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SoHo of the South

Amazing new restaurants and galleries are turning Castleberry Hill into one of Atlanta's hippest neighborhoods.
October 2007

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WECOME TO CASTLEBERRYE HILL, ATLANTA’S HIPPEST NEIGHBORHOOD

BY ALLISON WEISS ENTREKIN

On the southwestern edge of downtown Atlanta, a neighborhood is in bloom. It is an area rooted in history, colored by plentiful artwork and tended to by a dedicated group of bohemian residents.

It is called Castleberry Hill, and it is fast becoming one of Atlanta’s most vibrant districts.

“Castleberry Hill reminds me of a young SoHo or the Meatpacking District in New York,” says resident and business owner Jason Wertz. “You have history juxtaposed against contemporary art and architecture—the area is maturing into a fun and eclectic arts district.”

Castleberry Hill’s charm lies in its historic warehouses, which line the roads in robust, time tested rows. Though the façades are marked by faded bricks and peeling paint, the interiors have been painstakingly restored by a new generation of caretakers. Almost 25 of them have been converted into galleries, and a dozen more have turned into restaurants, from SLICE (www.sliceatlanta.com; 404-588-1820), a sleek pizza parlor, to Wasabi (www.wasabiatl.com; 404-574-5680), a hip sushi joint. Most of the remaining warehouses are home to a mix of businesspeople and artists.

Castleberry Hill has come to life over the past few years, and so has the public’s interest in it. The improved neighborhood bears no resemblance to what it was in the mid-19th century, when railroad tracks weaved through the streets, brothels stood shoulder-to-shoulder with saloons, and pestering snake-oil salesmen nicknamed the area “Snake Nation.”

When the tracks went out of use in the mid-1900s, Castleberry Hill entered a long period of developmental drought. Residents moved to the suburbs, businesses closed, and the area fell into a state of neglect.

It wasn’t until Atlanta won the bid for the 1996 Olympics that the city government turned its eye to the barren district and announced it was time to revitalize.

“The city wanted to renew the area, so they gave developers tax breaks to renovate the warehouses,” says Tami Donnelly, former president of the Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association. “Artists were drawn to the spaces because they offered big, open, creative lofts—and they were cheap.”

As people moved to the area, they realized they were living in the largest collection of historic warehouses in the city. Determined that developers should not bulldoze any buildings, they applied for and received a Landmark District Designation, ensuring that new structures would fit in and existing ones would stay put.

“You can’t find historic buildings like the ones in Castleberry Hill anymore,”

says Calvin Lockwood, owner of the art venue The Granite Room (www.graniteroom.com) and the land use and zoning chair for the neighborhood association. “We didn’t want developers to come in here and build something as fast as they could; it had to fit with the area’s personality.”

It was that personality—funky, eclectic and historic—that compelled Walt Bilinski and Steve MacNeil to buy a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in 1998. Although they opened a furniture and accessories store in Westside in 1995, they had a hunch they would one day move to Castleberry Hill. “We bought the building, and then it was a waiting game—waiting for the neighborhood to grow up and waiting for our store to grow up,” MacNeil says. “Then, the neighborhood got to the point where it could sustain our shop.” “Our shop” is No Mas! (www.nomasatlanta.com; 404-574-5678), a massive complex with a cantina, gallery and retail store. The venue—which currently reigns as the city’s hippest place to sip a Margarita—offers a garden, outdoor patio and 80 parking spaces. The building is huge and the risk was great, but Bilinski and MacNeil say that after just one year of operation, they’re already in the black.

Just around the corner, Wertz has his own success story. When he purchased his 5,000-square-foot warehouse three years ago with the goal of converting it into a gallery, “it needed a lot of love,” he says. The 75-year-old building had once been a horse stable, and soot and grime had to be replaced with fresh paint and gallery lights. “I thought it had great potential,” Wertz says. “I loved its bones—the brick walls and steel beams.”

After a year of renovations, he opened Wertz Contemporary (www.wertzcontemporary.com; 404-420-4342). So successful was the gallery, he opened a lounge, called Noir, in an unused portion of the building. Thanks to its dramatic décor, with film noir movies projected on its exposed brick walls, the venue has quickly earned a reputation as one of Atlanta’s coolest nightlife spots for hipsters.

“New buildings don’t have the character to create something like this,” Wertz says. “People say it feels like it should be in New York or Europe. I think it’s because of the way art and history mingle in this space.”

Castleberry Hill has evolved from a seedy red-light district into a super-trendy neighborhood. The area has rebounded from its withering days of old. The drought is over, the sun is shining—and Castleberry Hill is in full bloom.

OCTOBER HAPPENINGS OCTOBER

October 20-21
CASTLEBERRY HILL LOFT TOUR

Now in its sixth year, the highly anticipated loft tour showcases eight of the area’s lofts—ranging in style, size, design and budget. Visitors also have the chance to scope out the artsy neighborhood’s newest eateries and peruse the many eclectic art galleries. Tickets, which are good for both days, are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the event.

October 26
CASTLEBERRY HILL 4TH FRIDAY ART & DINE

Although the former Castleberry Hill Art Stroll has been renamed, the event is still one of the area’s most popular. Walk the lively streets and browse the many galleries, which stay open from 7-10pm.

For more info on these events and more, visit www.castleberryhill.org

Photo by Christopher Martin

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