Reynoldstown is a

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 ...

and

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neighborhood on the near east side of

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, located two miles from downtown.

History and demographics

Reynoldstown is a community that was originally settled after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

by freed slaves who were employed by the railroad. Madison and Sarah Reynolds were among the first ex-slaves to move into the area, and it is believed that the neighborhood was named after them. Reynoldstown was annexed by the city of Atlanta in 1909 and celebrates its historic tie to freed slave roots and artistic expressions to empower residents with its annual Wheelbarrow Festival. The neighborhood continued to thrive and prosper until the 1950s when the railroad industry began to decline. Reynoldstown began

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

in the 1990s, altering the demographic makeup of the neighborhood where today it is closer to a mix of 65% white and 35% African-American population composition. The neighborhood was listed as a Historic District on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2003.

Geography

Reynoldstown is bordered on the west by Pearl Street, across which is Cabbagetown and, south of Memorial Drive, Grant Park; on the east by

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and Edgewood; on the south by

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, across which is the Ormewood Park neighborhood and an industrial area which is officially part of Grant Park; and on the north by the railroad line and

Inman Park Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman. History Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated: * Inman Par ...

. Reynoldstown lies in NPU N. It is listed on the

as a historic district. Local landmarks include the Colgate Mattress Factory,

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headquarters, and the former Atlanta & West Point Railroad depot, which now houses a restaurant.

Parks and trails

The

BeltLine The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...

bisects Reynoldstown north-south. It functions as a paved walking and biking trail, and possibly for transit use (either light rail or streetcar). Just north of Reynoldstown in

adjacent the intersection of Krog St and Irwin St, The East Side Trail, part of The Beltline, is paved from here to Piedmont Park through Inman Park,

Old Fourth Ward The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an Intown Atlanta, intown neighborhood on the Eastside (Atlanta), eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. National H ...

, Poncey-Highland and Virginia-Highland. The

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

railroad Hulsey Yard forms the northern border of the neighborhood, a current issue is how to connect the southeast BeltLine to the Eastside Trail portion of the BeltLine across the yard. The southern wall of the yard on Wylie Street in Reynoldstown and Cabbagetown is a prominent location for street art in Atlanta. Lang-Carson Park () also lies within Reynoldstown.

Transportation

Memorial Drive is the major thoroughfare passing through the south end of Reynoldstown, with mostly light industrial properties, many of which are now repurposed for residential, retail and entertainment use. Reynoldstown contains rail right-of-way that is planned for the

Beltline The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...

. Reynoldstown is served by the Inman Park/Reynoldstown

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station.

Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League

Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League's (RCIL) is the neighborhood association that represents Reynoldstown in NPU-N.

References

External links

*
Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League Facebook Page

Reynoldstown History

Facebook – Reynoldstown Neighbors, closed group with 1500+ members

Reynoldstown Nextdoor
(private community social network)
History of Affordable Housing Initiatives in Reynoldstown

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity

Reynoldstown Yahoo Group
(900+ member daily communication tool) {{Historic Districts in Metro Atlanta Neighborhoods in Atlanta Historic districts in Atlanta Colonial Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta