Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue: A History - Hardcover

Jones, Sharon Foster

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1540206130 ISBN 13: 9781540206138

Publisher: History Press Library Editions, 2012

Synopsis

Named for the famous Spanish explorer who was said to have discovered the Fountain of Youth, Atlanta s Ponce de Leon Avenue began as a simple country road that conveyed visitors to the healing springs that once bubbled along it. Now, few motorists realize that the avenue, one of Atlanta s major commuter thoroughfares, was a prestigious residential street in Victorian Atlanta, home to mayors and millionaires. An economic turn in the twentieth century transformed the avenue into a crime-ridden commercial corridor, but in recent years, Atlantans have rediscovered the street s venerable architecture and storied history. Join local historian Sharon Foster Jones on a vivid tour of the avenue from picnics by the springs in hoopskirts and Atlanta Crackers baseball to the Fox Theatre and the days when Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Al Capone lodged in the esteemed hotels lining this magnificent avenue."

About this title

About the Author:

Atlanta native Sharon Foster Jones, a former divorce lawyer, has found her true calling in researching and gathering local history. She lives in Atlanta s historic Inman Park with her husband, three sons, two Shetland sheepdogs, a once-feral cat and a turtle that won t die. This is the third Atlanta history book she has written.

Review:

"This book, loaded with historical details of Ponce s magnificence and images from the many years, does a great job of promoting awareness of a major feature of our local heritage. The book takes you on a journey from the discovery of a spring on the site of today s Ponce City Market, a couple plantations that existed in the area, the emergence of neighborhoods along Ponce, its rise as a prime address, its tragic decay starting with the great conflagration of 1917 and continuing through suburbanization that afflicted most cities starting in the 1950s, and on to the revitalization and re-establishment that will continue for a long time to come. We would go as far as saying this book belongs in every Midtown home and library." --Midtown Ponce Security Alliance

About this edition

• Publisher: History Press Library Editions
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1540206130
• ISBN 13: 9781540206138
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 130