WEST END ATLANTA

West End is one of Atlanta's oldest historic neighborhoods - in fact, the community, established in 1835, predates the City of Atlanta itself. Annexed into the city in 1894 as its 7th ward, West End is on the National Register of Historic Places. Last fall, the neighborhood was the first in Atlanta to break ground on its part of the BeltLine trail, which will connect more than 45 neighborhoods through paths and transit. Its portion of the eventual 22-mile BeltLine arboretum will be a "model mile" for the segments to follow.

I-20 runs along the northern edge of this southwest Atlanta neighborhood, which is largely residential with a concentrated commercial area along Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard. The houses reflect the historic designation of the neighborhood: many of them were built anywhere from 1870 to the 1930s, and, among the various styles represented, the craftsman-style bungalow predominates.

It was one of these "incredible" houses that brought Carl Nes, current president of West End Neighborhood Development, Inc., to the area 19 years ago. Affordable, historic homes are a big draw to the area, Nes says. "People are looking at prices in Grant Park, Midtown and Candler Park and can't see affordability," he says, "and they're seeing West End, five minutes from downtown, older, more historic and these opportunities to get into houses at under a hundred thousand." Despite the mortgage crisis, Nes says, there is a wave of homebuying activity in West End.

Since arriving in West End, Nes has been active in the neighborhood association. He estimates now that there are about 120 regularly participating members in WEND. Other active local associations are the West End Merchants Association and Our West End Newspaper, distributed monthly. "It's a composition of new America right in West End. It's really quite amazing," Nes says of the neighborhood. "We're an eclectic community."

Curious about West End? See it firsthand during the West End Tour of Homes, May 3 and 4. The weekend will kick off with a fundraising celebration and jazz concert at the historic Wren's Nest, former home to Joel Chandler Harris and Atlanta's oldest house museum. For more information about the neighborhood and this event, visit www.atlantawestend.com.