The AJC’s Actual Factual Georgia feature tackled this question yesterday.

Q: Clairmont Road gains an “e” heading south toward Decatur, or Clairemont loses an “e” when heading north away from Decatur. What’s the story behind that?

The answer is incomplete at best, but it’s worth a quick look so you can bring it up at Decatur area holiday parties over the next few days!

Thanks to Chris for pointing out this feature!   He adds…

“Years ago, a local historian who researched at the DeKalb History Center (McCurdy?) told my students that the road was named after a beautiful girl named Claire.  The boys who courted her had to climb stairs to the house, “… To get to Claire, you had to climb the mountain.”  I always assumed that the Ridley house was across the street from the YMCA, a house with many steps but the AJC article says the land was at the corner of Clairemont and Garden Lane.”

Unfortunately, Sanborn Maps of Decatur only go a bit north of Williams Street (see above), so those don’t answer the question of the location of the Ridley house. However, the map does introduce another alternative spelling of the street, “Claremont Road”.

Perhaps there are just too many ways to misspell “Claire”.

Chris Billingsley sends in this great photo from DHS’ 1956 yearbook looking down Clairemont Ave near the intersection with Ponce de Leon.  He notes…

Someone turned in a 1956 Decatur High yearbook recently. I really liked this view of Clairemont at Ponce. The Colonial Store is gone (I think it opened as a Pigley Wigley in the 1920s), replaced by an office building in the 1990s(?). Next to Colonial Store, separated by a small parking lot, is the Miss Georgia ice creme store. What a great place to spend a nickel on a delicious ice creme cone in the early 1960s. Both gone now but the Ga Power and Miller’s Bookstore buildings are still there. Nice awnings, don’t you think?

Thanks to Ms. Laura Nolan, DHS master librarian (and along with Ms. Susan Riley, mom to all DHS students) who scanned the photos.

Decatur’s City Commission meeting last night was a surprising package of the abnormal.

First, many city commissioners showed open frustration over a completed MAK Historic District new construction home, which had multiple elements not approved by the Preservation commission that had “slipped through the cracks” and had been constructed.  After being denied by the HPC, because it didn’t follow the agreed upon specs, the home owner appealed to the city commission.  Many of the commissioners stated they hoped city staff would “close the holes” in the design review process and make sure that things did not escalate to this level again.  Mayor Bill Floyd stated that he believed this was a “staff mistake” and could not penalize the homeowner, forcing him to remove a metal deck from his backyard and take out double-columns on his porch, because of gaps in the system. The commission reversed the HPC’s decision to denying the Certificate of Occupancy.

Secondly, the city commission unanimously voted down the long-debated 1004 Clairemont Road subdivision project, which was originally approved by the Planning Commission in March 2010 with 14 conditions (see page 75 of meeting materials).   The development of the old Cliff Valley School property has a storied history among residents in the area, who strongly disproved of an original plan back in the mid-2000s of the construction of a traditional subdivision, complete with cul-de-sac on large lot that was originally compiled by a school that never was able to undertake its planned expansion.

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From Catherine Lee on The Decatur Minute…

Beginning December 3, the Georgia Department of Transportation will be replacing storm water pipe across the 600 block of Clairemont Ave. Two lanes of traffic will be closed daily until the work is complete. Traffic congestion should be expected and alternate routes should be used if possible. Notices to the affected properties have been posted and two message boards are in place to provide updated information as available. We apologize for any inconvenience and we look forward to the improved drainage after this work is completed.

If you have no clue where the “600 block of Clairemont” is, here’s a map to help you out.  If you hate maps, but love Decatur street-names, 600 is around the intersection of Wilton Drive and Michigan Ave with Clairemont.

Laura writes in…

I am wondering if you can solve a mystery for me and my husband.

We are recent Decatur transplants (via Midtown) and are perplexed by the disappearing/reappearing E in “Clairemont” Road. The E seems to drop out north of Scott on street signs, but both north and south of Scott there are buildings and businesses with “Clairemont” and “Clairmont” in their labels. Is there a rationale for this, or is the whole city just confused?

It IS intentional.  However, though I still bare the scars of the last time I called it “Clairmont” instead of “Clairemont” (admittedly a long time ago), I can’t recall the reason that the “e” disappears.

A little help?