Thriving Historic Districts? (Atlanta, Roswell, Marietta: lofts, condos, homes)

[Muddle]

Which smaller towns in Georgia feature thriving historic districts that are on the rise?

Here, I have in mind towns that take pride in their historic heritage, have flourishing downtown locally owned businesses, have attracted interesting shops, restaurants, and the like to their downtown district, have areas of renovated historic homes, feature safe and attractive public areas, etc.

I currently work in the Atlanta area and commute from Fayetteville. I've grown weary of Fayeteville's lack of all of the above, and, generally, I believe it is on the decline. So, first, I would like to hear about places within reasonable commuting distance from Atlanta.

But I am also interested to know about Georgia towns in general. Which small towns have reclaimed their heritage and are emphasizing their downtown district?

[TakeAhike]

This article is several years old but might give some suggestions>>>
http://tinyurl.com/29q9sz (broken link)

Gainesville--Cities of Excellence/2006>>
http://tinyurl.com/ytkqwg (broken link)



From driving by--Roswell would probably go at the top of any list as would Decatur and Norcross.

Marietta, Alpharetta, Buford, Suwanee and Lawrenceville --to name only a few are involved in restoration and development.

[jdaryl2002]

Downtown Thomasville has with doubt Georgia’s best historic districts. For a town the size of 25.000 they have four of them. It’s a real downtown not a tourist’s type town filled with just antiques and cafes. Cars drive on original brick streets and hundreds of 100 plus year old homes are restored within walking distance to town.

One hundred fifty year old drugstore is still in business downtown. Barber shop, men’s and ladies clothing stores and restaurants from cheep to chic. Condos and lofts occupy upper floors of downtown stores.

It’s really a town that takes pride in the past and steps have been taken to insure its preservation.

[whinton]

Madison and Greensboro both have very nice downtowns, support historic preservation, etc. They are about 1-1.25 hours east of Atlanta off I-20 near Lake Oconee. Schools in Morgan county (Madison) are good. Other towns in the area to check out include Social Circle and Eatonton.

[sumiller2000]

I guess I'm biased, but I'm pretty pleased with Decatur which seems to meet your wish list to a T. Property values are skyrocketing over here so it would be a good financial investment if you can afford it. There are several historic districts in Decatur, and I believe that more are on the way. Plus it's fun to be historic and hip at the same time!

Inman Park is also very nice but Little Five Points (the area's commercial district) is a little edgier than Decatur's so it isn't for everyone. You'd just have to check it out for yourself.

[jdaryl2002]

Originally Posted by jdaryl2002

Downtown Thomasville has with doubt Georgia’s best historic districts.

Sorry, I left the "out" out of with. Should have read "without" a doubt