First Atlanta Suburb

I took a walk around Inman Park, which proudly proclaims itself as Atlanta's first suburban neighborhood. It was designed by Joel Hurt in the late 1880's, who was heavily influenced by the work of Frederick Law Olmsted. What amazed me about this suburb is that it is only a few short miles east of Georgia State, yet as you walk along the sidewalks in the heart of the suburb you feel as if you are 15-20 miles outside of the city. A dominating feature of Inman Park is the roadway layout. As previously mentioned in other blogs the curving of the roadway is a major characteristic of a suburb. The curving or weaving of the roadway was meant to provide the pedestrian with a sense of mystery of what laid ahead just around the curve or over the crest of the hill.

A common theme for living in the borderlands throughout the first few chapters of Stilgoe's Borderland was the ability to commute into the city. The picture below is of a trolley barn located on the outskirts of Inman Park. This was a trolley stop along Edgewood Avenue where residents picked up the trolley to commute into work.



I added the last picture below as an aside. The yellow sign is a warning for children at play and right above it is a 25 mph speed limit sign. The signs being obscured by the lush foliage in the suburb caught me as funny and worth a picture.