Party With The Past: Peachtree Street

Atlanta History Center is hosting its 2026 Party with the Past Bar Crawl in Midtown Atlanta! Whether you plan to join us on Tuesday, June 23 (or whether you’d like to recreate our route at your leisure), this article will provide you with everything you’ll need to know as you travel along Peachtree Street and sample some of Midtown’s famous bars. The tour will broadly include the blocks between the Midtown and North Avenue MARTA stations, providing participants with easy access to transportation. While the route can be taken in either direction, our article will begin with El Valle and proceed south on Peachtree Street. Highlighted stops include 1.) El Valle Kitchen and Bar, 2.) Edgar’s Proof & Provision in the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 3.) the Publik Draft House in the Fox Theatre, and 4.) Fire Station No. 11.

Introduction to Peachtree Street

Often considered Atlanta’s “Main Street,” Peachtree Street begins near Five Points in Downtown Atlanta, runs through Midtown, and finally ends near Palisades Road in Buckhead.^[1] The name originates from a prominent Muscogee (Creek) village called “Standing Peachtree” (located in present-day Buckhead). However, some have theorized that this name may be a misnomer, suggesting the village was originally called “Standing Pitch Tree” referring to a pine tree from which resin, or “pitch,” could be collected. Regardless, the name “Peachtree” stuck among white settlers, and there is evidence of the term’s common use by the early nineteenth century. During the War of 1812, the United States established Fort Peachtree near the confluence of Peachtree Creek and the Chattahoochee river, in the area of present-day Buckhead, to monitor the local Muscogee population who had allied with the British. Peachtree Road, the predecessor to modern Peachtree Street, was built in 1814 to connect Fort Peachtree with  Fort Daniel in modern-day Gwinnett County.^[2]

In the twentieth century, Peachtree Street gained national fame with its inclusion in the hit 1936 novel Gone With the Wind and its 1939 film adaptation. Its heroine, Scarlett O’Hara, lived on Peachtree Street at various points in the story, including when she first stayed with her Aunt “Pittypat” Hamilton whose home was described as a “red-brick house at the quiet end of Peachtree Street.”^[3] After the war, Scarlett later resided in an exquisite Victorian mansion further up Peachtree Street, where she flaunted her new wealth. Margaret Mitchell, the book’s author, lived on Peachtree Street for many years and wrote the bulk of her novel in a basement apartment at the intersection of Tenth and Peachtree streets. Today, that apartment is part of AHC’s Margaret Mitchell House and home to an exhibit on Mitchell and her legacy Telling Stories: Gone With the Wind and American Memory. In addition to its role in her life, Peachtree Street played a role in Mitchell’s death.  At 48 years old, Mitchell was struck by a speeding car while crossing Peachtree and passed away a few days later.

While Peachtree Street is one of the most famous locales bearing its name, Atlanta is filled with various roads, businesses, and neighborhoods all using the “Peachtree” moniker. In fact, the city contains over seventy streets with the name, including Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Avenue, and Peachtree Circle, to name a few. One local joke suggests that if you take “a right and two lefts” off of any street in the city, you will find yourself back on a Peachtree road.^[4] Ultimately, Peachtree Street continues to play a significant role in Atlanta. In addition to being lined with notable buildings (some of which we will be visiting), the street hosts other iconic events, including the Peachtree Road Race and the Atlanta Pride Parade.^[5]

696 Peachtree Street Apartments/Peachtree Manor

Your first stop will be El Valle Kitchen and Bar (800 Peachtree St. NE, Suite F), a contemporary Mexican restaurant with a wide selection of Latin American wines and craft cocktails focusing on tequila and mezcal. The restaurant is housed in the “Cornerstone Village” condominium complex, which contains the historic “696 Peachtree Street Apartments” built in 1923. While not in the same building as El Valle, the Peachtree Street apartments are just next door at the corner of Peachtree and Sixth Street. Street numbers have changed, and the historic apartments’ current address is 826 Peachtree St NE. In 1947, the building was converted into a popular hotel named “Peachtree Manor,” and then converted back into condominiums in 2000. The five-story building features a red-brick exterior with limestone detailing in the Georgian-Revival style. It was designed by the influential Atlanta architecture firm Hentz, Reid, and Adler, with J. Neel Reid as its principal designer. Known especially for his work designing private residences, Reid was described as a “tastemaker” in early twentieth-century Atlanta.^[6] Apart from creating notable buildings, the firm (later named Hentz, Adler, and Schutze) was instrumental in starting the architectural movement termed the “Georgia School of Classicists.” Featuring the firm’s later partner Phillip Trammell Shutze, architect of the Swan House, the movement promoted a return to aspects of Classical architecture, pushing against some of the modernist tendencies of the era.

Saint Mark United Methodist Church

Walking south, you will pass one of Atlanta’s few remaining Gothic-style churches, St. Mark United Methodist Church (781 Peachtree St. NE), though it is not a formal stop on this bar crawl. Constructed of local granite from Stone Mountain, the main façade on Peachtree Street includes three side-by-side entrances with distinctive red doors underneath a beautifully detailed arched window. A large bell tower dominates one side of the sanctuary, while a smaller tower frames the other side. Built between 1902 and 1903, the church was designed by Atlanta architect Willis F. Denny (who also designed Atlanta’s Inman Park Methodist, First United Methodist, and Rhodes Hall). The church additionally features twelve stained-glass windows which depict the life of Christ. Made by Franz Mayer and Company in Munich, Germany, the windows were installed between 1909 and 1959. During this period, St. Mark also added the present chapel, built in 1947.^[7]

While the current building did not exist until the early twentieth century, the congregation is older. St. Mark first began in 1872 as the “Peachtree Street Mission” of Atlanta’s First Methodist Church. It intended to minister to a nearby shantytown called, “Tight Squeeze” located in the blocks surrounding present-day Tenth Street. A notoriously dangerous area, “Tight Squeeze” may have received its name from the zone’s narrow width or the local saying that it was a “tight squeeze getting through there with your life.”^[8] After finishing the present sanctuary in 1903, St. Mark continued to grow through much of the early-to-mid twentieth century.^[9]

However, by the late twentieth century, the church’s numbers had dwindled significantly. While on the verge of closing, St. Mark experienced an unexpected period of renewal, now termed the “Miracle on Peachtree Street.” In 1991, Atlanta’s Gay Pride Parade travelled down Peachtree Street, passing an array of protesters. Yet, as parade goers passed St. Mark, they were surprised to find the congregation distributing waters and preaching a message of “love, acceptance, and welcome.” In the coming years, the congregation grew rapidly and quickly reached over 1,700 members, many of whom were part of Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.^[10] In describing the original decision to hand out waters, Pastor Mike Cordle, recalled, “I felt this clear voice in my head that said, You have this big empty church and there are thousands of my children outside these doors who are not welcomed in church.”^[11] After first proposing the idea, Cordle was relieved to find a willing congregation, once again desiring to minister to those ostracized by society, as it had in “Tight Squeeze” over a century prior. Since this time, St. Mark has cemented itself as a firm ally to Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The “Fabulous” Fox Theatre

Continuing down the street, you’ll visit the Publik Draft House (654 Peachtree St. NE), a bar known for its curated beers and craft cocktails, located in the iconic Fox Theatre. This active performing arts center hosts over 250 performances annually, including concerts, films, and Broadway shows. One of Atlanta’s most unique buildings, the Fox’s exterior is noticeable for its stripes of dark and light-colored bricks. The Peachtree Street façade includes two slender towers above the marquee, with one tower supporting the Fox’s iconic red sign. The Ponce de Leon Avenue side (originally intended as the main entrance) features two square towers with a grand dome in the center. Visitors will notice the theatre’s Moorish Revival design, which hints at the structure’s original purpose. Built between 1927 and 1929, it was originally designed to be a grand meeting hall for Atlanta’s Shriners (an American Masonic society known for its Middle Eastern-inspired aesthetics). However, after beginning construction, the Shriners grew concerned the project would be too costly and made an arrangement with William Fox, of the Fox Film Corporation, to lease the building for use as a movie theatre. A mere two months after the 1929 crash of the New York Stock Exchange, the Fox first opened its doors with a multi-part performance, including a showing of Disney’s “Steamboat Willie.”^[12]

During the Great Depression, the Fox shut down for a number of years before reopening in the 1940s and becoming a popular Atlanta attraction. In 1946, the controversial Disney film Song of the South premiered at the Fox Theatre. Combining live-action and animation, the movie was based on Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus tales from the late nineteenth century. In his writings, the white Georgian author collected and retold African American folktales in dialect. These trickster stories, especially addressing recurring figures such as Brer Rabbit, have gone on to influence other famous characters including Looney Tunes’ Bugs Bunny and Road Runner. Georgia author Alice Walker, known for The Color Purple, famously criticized Harris and Song of the South for misappropriating Black culture in her 1981 essay “Uncle Remus, No Friend of Mine.”^[13] This legacy of racial prejudice was clear at the film’s premiere, as James Baskett (who played the lead role of “Uncle Remus”) was unable to attend due to strict segregation laws.^[14]

The Georgian Terrace Hotel

Across the street, you’ll visit Edgar’s Proof & Provision (659 Peachtree Rd. NE), a prohibition-style whiskey bar housed in the “Grand Dame of Atlanta,” the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Intended as a Southern interpretation of a Parisian hotel, the Georgian Terrace was completed between 1910 and 1911.^[15] The brick and marble structure was designed by New York architect William Lee Stoddart in the Beaux-Arts style. Prominent in Europe and the Americas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Beaux-Arts architecture gained its name from the French school in which it originated, the École des Beaux-Arts (“School of Fine Arts”) in Paris. The style combines elements of Classical architecture (such as symmetry, columns, and arched windows) with the elaborate ornamentation of the Renaissance and Baroque styles. Moreover, Beaux-Arts structures often feature a raised first story, grand staircases, and stone materials, such as marble. Some famous examples of Beaux-Arts architecture include the Grand Central Terminal in New York City and the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris, France.^[16]

Over its career, the Georgian Terrace Hotel has witnessed an array of high-profile guests and events. In 1918, Arthur Murray taught dance lessons in the hotel’s ballroom while he was studying at Georgia Tech. Murray would later be known for Arthur Murray Dance studios, one of the largest ballroom dance franchises in the world, as well as his variety show The Arthur Murray Dance Party. In 1939, the Georgian Terrace held a premiere gala for Gone With the Wind, hosting the film’s director, Victor Fleming, and many of its stars, including Clark Gable and Vivienne Leigh. The 1970s saw the creation of Alex Coopley’s Electric Ballroom, a rock music hall in the Georgian Terrace ballroom, that booked notable performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Patti Smith, and the Pretenders.^[17]

Fire Station No. 11

Finally, if you turn west on North Avenue, you’ll pass Station 11 (30 North Ave. NE), a present-day coffee house situated in Atlanta’s historic Fire Station No. 11. Originally built in 1907, the station is a rectangular, two-story brick structure with restrained Beaux-Arts detailing. It was designed by the Atlanta architecture firm Morgan & Dillon, which also designed other notable Atlanta buildings such as the Fourth National Bank – which now houses Georgia State Univerity’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies – in 1905 and the famous Healy Building in 1914. The building’s interior alludes to the nature of early firefighting, when fire engines were horse-drawn. Though now sealed off, a former hay-delivery door sits at the back of the first story, and the first-story ceiling shows where horse harnesses were hung. The fire station’s construction in the early twentieth century also demonstrates Atlanta’s urban sprawl northward. Only a decade prior, the station’s location would not have been considered within Atlanta’s fire responsibility, as it existed outside the city’s boundaries.^[18]

Footnotes

¹ Will Butler. “Atlanta Streets: The Complicated Path to Peachtree Street, U.S.A.,” Atlanta History Center. October 20, 2021. https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/atlanta-streets-the-complicated-path-to-peachtree-street-usa/.

²  Franklin M. Garrett. Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1820s-1870s, (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1969), 8. ProQuest Ebook Central.

³  Margaret Mitchell. Gone with the Wind. (Macmillan, 1936), Chapter 9.

⁴  Joleen Pete. “What You Need to Know About Atlanta’s Famous Peachtree Streets.” Discover Atlanta. Last updated March 3, 2023. https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/things-to-do/what-you-need-to-know-about-atlantas-famous-peachtree-streets/.

⁵ “History,” Atlanta Track Club. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.atlantatrackclub.org/event-information-history.

⁶ Lynn Speno. “696 Peachtree Street Apartments,” National Register of Historic Places Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 2012), 10. https://saportareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/NR_696-Peachtree-Street-Apartments-Copy.pdf. 

⁷ Andrea Niles. “St. Mark Methodist Church,” National Register of Historic Places Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1987), https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/28773b64-3a77-4575-b9c9-f07e04fa17ff.

⁸  City of Atlanta, Department of City Planning. “Windsor House Apartments (Crescent Apartments).” City of Atlanta Historic Preservation. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/city-planning/historic-preservation/property-district-information/windsor-house-apartments-crescent-apartments.

⁹ “Our Story,” Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.stmarkumc.org/.

¹⁰ “Our Story,” Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.stmarkumc.org/.

¹¹ Richard L. Eldredge. “The Bond Between Saint Mark Methodist and Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Community,” Atlanta Magazine, October 9, 2020, https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/pride-the-bond-between-saint-mark-methodist-and-atlantas-lgbtq-community/.

¹² Joe McKaughan. “Fox Theatre.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, Last modified Dec 1, 2020. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/fox-theatre/.

¹³  R. Bruce Bickley. “Uncle Remus Tales,” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Last edited Jul. 23, 2018. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/uncle-remus-tales/.

¹⁴ Jyoti A. Verderame. “James Franklin Baskett,” Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, 2021. https://indyencyclopedia.org/james-franklin-baskett/.

¹⁵ “The Georgian Terrace,” Historic Hotels of America, Accessed June 17, 2026, https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/georgian-terrace/.

¹⁶ For more on Beaux-Arts architecture, see Nicole Kliest, “The Gilded Age 101: What is Beaux-Arts Architecture?” Vogue, June 21, 2025. https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-beaux-arts-architecture, and “Beaux-Arts,” Chicago Architecture Center, Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.architecture.org/online-resources/architecture-encyclopedia/beaux-arts.

¹⁷ “Our History,” The Georgian Terrace, Accessed June 17, 2026, https://thegeorgianterrace.com/explore-hotel/.

¹⁸  Steve Henson. “Fire Station No. 11,” National Register of Historic Places Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, 1979), https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80001073_text.