DeKalb History Center’s New Exhibition Examines The Forgotten History Of Avondale Estates

When Atlanta’s Avondale Estates neighborhood first opened to new residents in 1925, developer George F. Willis planned a quaint, old English city with beautiful homes flanking a picturesque town center. But the neighborhood was intended to be “whites-only,” like thousands of towns across the United States. The charming look of the neighborhood remains, but the DeKalb History Center endeavors to show how and where old attitudes on race may still linger, in the new exhibition “The Haven of Health and Happiness.” Curator and exhibit coordinator Rebecca Selem joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to share some highlights from the upcoming exhibition and insight into a remarkable and storied Atlanta neighborhood.

Avondale Estates sits east of Decatur and East Atlanta in DeKalb County. In the years when George F. Willis designed the neighborhood, the area was a “haven” due to its many amenities. “A dairy, a plant nursery, a pool, all these playgrounds, an ice house, an up-to-date business district,” according to Selem. “So it was pretty much a paradise for the people who lived here.” Unfortunately, the rules for who could obtain residence kept the neighborhoods exclusively white and mostly middle- to upper-middle-class.

Willis, a salesman of proprietary medicines, found such success in business that his wealth could kickstart an entire town’s construction. “He was just thinking about the things that he would want to have in his town, and encouraging people to take up residence with this perfect town he created,” said Selem. The Tudor-style architecture came from a visit Willis made to Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, William Shakespeare’s hometown, inspiring the characteristic white stucco and dark wood accents of Avondale’s buildings.