Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, 1st round: (1) Midtown vs. (16) Candler Park

Josh Green

Thu, 12/19/2024 – 16:55

As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(1) Midtown

The landing page for 1072 West Peachtree’s website provides a glimpse of how the project would alter Midtown’s skyline when viewed from the Connector. Rockefeller Group; Brock Hudgins Architects; TVS/1072 West Peachtree

Enter: 2024’s Goliath.

Yes, folks, it’s fitting that Atlanta’s epicenter of high-rise development, high-profile job growth, and sheer physical change has taken the pole position in this year’s tournament, as determined by reader nominations. Like no other place right now—or across the past decade, for that matter—Midtown exemplifies Atlanta’s roaring ’20s boom, as our aerial photo essays have relayed throughout the year. In just the past year, the district has packed on another 2,200 residences, as recently tabulated by Midtown Alliance. And the tallest building to rise from Atlanta’s red dirt since Bill Clinton was president is currently climbing over Midtown’s West Peachtree Street. Enough said?

Nonetheless, Midtown has a spotty track record in these contests, including a Round 1 knockout against 13-seed Adair Park in 2021 action. Surprisingly, it’s never won the non-existent trophy in these contests, either. Here’s a rundown of just a fraction of what’s happening in Midtown these days. But it begs the eternal question: Does all this action make for the best actual neighborhood around?

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(16) Candler Park

A quintessential CandlerPark scene along McLendon Avenue. Google Maps

Shockingly, Candler Park is making its Best Atlanta Neighborhood tourney debut this year, having finally tallied enough nominations to enter the big criteria-free dance. Home to rollicking festivals and coveted school options, this leafy little ’hood is one of Atlanta’s best places to simply take a walk—or to stumble home from Little Five Points next door.

Candler Park counts restaurants both trendy and stalwart (hello, Fox Bros.), too many artfully restored bungalows to count, no shortage of free-thinking city dwellers, and that glorious, eponymous park, which was one of Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler’s many gifts to the city. And as of October, Candler Park is also home to one of the city’s most mind-blowingly awesome playgrounds, a $1-million affair designed by top architecture firm Perkins + Will. Proof that halcyon times for ATL kids continue.