Cheshire Bridge Road is a mainly north–south thoroughfare of

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

traversing the

Morningside-Lenox Park Morningside/Lenox Park is an intown neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia founded in 1923. It is located north of Virginia-Highland, east of Ansley Park and west of Druid Hills. Approximately 3,500 households comprise the neighborhood that includes ...

and Lindridge-Martin Manor neighborhoods from Piedmont Avenue to

Buford Highway Buford Highway (also Buford Highway Corridor), a.k.a. the DeKalb International Corridor, and in the 1990–2000's as the DeKalb County International Village district, is a community northeast of the city of Atlanta, celebrated for its ethnic div ...

just north of

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

. While the corridor was originally settled during the 1800s, it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that it rapidly developed as a commercial center dominated by

strip mall A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...

s. Following the massive

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

from

Intown Atlanta Intown Atlanta (or as an adjective, "intown") is a loosely-defined term used by the residents of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, in the United States. It is most frequently used in Atlanta metropolitan area, metro Atlanta to designate an ...

during the 1970s due to increased

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

, the corridor became well known for various types of adult entertainment such as

sex shop A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, pornography, and other related products. An early precursor of the modern sex shop was a chain of stores set up in Par ...

strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...

s, gay

circuit parties A circuit party is a large Dance party, dance event. It extends through the night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event. Proto-circuit parties in the l ...

, and gay nightclubs that had moved into its abandoned retail spaces."History", Lindridge-Martin Manor Neighbors Association
The area has been noted as important in the LGBT history of Georgia."Cheshire Bridge Road Study", 1999, City of Atlanta Department of Planning, Development and Neighborhood Conservation, Bureau of Planning In conjunction with the Cheshire Bridge Road Task Force
Since the 2000s, urban redevelopment projects and

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

have challenged the legacy of the area. In 2005, the Atlanta City Council banned new adult businesses from opening on Cheshire Bridge Road but existing ones were allowed to stay. However, new high-density residential developments have become common in recent years and some existing businesses and nightclubs have closed or relocated.

History

Origins

White settlers originally settled the corridor in the 1820s. Two of these early settlers were Napoleon and Jerome Cheshire, two brothers who owned farms on opposite sides of South Fork of Peachtree Creek, and connected their farms by a bridge known as the Cheshire Bridge, giving the road its name. The area remained agricultural until the early 20th century. At that time suburban development encroached from Atlanta to the south, in today's Morningside neighborhood. By the 1960s the entire area was suburban.

Possible "cleanup" of Cheshire Bridge

In 2005, the city banned new adult businesses on Cheshire Bridge, but existing ones were allowed to stay."Clean up Cheshire Bridge?"
''Creative Loafing'', May 8, 2013 In 2013, councilman Alex Wan introduced legislation, supported by neighborhood associations and NPU F, to remove existing adult businesses from Cheshire Bridge by 2018, but this was not passed, opposed by a mix of gays, strippers and Atlanta's real estate interests – including Scott Selig."Cheshire Bridge Road to remain an “adult” district, if Atlanta City Council upholds ruling by its zoning board"
, ''Saporta Report'', May 9, 2013 Some in the gay community wondered if Cheshire Bridge were "sanitized", "where would people go for sexual expression"? Matthew Cardinale, the editor and publisher of ''Atlanta Progressive News'', and a resident of the Road, decried "the ongoing project of gentrification, homogenization, sterilization and capitalization of a historic neighborhood", Atlanta's "

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...

". By 2020, several prominent adult entertainment businesses and gay nightclubs were forced to close or relocate to make the area more palatable for developers and investors seeking to make it more residential and family friendly. However, some area business owners and Atlanta residents have organized to preserve the legacy of Cheshire Bridge Road.

Businesses

Well known current and former businesses along Cheshire Bridge Road include: *Tokyo Valentino Erotique (formerly Inserection) - a sex shop * Allure, Onyx, Bliss, and Doll House -

straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, normal person * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing * Str ...

strip clubs *The Chamber - a

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

and

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

centric straight nightclub * Cheshire Motor Inn - a motel famous for gay cruising"HOW TO GET LAID BY A MAN: IF YOU ARE ALSO A MAN"
DJ Toyota Fest, ''Vice'', December 31, 1999 * The Colonnade restaurant - a popular restaurant among "gays and grays" *Roxx Taven - a popular restaurant among gays *Bliss Atlanta - a gay strip club * B.J. Roosters, Xion, The Heretic and The Jungle - gay nightclubs

Amenities

* Cheshire Farm Trail along South Fork Peachtree Creek"Cheshire Farm Trail"
South Fork Conservancy

References

{{Prostitution in the United States, state=collapsed Roads in Atlanta Red-light districts in the United States Gay villages in Georgia (U.S. state) 1820 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Transport infrastructure completed in the 1820s