East Atlanta

Sure, it's got tree-lined streets and a few stunning Victorians, a vociferous neighborhood association and an active Baptist church. But a picket-fenced utopia East Atlanta ain't.

Thank God.

East Atlanta isn't trying to be Mayberry. Hell, it isn't even trying to be Virginia-Highland. And though it draws the tired analogy of being Little Five Points' younger sister, that's just a watered-down way of saying East Atlanta still has the soul that commercialization sucked out of Little Five.

From the beef carpaccio and white Cosmo cocktails at Iris to the bowls of boiled peanuts and 16-ounce cans of Busch at the Earl, from the drag-queen karaoke near the corner of Flat Shoals and Glenwood to the stately brick homes lining the intersection of Flat Shoals and Ormewood, it's all about marching to your own beat in East Atlanta - or at least being friends with a drummer.

For those of you who don't know (who are you people?), East Atlanta is the city's epitome of cool - or crunk, hip, hep (you get the picture). Case in point: While most Atlanta neighborhoods' biggest annual festivals involve parades, crafts booths, and face-painting, East Atlanta's three-day Corndogorama features nearly 30 local bands and - you guessed it - a corndog-eating contest.

But despite being the epicenter of all things indie, East Atlanta still remains a neighborhood's neighborhood.

The East Atlanta Village of a decade ago would've been unrecognizable to those intimately acquainted with its current incarnation. Even with the introduction in the mid-'90s of a coffee shop (then Sacred Grounds, now Joe's) and a restaurant (Heaping Bowl), the district was little more than a strip of washed-up businesses and boarded-up windows.

But East Atlanta, which sits just south of I-20 and east of Moreland Avenue, would see a revival. Home buyers with a sixth sense started gobbling up the mix of bungalows and brick ranches - then listed for well under $100,000.

Oh, how things have changed. Last year, the average home sale price was $191,436.

In 1996, Joanie Stovall's then-boyfriend bought a charming red bungalow at the corner of Brownwood Avenue and Pendleton Street for an amount that would make you scream. When the two married in 1998, they used the event as an excuse to fix up the house.

Not that being married keeps Stovall from going out in the Village. She says she's remained a fixture at the Earl - and is quick to point out that if "smoky bars aren't your scene, you can go to the Earl for brunch."

By East Atlanta standards, Stovall is a veteran. That would make Henry Bryant a shaman. An East Atlanta resident for 24 years, Bryant spent 20 of those fixing up his century-old Victorian on Metropolitan Avenue. The exterior combines Roman columns, urn-type ballastry, and a traditional wraparound porch. Inside are skylights, soaring ceilings and oak floors. He now jokes that he keeps busy repairing all the things he fixed soon after moving in.

But Bryant hasn't idly watched the area change while laboring over his renovations. He's played an active role in the neighborhood's evolution.

"In the '80s, we surprised the urban planners," says Bryant, who with his wife raised two kids in East Atlanta. "They thought everyone had abandoned the neighborhood."

They were wrong.

But with the influx of new, mostly young and mostly white artists, musicians and professionals, the predominantly African-American neighborhood has suffered the inevitable strains of gentrification: rising property taxes, culture clashes, and crime.

"The perception of crime was always worse than it was," Bryant says. "But the crime was worse than it is now."

While a certain amount of common sense is necessary to live in any urban area, Bryant says East Atlanta should be commended for the strides it's taken to protect its residents - old and new. The overriding sentiment among East Atlantans is not to push out the longtimers, but to put in the work it takes to mend together two worlds.

As one local landlord puts it: "If you can't handle the diversity, move to the 'burbs."

Fact Box

HOME PRICES
Averaging $191,436 in 2004, up from $172,512 in 2002; an 11 percent increase.
Average rental: $1,200 for a three- bedroom house within walking distance of the Village.

SCHOOLS
Neighborhood Charter School (elementary)
Peterson Elementary
Burgess Elementary
Coan Middle School
Crim High School

DIVERSITY
White: 17 percent
African-American: 81 percent

CULTURAL AMENITIES
The Earl: With the Echo Lounge's demise, the Earl is indisputable headquarters of East Atlanta’s indie-rock scene. Live music nightly and Sunday afternoons. 488 Flat Shoals Ave.
East Side Lounge: A sleek, New York-style lounge, with nightly DJs and famously large bathrooms. 485 Flat Shoals Ave.
Mary’s: Campy karaoke-friendly gay bar. 1287-B Glenwood Ave.

ORAL PLEASURES
Iris: A remodeled auto shop, East Atlanta’s finest (and priciest) restaurant can compete with just about any upscale dining in town. 1314 Glenwood Ave.
The Heaping Bowl: Among the first pioneers to take a chance on East Atlanta, the restaurant serves steaming dishes of comforting grub. 469 Flat Shoals Ave.
Cameli’s Vegan: Offers both vegan and vegetarian dishes, including spaghetti and “meatballs” and country-fried portabella steaks. 1263 Glenwood Ave.