [[Walmart]] under construction at Westside Village, August 2012]]

In 1999, the [[Atlanta Housing Authority]] first announced plans for the "[[Historic Westside Village]]", a $130 million commercial, residential and retail project at the area's southern end near Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. at Ashby St.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADA44E0405BB5F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Westside due a $130 million redo"], ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', March 16, 1999</ref> A [[Publix]] supermarket opened in May 2002<ref>[http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/AT/lib00059,0F3D7613EEDF39A6.html "A DREAM FULFILLED: Intown Publix to open"], ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', May 30, 2002</ref> but the overall project stalled by 2003 as further anchor tenants did not materialize.<ref>[http://www.atlantahousing.org/pressroom/index.cfm?Fuseaction=printpubs_full&ID=73 David Pendered, "Entangled in Vine City; 'The city lost control': Officials scramble to save project to renew Historic Westside Village"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407123852/http://www.atlantahousing.org/pressroom/index.cfm?Fuseaction=printpubs_full&ID=73 |date=2012-04-07 }}, ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', July 28, 2003</ref> This, along with disappointing sales, caused the Publix - the only full-sized supermarket for miles around - to close in December 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://majicatl.com/atlanta/carolblackmon/historic-westside-village-publix-to-close-residents-not-happy/|title=Historic Westside Village Publix To Close, Residents Not Happy|date=9 December 2009|website=Majicatl.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> ''Creative Loafing'' called the project the most notorious "municipal boondoggle...to have tarred Atlanta" during mayor [[Bill Campbell (mayor)|Bill Campbell]]'s era; the project "fell victim to...cronyism, bureaucratic incompetence and a flagrant disregard for federal lending guidelines".<ref>[https://creativeloafing.com/content-170396-westside-do-over Scott Henry, "Westside Do-over", ''Creative Loafing'', April 26, 2006]</ref> In December 2010 things looked up as the [https://web.archive.org/web/20111023083830/http://www.atlantada.com/buildDev/westside.jsp Atlanta Development Authority] announced plans for [[Wal-Mart]] to open a store on the site, which Mayor [[Kasim Reed]] called "an end to the food desert in the area".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantada.com/aboutADA/viewArticle.jsp?id=27&title=Historic+Westside+Community+on+Road+to+Revitalization|title=Home|website=Atlantada.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantada.com/buildDev/documents/HWVPressCoverageSummaryDec132010.pdf|title=Home|website=Atlantada.com|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115210405/http://atlantada.com/buildDev/documents/HWVPressCoverageSummaryDec132010.pdf|archive-date=15 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2013 the Wal-Mart opened for business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/new-walmart-opens-vine-city/nT5KM/|title=New Walmart opens in Vine City|last=EndPlay|date=23 January 2013|website=Wsbtv.com|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=February 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204133449/http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/new-walmart-opens-vine-city/nT5KM/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://cascade.patch.com/articles/vine-city-auc-walmart-grand-opening-on-wednesday-1-23#photo-13096356 "Vine City/AUC Walmart Grand Opening on Wednesday 1/23: Walmart has said they are ready to open to the public", Marc Richardson, ''Cascade Patch'', January 21, 2013]</ref>

===Black-white coalition=== The Christian Science Monitor reported that by 2008, businessman John Gordon and Rev. Anthony Motley, a 20-year resident of The Bluff, "Atlanta's roughest 'hood", had "formed a black-white coalition seeking angel investors" and brought together "local businesses, neighboring Georgia Tech, and church leaders to inspire not just city and private investment, but also to light a spark of hope among law-abiding residents – many of them older people fearful of the streets outside their front doors. Their unusual friendship" had "helped inspire two massive clean-up efforts, a small but significant drop in crime, and glimmers of fresh paint and clean-swept front walks."<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2008/1211/p02s01-usgn.html "New Life for Atlanta's English Avenue"], Patrik Jonsson,''Christian Science Monitor'', December 11, 2008</ref>

===Rodney Cook Sr. Park=== [[Rodney Cook Sr. Park|Cook Park]] is under construction by a partnership consisting of the City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management, The Trust for Public Land of Georgia, and the National Monuments Foundation. The park will consist of a system of storm water management including a retention pond similar to the one in nearby Historic Old Fourth Ward Park, walking trails and amenities including a terraced amphitheater and splash pad<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cookparkdesign.org/park-design-concept.html|title=Park Design|website=Cooks Park|language=en|access-date=2017-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027024947/http://www.cookparkdesign.org/park-design-concept.html|archive-date=2017-10-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> and statues and monuments honoring a number of prominent Atlantans and Civil Rights leaders, including [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Booker T. Washington]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atlanta.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/11/remember-historic-mims-park-it-could-start-happening-soon.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011094453/http://atlanta.curbed.com/2014/12/11/10012818/remember-historic-mims-park-it-could-start-happening-soon|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 11, 2016|title=Remember Historic Mims Park? It Could Start Happening Soon|website=Atlanta.curbed.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

The site, located along the south side of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, has been vacant for many years, after the city purchased several homes there that perpetually fell victim to severe flooding caused by historic mismanagement in the [[Proctor Creek (Etowah River tributary)|Proctor Creek watershed]]. In December 2011 Park Pride, a greenspace advocacy group, proposed a network of greenspaces and parks that—through the incorporation of green infrastructure—would help mitigate the recurring flooding from stormwater runoff that plagued the neighborhoods of Vine City and English Avenue for years.<ref name="clatl_12_2011" /> In 2015, the City began cleaning the site, and the Trust For Public Land joined the partnership to plan, raise funds, and construct the park above and around the stormwater management solutions. The National Monuments Foundation and [[Rodney Mims Cook Jr.|Rodney Cook]] will fund and construct "sculptures of civil rights leaders, an urban farm, and an 80-foot "peace column."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-council-approves-mims-1479025.html|title=Atlanta council approves Mims park proposal|last=McWilliams|first=Jeremiah|date=16 July 2012|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=18 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U05-1e-VgSw|title=Historic Mims Park|last=National Monuments Foundation|date=22 October 2012|access-date=16 April 2018|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

The design mimics [[Historic Mims Park|Mims Park]], now demolished, which was once a prominent city park in Vine City named after [[Livingston Mims]], who was mayor of Atlanta from 1901 to 1903. It was designed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]]'s sons, who also designed [[Piedmont Park]] in Midtown.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Wheatley |first = Thomas | title = Ambitious parks plans could give Vine City, English Avenue another chance | url = https://creativeloafing.com/content-170637-ambitious-parks-plans-could-give-vine-city-english-avenue-another | publisher = Creative Loafing | date = 8 December 2011 | access-date = 18 July 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:English Avenue School.JPG|thumb|[[English Avenue School|English Avenue Elementary School]], site of a proposed "green technology global community center"]]

In 2017, it was announced that construction will commence, however the park will be named [[Rodney Cook Sr. Park]] and it is hoped to stimulate revitalization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myajc.com/news/local/westside-park-could-have-potential-historic-fourth-ward-park/fQN44tgwYhc93xkIPeDiUM/|title=Westside park could have potential of Historic Fourth Ward Park|website=Myajc.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> Along with this park, [[Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park]], named in honor of former neighborhood resident [[Kathryn Johnston shooting|Kathryn Johnston]], was also built in the neighborhood, being officially opened in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/11/22/20978141/atlanta-park-kathryn-johnston-english-avenue|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127171158/https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/11/22/20978141/atlanta-park-kathryn-johnston-english-avenue|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2019|title=Atlanta park opens in honor of 92-year-old neighborhood matriarch killed by police|last=Green|first=Josh|date=November 22, 2019|website=[[Curbed Atlanta]]|publisher=[[Vox Media]]|language=en|access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref>

===Other efforts since 2010=== In May 2010, the non-profit Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, founded and directed by "Able" [[Mable Thomas]] bought the English Avenue Elementary School with the intention to convert it into a "state of the art green technology global community center".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://englishavenuecampus.net/homepage/?page_id=2|title="About GVCOP", Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, Inc.|website=Englishavenuecampus.net|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425082956/http://englishavenuecampus.net/homepage/?page_id=2|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In March 2011, [[Neighborhood planning unit|NPU]] L voted in favor of a [[Sunset Avenue Historic District]] from Joseph E. Boone Blvd. southward to Magnolia Street.<ref name=vinecitynet/>

In December 2011, the nonprofit Friends of English Avenue arranged for a married couple, both police officers, to live rent-free in a neighborhood house. "Able" Mable Thomas and others expressed the need for a "rebranding" of the area similar to the one which rebranded crime and prostitution-infested Stewart Avenue in [[Neighborhoods in Atlanta#Southwestern Atlanta|Southwest Atlanta]] as [[Metropolitan Parkway (Atlanta)|Metropolitan Parkway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/218478/3/Re-branding-the-Bluff-and-English-Ave-in-the-ATL|title="Re-branding the Bluff and English Ave. in the ATL", WXIA-TV (11 Alive), December 22, 2011|website=11alive.com|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115235814/http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/218478/3/Re-branding-the-Bluff-and-English-Ave-in-the-ATL|archive-date=15 January 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Other transformative efforts continued in 2014. A new Urban Perform gym opened on Joseph E. Boone Blvd designed to empower residents to make healthy lifestyle changes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Staples|first1=Gracie Bonds|title=A safe place to exercise|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/fitness/a-safe-place-to-exercise/ngNWS/|access-date=10 September 2014|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=18 June 2014}}</ref> The gym also hosts a local farmer's market on Saturdays which offers fresh, organic, produce from local community gardens. One of these gardens is the Historic Westside Gardens, which hopes to expand through a cooperative effort with the National Monument Foundation into Mims Park.

The Westside Works, a non-profit and jobs training center, opened in 2014 at the site of former E.R. Carter School at 80 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. NW. Their mission is to serve the underserved by teaching new skills crucial to the modern workforce. In Summer 2014 they graduated their first class of trainees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westsideworks.org/programs/|title=Our Programs « Westside Works|website=Westsideworks.org|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

===2010s investments=== There are multiple efforts underway to encourage and promote home ownership in Vine City and English Avenue. Invest Atlanta has a trust fund which provides up to 10% of the downpayment for a first time homeowner, up to $15,000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.investatlanta.com/intown-living/downpayment-assistance-programs/vine-city-english-avenue-trust-fund-hoap/ |title=Vine City / English Avenue Trust Fund (HOAP) | Invest Atlanta |access-date=2014-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904042134/http://www.investatlanta.com/intown-living/downpayment-assistance-programs/vine-city-english-avenue-trust-fund-hoap/ |archive-date=2014-09-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Home Atlanta 4.0 provides up to 5% of the house cost, but waives the first-time buyer requirement.

Invest Atlanta and the Arthur M. Blank Foundation partnered to provide $30 million in seed money for innovative and transformative non-profits to help revitalize the two neighborhoods.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

In 2018, Friendship Baptist church held talks with developers regarding Downtown West, a new construction development adjacent to the new home of the [[Atlanta Falcons]], [[Mercedes-Benz Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/08/22/downtown-west-envisioned-around-new-falcons.html|title=Downtown West Envisioned Around New Falcons|website=Bizjournals.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

==Culture== [[File:English Avenue Community Garden.jpg|thumb|Revitalization in English Avenue continues with work on multiple community gardens. A before & after picture of the English Avenue Community Farm.]]

===Festivals=== In 2012, an annual festival was established, the Historic Westside Village Festival. The event includes educational seminars, vendors, a Kids Zone, and a concert stage, with proceeds going to local charities and services. In 2013 the festival took place on September 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hwvfestival.org/|title=Historic Westside Village Festival website|website=Hwvfestival.org|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706094159/http://www.hwvfestival.org/|archive-date=6 July 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The annual English Avenue Festival of Lights is directed by the Historic Westside Cultural Arts Council. The Festival is an exhibition of the community and encourages community members to be a light in their neighborhood. There is a Children's pavilion, free food and drinks, and an exhibition of local non-profits.

==Churches== The area is home to a large concentration of churches, including:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myajc.com/news/public-affairs/divine-mission-gives-way-blighted-streets/T33mrjLJrIvwWjbqSsQoAJ/|title=Divine mission gives way to blighted streets|website=Myajc.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> *Amazing Grace Church *Antioch Baptist Church North *Apostolic Faith Church *Atlanta Presbyterian Fellowship *Atlanta Revival Center *Beulah Baptist Church *Body of Christ Temple *Cosmopolitan AME Church *Faith, Hope and Deliverance Temple *Faithful Friends Baptist Church *Grace Midtown Church *Greater Bethany Baptist Church *Greater Deliverance Baptist Church *Greater New Hope Baptist Church *Greater Springfield Baptist Church *Greater Vine City Baptist Church *Heavenly Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church *Higher Ground Empowerment Center *Lilly of the Valley Baptist Church *Lindsay Street Baptist Church *Live Life Tabernacle of Praise *New Jerusalem Baptist Church *Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church *Redeemer Community Church *Simpson Street Church of Christ *Sims Avenue Baptist Church *St. James Baptist Church *St. Mark's Baptist Church

== Points of Interest == * [[Rodney Cook Sr. Park]] (site, to be developed) *[[John F. Kennedy Park]] * [[Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park]] * [[Lindsay Street Park]] * Westside Village shopping center * [[Herndon Home]] museum *[[King Plow Arts Center]] *[[Morris Brown College]] * Architecture of the [[Sunset Avenue Historic District]] (proposed) *[[Vine City (MARTA station)]] *across [[Northside Drive]]: [[Mercedes-Benz Stadium]], [[Georgia World Congress Center]] *[[Proctor Creek (Etowah River tributary)|Proctor Creek watershed]]

=="The Bluff"==

'''The Bluff''' is a district within the area that is infamous throughout metro Atlanta for the availability of drugs, [[heroin]] in particular.<ref>[http://www.atlantamagazine.com/Channels/KingFile/Story.aspx?id=1082476 Atlanta Magazine, "The King File", 4/15/2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722053140/http://www.atlantamagazine.com/channels/kingfile/Story.aspx?ID=1082476 |date=2011-07-22 }}</ref><ref name=cl1>{{cite web|url=http://clatl.com/gyrobase/heroin-tightens-its-grip/Content?oid=1274947&storyPage=2|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130408211351/http://clatl.com/gyrobase/heroin-tightens-its-grip/Content?oid=1274947&storyPage=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2013|title=Search - Atlanta Creative Loafing|website=Atlanta Creative Loafing|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref><ref name=ajc1>[http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/heroin-a-deadly-draw-1156771.html Andria Simmons, "Heroin a deadly draw in 'Bluff'", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', September 7, 2011]</ref> "Bluff" originated as an acronym for "Better Leave, U Fucking Fool".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Blake |date=2012-06-01 |title=Snow on tha Bluff |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/snow-on-tha-bluff/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref>

The borders of The Bluff are defined differently by different sources. For example, the ''[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]''<ref name=ajc1/> and ''[[Creative Loafing]]''<ref name=cl1/> both defined The Bluff as including all of English Avenue and Vine City. However, a more recent and in-depth December 2011 series of reports by [[WXIA-TV|11 Alive]] TV news, referred to The Bluff as a "section of English Avenue".<ref name=11alive1/><ref name=11alive2/><ref name=11alive3/> The English Avenue/Vine City area has some of the highest [[poverty]] and [[crime]] rates in the city, with the Carter St. area surrounding the [[Vine City (MARTA station)|Vine City MARTA station]] ranking in 2010 as the #1 most dangerous neighborhood in Atlanta and #5 in the United States.<ref>[http://www.ajc.com/news/study-4-atlanta-neighborhoods-660048.html Alexis stevens, "Study: 4 Atlanta neighborhoods among nation's most dangerous", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', October 5, 2010]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyfinance.com/blog/2010/10/04/25-most-dangerous-neighborhoods-2010/|title=My Portfolios - Finance Portfolio|website=Dailyfinance.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

==Public transportation== The area is served by the [[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|MARTA]] rail [[Blue Line (MARTA)|Blue Line]] and [[Green Line (MARTA)|Green Line]] at the [[Vine City (MARTA station)|Vine City]] and [[Ashby (MARTA station)|Ashby]] stations. Bus lines serving the neighborhood are the 3 along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the 51 along Joseph E. Boone Blvd., and the 26 along Cameron M. Alexander Blvd. (known as Kennedy St. until 2010),<ref>[http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/2010/images/adopted/1018/10O1420.pdf City of Atlanta online, ordinace 10-O-1420] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111230327/http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/2010/images/adopted/1018/10O1420.pdf |date=2011-11-11 }}</ref> English Avenue and Donald L. Hollowell Pkwy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itsmarta.com/viewer1.aspx|title=MARTA|website=Itsmarta.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

==Famous residents== * [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Coretta Scott King]] *Comedienne [[Ms. Pat]] * State Senator [[Julian Bond]] and family resided on Sunset Avenue. The home is still owned and occupied by the family. * [[Mary Phagan]], victim of notorious 1913 murder at National Pencil Company. * 2012 Republican presidential candidate [[Herman Cain]] spent his early youth here, attending English Avenue School and the age of 10 joining Rev. [[Cameron M. Alexander]]'s Baptist mega-church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cascade.patch.com/articles/s-w-atlanta-who-is-herman-cain#photo-8127565|title=The Herman Cain of Atlanta's West Side|date=16 October 2011|website=Cascade.patch.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> * Singer [[Gladys Knight]] and two of the [[Gladys Knight & the Pips|Pips]] attended English Avenue Elementary School<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XJADAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22english+avenue%22+atlanta&pg=PA58 Harmon Perry, "Gladys Knight and the Pips: Too hot to stop", ''Jet'' magazine, June 20, 1974]</ref> * Judge [[Marvin S. Arrington Sr.]]<ref name=ss>{{cite web|url=http://www.peopletv.org/sidewalkstories/2010.html|title=Sidewalk Stories|website=Peopletv.org|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425082733/http://www.peopletv.org/sidewalkstories/2010.html|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=usurped|df=dmy-all}}</ref> * Mayor [[Maynard H. Jackson Jr.]]<ref name=ss/> * Comedian [[Bruce Bruce]] grew up in the Bluff <ref>[http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Connecticut-Comedy-Festival-at-Bridgeport-arena-2213016.php Scott Gargan, "Connecticut Comedy Festival at Bridgeport arena", ''The News-Times'' (Danbury, Conn.), October 11, 2011]</ref> *Gangster and Star of the 2012 movie ''[[Snow on tha Bluff]]'', Curtis Snow * Rapper [[Ralo]] grew up in The Bluff<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/2018/03/ralo-diary-of-the-streets-interview/|title=Rapper Ralo Talks The Bluff, Atlanta's Drug-Infested Neighborhood|date=5 March 2018|website=Vibe.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> * Dorothy Bolden, President of the National Domestic Workers Union.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{cite web |last=Newberry |first=Brittany |title=Black Neighborhoods and the Creation of Black Atlanta |url=https://digitalexhibits.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/black_neighborhoods/overview |website=Digital Exhibits |publisher=[[Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library]]}} *[https://www.flickr.com/photos/prophbundy/tags/thebluff/ Photographs of "the forgotten Bluff"]

[[Category:English Avenue and Vine City| ]] [[Category:Urban decay in the United States]]