Glennwood Estates is a historic neighborhood located in the northeast section of Decatur, Georgia. It is a residential neighborhood chiefly of single-family homes including a nature preserve and an adjoining park. At least a third of the homes were built in the 1920s and were relatively large for the time. Glenn Creek and the South Fork of Peachtree Creek Tributary run through the neighborhood.[1]
Glennwood Estates is accessed from East Ponce de Leon Avenue to the south, and Church Street and Sycamore Drive to the north. The heart of the community and primary north-south road is Glendale Avenue, which has two arcing branches- Mount Vernon Drive and Glenn Circle. The north end of Glendale Avenue terminates in Forkner Drive, another residential street with four cul-de-sacs, all part of the neighborhood.
The varied topography, substantial trees, and historic residences are a defining characteristic of the neighborhood within the city of Decatur. The neighborhood borders two key local greenspaces-Glenlake Park and the Decatur Cemetery are northwest of Glennwood Estates. Both are accessible by a paved trail coming off Glenndale Avenue.
Neighboring communities include the Ponce de Leon Court Historic District, characterized by bungalows developed in the 1920s, which is southwest of the neighborhood. The Decatur Heights neighborhood (and Glenn Creek Nature Preserve) lie just to the east. Ridgeland Avenue, Hickory Street and Fairview Street were developed as a part of Glennwood Estates, though are now generally considered part of the contiguous Decatur Heights community.
Glennwood Estates has been a distinct parcel since DeKalb County, Georgia, was first divided into parcels. The property passed through a number of owners until it was sold to John T. Glenn, a carpetbagger from New York, c. 1869. Mr. Glenn began developing land in the area in the 1870s. His house is noted on an 1879 map of Decatur.[2] After his death, a small portion of the land was sold for Glenwood School.
The area south of Glenn Creek was first subdivision parcel developed in 1927 by Pattillo, Hamff & Robarts. The original development included a provision to keep the area north of the creek as a forest. However, the area north of the creek was developed beginning in 1939, and the neighborhood was completed shortly after World War II.
The principal north-south road is Glendale Avenue, which stretches 0.7 miles from Forkner Drive in the north to Ponce De Leon Avenue in south. Two branching loops form Mount Vernon Drive and Glenn Circle, the latter of which is intersected in two points by Pinecrest Avenue. Pinecrest Avenue was referred to as Morse Hill in early DeKalb deed books).[4] The intersection of Pinecrest and Glenn Circle (the old "Morse Hill") is near the highest elevation point in the neighborhood, from which downtown Atlanta can be seen on a clear day.
Other roads in the community include the cul-de-sacs branching off Forkner Drive- Old Decatur Circle, 218 Glendale and Regency 222. The neighboring roads of Mountain View Street, Oak Lane, Hillcrest Avenue, and Springdale Street are considered a part of Glennwood Estates or the Decatur Heights area.