Neighborhood Geography And Street Layout
Lakewood forms the largest geographic community situated inside Atlanta's Neighborhood Planning Unit Z. The neighborhood sits immediately south of Lakewood Heights and borders Swallow Circle/Baywood as well as Polar Rock. Key residential roadways serving the neighborhood include McWilliams Road, Burroughs Avenue, Jernigan Drive, and Thaxton Drive. Residential moves across this district also route along the southern stretch of Browns Mill Road. Navigating through Lakewood places residents in close proximity to local green spaces such as the Browns Mill Urban Food Forest. These neighborhood corridors provide vital residential connections across this established sector of Southwest Atlanta.
Residential Architecture And Historic Housing
Most residential construction across Lakewood took place throughout the 1950s, creating a mid-century neighborhood setting. Scattered properties across the community date back earlier to the late nineteenth century. Architectural documentation in the area notes older residences, including a home believed to be antebellum with Victorian details added later. The neighborhood is also home to long-standing institutional architecture like Browns Mill Park Baptist Church, originally known as Browns Mill Baptist Church, which first appeared in newspapers in the early 1950s. Just north of the community, the adjacent Lakewood Heights Historic District features hundreds of historic contributing resources centered around Jonesboro Road and Lakewood Avenue. Moving into Lakewood involves handling these distinct home styles ranging from mid-century builds to older late-nineteenth-century houses.
Nearby Regional Infrastructure And Landmarks
The surrounding area took its name from nearby Lakewood Park, which originated after the City of Atlanta developed a municipal water works facility in 1874. Following the decommissioning of the water works by 1893, the property became a regional resort and recreation ground that later housed the Lakewood Fairgrounds and the Southeastern Fair. For much of the twentieth century, the grounds featured the Lakewood Speedway dirt track, known as The Grand Old Lady, hosting horse, car, and motorcycle racing. In subsequent decades, the fairgrounds site transitioned into home for the Lakewood Amphitheatre and film production facilities such as EU Screen Film Studios. Historically, transit along the nearby Jonesboro Road streetcar line and employment at the General Motors assembly plant helped shape surrounding growth. Relocating to Lakewood keeps residents close to these historic civic and entertainment landmarks in southern Atlanta.