City Council Creates a New Collier Heights Historic District

(This post was submitted by Dexter Chambers, Council Communications)

Last week, the Atlanta City Council approved legislation creating the Collier Heights Historic District. The measure was sponsored by City Councilmembers Felicia Moore, District 9, and C.T. Martin, District 10.     

Nestled in the northwest corner of Atlanta, Collier Heights is bordered to the west by Fairburn Road, the east by Hamilton E. Holmes Drive, the north by Donald L. Hollowell Highway, and to the south by the Interstate 20 bridge at Linkwood Road. 

Per a 1961 neighborhood plan, the original Collier Heights boundaries were marked to the west by Carroll Road, to the east by Hightower Road, to the north by Bankhead Highway, and to the south by Gordon Road.

“This has been many years in the making. A lot of hard work has been undertaken to preserve a rich part of Atlanta’s history,” said Councilmember Moore, who represents a portion of the neighborhood.

“This designation not only celebrates the historic significance of Collier Heights to our city, it also shows that once again Collier Heights is the address of choice for many new families,” said Councilmember C.T. Martin, who also represents a portion of the neighborhood.

In 2008 the residents of Collier Heights began their quest to become the first community in the nation to be registered as a historic site, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Collier Heights was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for three different reasons: for being the home of many Atlanta Civil Rights era activists, for the distinction of being an African-American community that was planned and developed by African-Americans, and for the architectural significance of its many different examples of mid-century houses, the most dominant being the split-level ranch house.

In June 2009, the Collier Heights nomination to the National Historic Register was approved.