Comments on: Dig Into Decatur’s Historic Resources Survey!

By: cranky old timer

cranky old timer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:47:35 +0000

I am intrigued that they grouped Ponce Heights into the Clairemont Heights Vidal/Lamont district, this is not consistent with the school maps drawn for Westchester lo those many years ago. As to my info on pastures/and peavine creek, it comes from a local resident who has lived in this area since the 1940s … and another former resident remembers when Scott was practically a dirt path, and I quote ” it was all trees to Emory”
btw, we had two huge oaks go down in our backyard … counted the rings, and they were about 80 years old, give or take a decade.. not old by ancient tree standards but we were devastated by their loss

By: Land

Land — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:42:11 +0000

Very interesting…where are you guys finding this info on Ponce Heights and Peavine Creek info? Would love to read more on the history of it…The creek is interesting…some of the trees behind Coventry and Lamont are huge!

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:50:51 +0000

Ponce Heights is being grouped with Clairemont Heights and Vidal/Lamont as a “West Clairemont” district. I’m also slightly surprised by this since Ponce Heights has it’s own distinct history….like it’s roads were built as an off-shoot of Druid Hills in the 20’s but it wasn’t fully developed until right before WWII. The houses this larger area are similar and from around the same time period, but I think a case can be made either way.

As for the pastures, I love knowing the history of some of our open spaces, but I don’t think they would count towards deeming the area “historic”.

By: cranky old timer

cranky old timer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:44:59 +0000

I know for a fact that many of the homes in the ponce de leon heights area are historic, but we do not seem to have that designation on the map. We have homes on our area that date to the early 1900s– plus, we have interesting tidbits of Decatur history–I also know that the beloved toy park used to be a cow pasture … the Peavine Creek flood plain area behind Northern also served as a place to pen ponies….am I missing something on the map — is Ponce Heights there?

By: DECATURKJ

DECATURKJ — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:38:45 +0000

I’ve always loved 303 5th Ave and have wanted to give it some love in return. Does anyone know what the story is there? At one point I thought they were going to paint it, but they seem to have stopped with a couple pieces of siding (as you can see in the Google image). That was years ago.

By: Decatur Completes Historic Resources Survey « Georgia Zoning Blog

Decatur Completes Historic Resources Survey « Georgia Zoning Blog — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:47:51 +0000

[...] Tagged: Decatur, Historic District, Historic Resources Survey. Leave a Comment Thanks to DecaturMetro, the Historic Resources Survey commissioned by the City of Decatur is now available on-line. The [...]

By: George

George — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:54:04 +0000

DM – yes, the two houses were built at (effectively) the same time. The neighbor’s house even has the construction date proudly displayed on the front wall, while mine has a decidedly “un-historic” two-story addition rudely bolted onto the back of the original cottage front.

So it’s just peculiar that theirs is considered non-contributing and mine is the opposite. In my mind, it calls into question the accuracy of the study.

As to your other comment, I lived in both the MAK and Oakhurst districts when those LHD’s were discussed, so I’m a relative veteran — and I completely agree with your “bogeyman” theory as to why one was successful, and one was not. However, it doesn’t mean that an unnecessary, unwanted LHD couldn’t have been pushed through if the community was not vigilant.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:34:07 +0000

Sorry, poor choice of words. Meant to use it as an adjective version of “One who studies an issue or a topic thoroughly or excessively” not as something that was “shaky and unsound”.

Should probably have said “wonk-ish” and not “wonky”.

But if you’d also like further editorializing, I’d be happy to oblige.