Virginia-Highland

Virginia-Highland, often referred to as Virginia Highlands and abbreviated as "VH" commonly or "Va-Hi" more rarely, is a section (or neighborhood, depending on how you view it) of Atlanta, Georgia that was founded in the early 20th century as a streetcar community. The locus and origin of the name is the commercial district at the intersection of Virginia and North Highland Avenues. It is bounded on the north by Morningside, east by the Druid Hills neighborhood, on the south by Poncey-Highland and on the west by Piedmont Park and Midtown.

Unlike other neighborhoods such as Inman Park or Grant Park, this neighborhood never really faltered during Atlanta's intown downturn in the 1960s. In the late 1960s a highway was proposed to connect what is now Freedom Parkway through the neighborhood to I-85, however, the project was ultimately defeated. Residents of Virginia-Highland along with those of Stone Mountain, Inman Park, and Morningside were instrumental in the fight against the road. They were successful and became a political force to be reckoned with in city politics. The current Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) system is an outgrowth from the defeat of I-485. The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum sits on the very hill that was to be the major interchange between the new bypass and another new highway that would have led to Stone Mountain. The remnants of both of these cleared rights-of-way made Freedom Park possible.

Today, this eclectic neighborhood is prosperous with many restaurants, bars, and shops, even hosting its own major festival, Summerfest, the first weekend of June each year.

Culturally, Virginia-Highland has recently become a small musical center, home of the "Grape Tree" scene which produced a plethora of garage-rock bands as well as a handful of not-so-inconsequential artists, most notably Supreeme, an internationally themed rap group, No Face, an experimental pop band, The Hotels, a rock 'n' roll nightmare, and The Good Moods, a locally-themed mariachi group.

In recent years, many non-natives of the neighborhood began referring to it as "The Highlands". The use of this name for the neighborhood is considered a major factor in distinguishing between outsiders and locals. Not often is it received warmly by many locals who have resided in the area since before the commercial influx of recent years, with "Virginia Highlands" still the local name of affection.

Additional information

In 1925, the Atlanta Street Railway Company began selling pieces of land for suburban development. Developers bought large plots and divided them into areas for residential and commercial use. This growth continued steadily until the 1960s, when most of the city's original suburbs including Virginia-Highland began to decline.

In the 1970s, Virginia-Highland was swept up in a wave of revitalization that was also bringing new life to surrounding areas. Proposed freeway construction threatened to crush this renaissance, but the idea was defeated by the community.

In 1988, John Howell Park on Virginia Avenue was dedicated to the memory of Virginia-Highland resident John Howell, one of the many residents who fought hard to stop the development of I-485. The park occupies three acres of land where 11 homes were demolished for the proposed highway. Howell died from complications of HIV in 1988.

In November 2006, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation added Virginia-Highland to its list of "places in peril" due to an acceleration of teardowns and infill projects by real estate developers and newcomers to the area.

In 1995, Tom Morello, Zack de la Rocha, Brad Wilk, and Tim Commerford of the band Rage Against the Machine lived in the Virginia-Highland area while recording their album Evil Empire, which was released in 1996.

Education

The community is zoned to Atlanta Public Schools.

Zoned schools include:
* [http://www.morningsideschool.org/ Morningside Elementary School] [http://ivic02.residentinteractive.com/programs/kb.content_view?xowner=20016407&xtype=&xfolder=21559753&xcontent=21549182]
* Inman Middle School [http://www.inmanmiddleschool.org/joomlaroot/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=17&Itemid=30]
* Henry W. Grady High School

External links

* [http://www.vahi.org/ Virginia-Highland Civic Association]
* [http://www.vahi.org/summerfest.html Virginia-Highland Summerfest]
* [http://www.virginiahighland.com/ VirginiaHighland.com]

References

*McAuley & Burkhalter, "ATLANTAboy", Mega Niche Media, ISBN 0-9707095-6-0
*"History of Virginia-Highland", Compiled June 1998 by City of Atlanta; Department of Planning, Development, and Neighborhood Conservation; Bureau of Planning