Kirkwood is an early streetcar suburb of Atlanta established in the 1870s as a residential development. By 1910, Georgia Power and Railway provided affordable streetcar service three times a day between Atlanta and Kirkwood. Kirkwood attracted new residents and maintained itself as an independent municipality with public services such as water and its own local school until it was annexed by the City of Atlanta in 1922.
Located within a block and a half of the streetcar lines (now MARTA), these homes on Murray Hill Avenue were built in a relatively dense, grid-like pattern of narrow lots. Built roughly between 1925 and 1930, the homes on this stretch in Kirkwood also represent the trend of patterned bungalow plans to enable a more economical option for builders and middle-class homeowners. We see only a few basic bungalow patterns with differences in aesthetics such as window framings, siding or trim to represent each home's individuality.
This photos essay of these houses is really terrific, Michelle. I'm surprised to learn that streetcar service was only 3 time a day (how inconvenient!). Interesting, too, that it was owned by the electric company (which, I believe, was also involved in real-estate development, although I don't know about in Kirkwood). This area seems like a classic early working-class/lower-middle-class suburban district.
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