Castleberry Hill is a historic arts district and southwest district of

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

. It is a federally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

since 1985 and became a City of Atlanta Landmark District in 2006.

History

The area in the city limits of Atlanta known today as Castleberry Hill was originally part of the renegade Snake Nation community that functioned during the 1850s. According to an article from Atlanta Magazine,"Who the Heck Was Juan Ponce de Leon?: The Stories behind Atlanta's Street Names," Atlanta Magazine, March 2009, Vol. 48, Issue 11, p. 64 Castleberry Hill was, by the mid-nineteenth century, a red-light district filled with prostitutes, gambling, and cockfighting. By the time the Civil War began, however, this area was in the process of industrialization. Items such as terra cotta and other building materials were produced then in Atlanta factories. Additionally, Castleberry Hill then contained cotton warehousing and grocers. One of those grocers was Daniel Castleberry, for whom the area was named. Daniel Castleberry, however, is believed to have been an established businessman in the area as a result of his winning the land in the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery. By the early 1990s, the area went into heavy decline, serving as the backdrop for

dystopic A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

films such as Freejack and Kalifornia. The

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

saw another influx of development for the area. Loft conversions began in the 1980s, and currently make up the majority of housing options in the neighborhood. In the early 21st century, Castleberry Hill began another renaissance with major motion pictures and TV series such a
Walking Dead'
being filmed in the area; the now well-known Castleberry Hill Art Stroll, which is held on the second Friday of each month, has become yet another popular event in this area. Castleberry Hill was noted for having one of the largest concentrations of black owned businesses in the nation. Since 2017, numerous new developments in downtown helped significantly increase property values, demand, visitors, safety, and diversity in the neighborhood.

Gallery

File:Castleberry Hill Atlanta.jpg, The Art Stroll File:Castleberry hill.jpg, The Art Stroll File:Castleberry hill art stroll.jpg, The Art Stroll File:Castleberry Hill lofts.jpg, Lofts File:Lofts castleberry hill.jpg, Lofts

References

External links

Official Castleberry Hill District website

Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{Atlanta neighborhoods , state=expanded Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Neighborhoods in Atlanta Arts districts National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Districts of Downtown Atlanta