Old Fourth Ward (O4W)

Arguably the most popular Atlanta Intown neighborhood, Old Fourth Ward (OFW or O4W), is east of Downtown, bordered by Piedmont Ave and the BeltLine on the east end, with Oakland Cemetery on the South End and Ponce de Leon/Midtown on the North.

This historic neighborhood is well known for being the home of civil rights legend, Martin Luther King Jr, however it was populated in the early 1800s. During the early 1900s, the area began growing more populated due to the expansion of the booming businesses on Auburn Ave. 105 years ago, the Great Fire of 1917 struck O4W and displaced around 10,000 residents (thankfully, none died in the fire). Before the 1960s, what is now the Civic Center and Georgia Powers HQ was home to the long forgotten neighborhood of Buttermilk Bottom (which supposedly got it’s name from the spoiled milk stench of inantiquate draining and plumbing systems of the time). Buttermilk Bottom was the product of failed urban renewal projects. Before the 1980s, the area was mostly abandoned, becoming a notorious drug and crime area, like with most of intown Atlanta in the 1950s and 1960s, wealthier residents moved to the suburbs with urban sprawl. Gentrification begun and continued at a more rapid pace in the early 2000s up until the recession.

Fast forward to now, with The BeltLine, Ponce City Market and too many other things to list, the area has grown to be one of my favorite places to be, even being named in the “Top 10 Best Neighborhoods to Live in in America”. The historic neighborhood consists of early 1900s architecture like Craftsman bungalows, Victorian-style, English Vernacular Revival, Colonial Revival, and shotgun homes, but now you’ll find primarily newer construction modern homes and condos.