West Midtown or Midtown West?

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

If your talking to most Native African-American Atlantans they would consider "The Westside" to be English Avenue, Bankhead and Vine City. All of those neigborhoods are in NW quadrant of Atlanta. That term has referred to these neigborhoods for ages.

No, there is a difference. You're referring to "Weezziddee" - popularized by Ludacris.

The thread, and mainstream Atlanta, refers to the area as "Westside." The area was white before it was black - including Mozley Park, Bankhead, and West End. Expand your historical perspective beyond an exclusive focus on black Atlanta, you might learn something.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by Karma.Police

Personally I wish the whole West Midtown thing would go away. That area doesn't resemble Midtown, or is even adjacent to Midtown. Neighborhoods like Home Park, Blandtown, Knight Park, Loring Heights, and Berkeley Park are being swallowed up by this imaginary neighborhood. My opinion is that it is developers and real estate folks taking the easy way out by hijacking the name of an already established area instead of investing in the reputation of the existing neighborhoods. To me it seems a bit disrespectful to wipe the slate clean, and start over like someone discovered this hidden place (that's always been there).

I can't speak for every City of Atlanta resident, but neither I or my friends that live in the city refer to that area as West Midtown. I can understand referring to it as Westside since the Westside market is there, but West Midtown to me is lame.

I agree with this.

But I will say that "Midtown West" sounds fabricated and unauthentic. It reminds me of the name of a mall. West Midtown sounds like someone doesn't know where they are so I don't like either.

But I am biased I guess since I don't think it should have a name. I see the "W Midtown" signs on Marietta Blvd whenever I drive through there and really just don't see the need for the ever expanding labeling.

Also, I call it the Westside too if I need to tell someone who is not familar with Atlanta. I live in English Avenue and consider my neighborhood on the Westside, just like Grove Park, Washington Park, Vine City, West End, Westview, Mozley Park, and even further west where I used to live in Adamsville. All that is on the Westside of Atlanta IMO.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

I agree with this.

But I will say that "Midtown West" sounds fabricated and unauthentic. It reminds me of the name of a mall. West Midtown sounds like someone doesn't know where they are so I don't like either.

But I am biased I guess since I don't think it should have a name. I see the "W Midtown" signs on Marietta Blvd whenever I drive through there and really just don't see the need for the ever expanding labeling.

Also, I call it the Westside too if I need to tell someone who is not familar with Atlanta. I live in English Avenue and consider my neighborhood on the Westside, just like Grove Park, Washington Park, Vine City, West End, Westview, Mozley Park, and even further west where I used to live in Adamsville. All that is on the Westside of Atlanta IMO.

Read over the first post in this thread. West Midtown is not trying to be the name of the entire Westside of Atlanta--West Midtown is in the Westside (along with all of the neighborhoods you mentioned !)


West Midtown is the "soon to be official" name of the neighborhood outlined in the first post of this thread.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

No, there is a difference. You're referring to "Weezziddee" - popularized by Ludacris.

The thread, and mainstream Atlanta, refers to the area as "Westside." The area was white before it was black - including Mozley Park, Bankhead, and West End. Expand your historical perspective beyond an exclusive focus on black Atlanta, you might learn something.

So, Boy Kurt--in your world, if northwest Atlanta is the true Westside--

Then, what do you really want to call the neighborhoods directly due west of southern Midtown/Central/Downtown Atlanta,...Soweto?

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by aries4118

So, Boy Kurt--in your world, if northwest Atlanta is the true Westside--

Then, what do you really want to call the neighborhoods directly due west of southern Midtown/Central/Downtown Atlanta,...Soweto?

No - it's all Westside. My point was that "Westside" was never a term that exclusively referred to Vine City, Bankhead, and English Avenue. Westside refers to all of Atlanta west of 75 and always has, by both black and white residents alike. Pick up any Atlanta history book and that is clearly the case.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

No - it's all Westside. My point was that "Westside" was never a term that exclusively referred to Vine City, Bankhead, and English Avenue. Westside refers to all of Atlanta west of 75 and always has, by both black and white residents alike. Pick up any Atlanta history book and that is clearly the case.

Um, Backtrack--that's what the other posters have been saying all along.

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Um, Backtrack--that's what the other posters have been saying all along.

Nope. Atlantasfinest said that Westside only refers to those three neighborhoods.

[Atlantasfinest]

Let me clarify a bit...I didnt mean to say it only referred to those three neigborhoods but to the entire Westside area and the nabs that include it. The main neighborhoods on the Westside for years have been Adamsville, Vine City, English Avenue and Bankhead and have been the neighborhoods associated with the term Westside, they have been the most densely populated as well over the last 50 years and yes It has been mostly Black. The neighborhoods due West of 75 close to Buckhead I dont believe would want to be associated with the "Westside". I consider Westside to be all neighborhoods West of Northside Drive/North of I-20/Inside of 285 and West of I-75 and Moores Mill Road.

[K-SawDude]

There is a Westside marker posted in front of Figo right south of the Waterworks. (By marker here I mean a marble-looking pole that reads "WESTSIDE.") And I know White Provision/Westside Urban Market has marketed itself in the past as sort of the Northern gateway into the Westside. So I had sort of assumed the Waterworks formed the Northern boundary of the Westside.

But of course I've seen people refer to Flip Burger as a Westside joint--and that's north of the Waterworks. So who knows? Interesting discussion though! Just goes to show how fluid some of these neighborhood boundaries really are (i.e., sometimes this stuff is more determined by culture and attitude than by sheer geography).

[K-SawDude]

Nice piece on how/why West Midtown came to be hot, growing part of Atlanta this last decade . . .

The Emergence of West Midtown - Midtown, GA Patch

Kevin Howarth, Director of Content Strategy for Nebo comes from an economic development background and sees West Midtown as an area that doesn’t get much publicity but has all the right elements in place. Namely a 25-34 demographic; high-wage, knowledge-based jobs; a friendly business-university relationship; and a creative, artistic, sophisticated lifestyle and culture.
“West Midtown has thrived due to an excess of all of these elements,” Howarth said. These are a collection of assets that entire cities or slices of cities want. Facebook could have chosen anywhere to open an office and they chose West Midtown.”

It was interesting to me how important Octane was to the neighborhood in the southern part of West Midtown. They probably also need to credit Taqueria del Sol and Bacchanalia for taking the risk of moving over to West Midtown before anyone else did.