| Revision as of 23:40, 27 September 2013 editCandleabracadabra (talk | contribs)25,793 edits I don't see how any of this belongs. but we can mention it.← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:04, 28 September 2013 edit undoBiosthmors (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, Pending changes reviewers19,017 edits Undid revision 574805305 by Candleabracadabra (talk) read WP:PRESERVE please, the baseline is an idealized finished article, not what is currently writtenNext edit → | ||
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| It is also an exit at mile 40 off ] ("the Perimeter") north. The only way to access I-285 south is to exit onto Church Street, since this is a split-], and the two roads run parallel to each other with a railroad line in between these roads. | It is also an exit at mile 40 off ] ("the Perimeter") north. The only way to access I-285 south is to exit onto Church Street, since this is a split-], and the two roads run parallel to each other with a railroad line in between these roads. | ||
| ==Kroger== | |||
| The Kroger on Ponce Avenue is a ] located in the ] neighborhood and has a checkered history.<ref name="Wheatley">Thomas Wheatley (April 6, 2011). "" ''Creative Loafing''. Accessed September 12, 2013.</ref> | |||
| The ] on Ponce, nicknamed "Murder Kroger",<ref name="Wheatley">Thomas Wheatley (April 6, 2011). "" ''Creative Loafing''. Accessed September 12, 2013.</ref> is a ] located in the ] neighborhood. An article in '']'' called the store "one of the city's quirky charms that Atlantans seem to both love and hate at the same time".<ref name="Wheatley"/> It opened shortly after 1986, when low-interest government loans were used to convert the adjacent and former ] into lofts and commercial spaces.<ref>Enterprise THE BUSINESS OF THE CITY Kroger spreads wings downtown The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution (pre-1997 Fulltext) 29 Aug 1996: D.04.</ref> From the 1990s,<ref>Q & A ON THE NEWS Bessonette, Colin. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 01 Jan 1997: A.02.</ref> and until at least 2002,<ref>2002 ULTIMATE GUIDE: SOUTH METRO: YOUR GOVERNMENT: The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 25 July 2002: GD.24.</ref> the store had drivers license renewal services. In 2002 the store tested ].<ref>Ready to check out? Do it yourself: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 14 July 2001: A.1.</ref> After two ] supermarkets opened nearby, the store was refurbished.<ref>GROCERY GLADIATORS: Kroger, Publix raise the stakes No. 1, No. 2 go all out as new rivals invade: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 12 May 2002: Q.1.</ref> The closest neighboring Kroger, near ], is the area's top performing one, as of 2006.<ref>Unusual firm opens 'big boxes' intown: Persistence, flexibility and money are key: WALTER WOODS, PATTI BOND. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 12 Nov 2006: D.1.</ref> Competitors to the Ponce Kroger also include ], ],<ref>Little grocery that could believes it can play with big boys: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 09 Oct 2002: D.1.</ref> and ]. Rumors in 2011 of an upgrade to the store were unfounded,<ref name="Wheatley"/> though in 2013 a planned $1.5 million investment was announced. | |||
| In 1991, a 25-year-old woman died after a shooting in the parking lot.<ref name="CityLights">CityLights A weekly column of this and that: The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 24 Aug 2000: JD; 1.</ref> '']'' attributed the nickname "Scary Kroger" to the store because of the event.<ref name="CityLights"/> In October 1999, a man robbed the Bank of America inside the store.<ref>LAW AND ORDER: The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 09 Oct 1999: F; 6.</ref> In August 2002, a strong odor raised the suspicions of a woman who reported her findings to police; a dead man was in a car in the parking lot.<ref>LAW & ORDER: The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 04 Aug 2002: F.8.</ref> A song titled "Murder Kroger" by the group Attractive Eighties Women, which incorporates a mention of the nearby ] into the lyrics, is dedicated to shoppers who frequent the store.<ref>"" Attractive Eighties Women (live). Accessed September 14, 2013.</ref> | |||
| ==Improvements== | ==Improvements== | ||
Revision as of 00:04, 28 September 2013
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| Ponce | |
| Location | DeKalb, Fulton counties |
|---|---|
| West end | Spring Street (Atlanta) |
| East end | Stone Mountain Lithonia Road |
Ponce de Leon Avenue (/pnts də ˈlən/ PAHNSS duh LEE-ahn), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs, in turn from explorer Ponce de Leon, but is not pronounced as in Spanish. Several grand and historic buildings are located on the avenue.
History
The original street extended eastward from Peachtree Street and was called Ponce de Leon Circle. In August 1872, a horsecar line that went from downtown Atlanta up Peachtree to Pine, was extended to Ponce de Leon Circle. At some point later it was extended to Ponce de Leon Springs, where the Ponce de Leon amusement park would be built; today, Ponce City Market (formerly the Sears building, then City Hall East) stands on the site. Finally in 1889 the line was electrified and extended with the "loop" around what is now Virginia-Highland.
West of Peachtree Street were Kimball Street and 2nd Street, portions of which were renamed Ponce de Leon Avenue. (see maps at Atlanta annexations)
In the 1890s-1910s, Ponce de Leon between Midtown and Moreland Avenue (the border of Druid Hills) was one of the city's premier residential streets lined with large houses of the city's elite. With the arrival of the automobile, the richest families started to move further out, to what is today Buckhead, to Ansley Park and to Druid Hills. Upscale apartment buildings started to appear on the boulevard. Ponce, as did much of the city, lost many of its middle- to upper-middle-class residents in the 1950s and 1960s, and large parking lot areas and new buildings built away from the street made Ponce lose much of the walkability that it had - and its focus gave way fully to automobile traffic. Though a renaissance was beginning in the 1970s, Ponce still was renowned for prostitution, drug sales, but also for its eclectic character up to the turn of the 21st century, celebrated in books such as George Mitchell's Ponce Deleon : An Intimate Portrait of Atlanta's Most Famous Avenue and Sharon Foster's Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue: A History. Today, the areas that Ponce passes on its way from Midtown to Druid Hills are largely affluent: Midtown, the Old Fourth Ward where gentrification is well underway, and fully gentrified Poncey-Highland and Virginia-Highland.
Sam Venable's home on the northeast corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Oakdale Road was bought in 1959 for $60,000 by the St. John's Lutheran Church.
Route
Ponce de Leon Avenue begins at Spring Street at the south edge of Midtown Atlanta, though it may have originally started a block further west at Williams Street (across from Georgia Tech, one block east of Bobby Dodd Stadium) prior to the construction of the Downtown Connector. It passes West Peachtree Street and then Peachtree Street, the city block which has the BellSouth Building (now AT&T) and the historic Fox Theatre on the north side of the street. At the next two intersections, it takes multiple numbered routes from North Avenue, which runs one block to the south and forms the boundary between Midtown and downtown Atlanta. Via one-way Juniper Street southbound and Piedmont Avenue (Georgia 237) northbound, it gets U.S. 29 north, U.S. 78 east, U.S. 278 east, and Georgia 8 east.
After drifting toward the east-northeast, it passes Boulevard (which continues north as Monroe Drive), and after Glen Iris Drive it passes the north side of the old Sears building, which was used as City Hall East and is awaiting redevelopment as Ponce City Market. That building is slated for renovation and redevelopment, as is the rail track on its east side, which will be a part of the BeltLine. After the now-redeveloped Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant on the opposite side of the tracks, it passes the Clermont Lounge and then the north end of Freedom Parkway, where it also picks-up Georgia 10 east. A few blocks further east, it crosses North Highland Avenue by the historic Plaza Theatre, at the intersection which caused the surrounding Atlanta neighborhood to be named Poncey-Highland.
After crossing the intersection of Georgia 42 (Moreland Avenue south and Briarcliff Road north), it gets a sixth route number: U.S. 23 north. Although still within Atlanta city limits, it also crosses the county line from Fulton into DeKalb at this street. The road begins to gradually curve back and forth, and is followed on its south side by South Ponce de Leon Avenue, the land between them being Oak Grove Park. A second segment of linear park is called Dellwood Park, and around Clifton Road it finally leaves the city, just before passing the south side of the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. A third segment called North Ponce de Leon Avenue surrounds a heavily forested county park called Deepdene Park, and on its south side, mainline Ponce de Leon Avenue loses U.S. 278 and Georgia 10 at a split with East Lake Road.
After a northward curve, it loses its other four route numbers at a split with Scott Road, and continues eastward into the city of Decatur as West Ponce de Leon Avenue. Crossing the centerpoint of downtown at Clairemont Avenue (north) and McDonough Street (south), near city hall and the Decatur MARTA station, it becomes East Ponce de Leon Avenue. It then continues on through Scottdale and downtown Clarkston to become Main Street southward through downtown Stone Mountain, then becoming Stone Mountain Lithonia Road on its way south to Lithonia.
It is also an exit at mile 40 off Interstate 285 ("the Perimeter") north. The only way to access I-285 south is to exit onto Church Street, since this is a split-diamond interchange, and the two roads run parallel to each other with a railroad line in between these roads.
Kroger
The Kroger on Ponce, nicknamed "Murder Kroger", is a supermarket located in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood. An article in Creative Loafing called the store "one of the city's quirky charms that Atlantans seem to both love and hate at the same time". It opened shortly after 1986, when low-interest government loans were used to convert the adjacent and former Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant into lofts and commercial spaces. From the 1990s, and until at least 2002, the store had drivers license renewal services. In 2002 the store tested scan-it-yourself checkout devices. After two Publix supermarkets opened nearby, the store was refurbished. The closest neighboring Kroger, near Little Five Points, is the area's top performing one, as of 2006. Competitors to the Ponce Kroger also include Whole Foods, Sevananda, and Trader Joe's. Rumors in 2011 of an upgrade to the store were unfounded, though in 2013 a planned $1.5 million investment was announced.
In 1991, a 25-year-old woman died after a shooting in the parking lot. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution attributed the nickname "Scary Kroger" to the store because of the event. In October 1999, a man robbed the Bank of America inside the store. In August 2002, a strong odor raised the suspicions of a woman who reported her findings to police; a dead man was in a car in the parking lot. A song titled "Murder Kroger" by the group Attractive Eighties Women, which incorporates a mention of the nearby Clermont Lounge into the lyrics, is dedicated to shoppers who frequent the store.
Improvements
Ponce de Leon Avenue in the City of Atlanta is included in the Ponce/Moreland Corridors Plan as part of the city's comprehensive development plan.
As of April 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation has decided to begin the design of safety improvements for pedestrians on the two-mile stretch of Ponce between Piedmont and N. Highland/Moreland. Changes proposed include the conversion of an eastbound traffic lane into a two-way left-turn lane. The land would include intermittent traffic islands and "HAWK" pedestrian crossing signals at selected crosswalks where no traffic signals currently exist.
Major intersections
as East Ponce de Leon Avenue (Decatur east to Stone Mountain)
| County | Location | Roads Intersected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb | Decatur | Clairemont Avenue | Western terminus; road continues from West Ponce de Leon Avenue |
| Church Street | |||
 SR 155 (Commerce Drive)
|
|||
| North Arcadia Avenue / Sams Crossing | Avondale MARTA Transit Station | ||
| DeKalb Industrial Way | DeVry Technical Institute | ||
| Scottdale | North Clarendon Avenue | ||
| North Decatur Road | |||
| Valley Brook Road | To North DeKalb Mall | ||
| McLendon Drive | |||
| Clarkston |   I-285 north, Exit 40
|
| |
| North Indian Creek Drive | |||
| Brockett Road | |||
| Clarkston / Tucker | Idlewood Road | ||
| Stone Mountain | Rays Road | ||
| Hambrick Road | Hambrick Elementary School | ||
| Mountain Industrial Boulevard / North Hairston Road | To Tucker | ||
| Rock Mountain Boulevard | |||
 SR 10 (Stone Mountain Bypass)
|
To   US 78 (Stone Mountain Freeway) / SR 410
| ||
| James B. Rivers Memorial Drive | Eastern terminus Road continues as Main Street |
References
- Template:USdict
- William Bailey Williford, Peachtree Street, Atlanta
- "Many Streets Get New Names", Atlanta Constitution, October 17, 1903
- Sharon Foster, Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue: A History
- [http://books.google.com/books?id=5A-502pj08sC&pg=PA67&dq=Venable+Brothers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-5FFUrnILYS69QTCs4CIAg&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCQ Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue: A History By Sharon Foster Jones
- http://www.atlantaolmstedpark.org/deepdene.htm
- ^ Thomas Wheatley (April 6, 2011). "Murder Kroger to get a makeover? Grocer says 'no'" Creative Loafing. Accessed September 12, 2013.
- Enterprise THE BUSINESS OF THE CITY Kroger spreads wings downtown The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution (pre-1997 Fulltext) 29 Aug 1996: D.04.
- Q & A ON THE NEWS Bessonette, Colin. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 01 Jan 1997: A.02.
- 2002 ULTIMATE GUIDE: SOUTH METRO: YOUR GOVERNMENT: The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 25 July 2002: GD.24.
- Ready to check out? Do it yourself: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 14 July 2001: A.1.
- GROCERY GLADIATORS: Kroger, Publix raise the stakes No. 1, No. 2 go all out as new rivals invade: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 12 May 2002: Q.1.
- Unusual firm opens 'big boxes' intown: Persistence, flexibility and money are key: WALTER WOODS, PATTI BOND. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 12 Nov 2006: D.1.
- Little grocery that could believes it can play with big boys: DeGross, Renee. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 09 Oct 2002: D.1.
- ^ CityLights A weekly column of this and that: The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 24 Aug 2000: JD; 1.
- LAW AND ORDER: The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution 09 Oct 1999: F; 6.
- LAW & ORDER: The Atlanta Journal - Constitution 04 Aug 2002: F.8.
- "Murder Kroger" Attractive Eighties Women (live). Accessed September 14, 2013.
- City of Atlanta, Ponce de Leon / Moreland Avenue Corridors Study
- PEDS Newsletter, April 2011
External links
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