Midtown and the Westside

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Overview

With countless restaurants, shops, museums and bars, Midtown is one of Atlanta’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Situated between Downtown and Buckhead, the area has become the second largest business district in Atlanta.  Not only a hub for commerce, Midtown is the heart of the arts for Atlanta, housing everything from Atlanta’s largest art museum, The High Museum to quirky art galleries.

The neighborhood is one of Atlanta’s hottest spots for a night on the town, drawing students in from the nearby universities Georgia Tech, Georgia Institute of Technology and SCAD, as well as young professionals living in the area. Protruding from Midtowns skyline are some of Atlanta’s most famous landmark buildings, including the AT&T building, Bank of America Plaza and Atlantic Center. But for those looking for a day off the beaten path or just a morning bike ride, Midtown is home to the 189-acre Piedmont Park and the Botanical Gardens.

 How to Get There

To get to Midtown and the Westside from Emory, head west on North Decatur Road past the Village and the roundabout eventually turning left at the intersection of N Decatur and Briarcliff. Continue on Briarcliff for 1.4 miles until you reach Ponce de Leon Avenue. You will see an Exxon Mobile gas station through the stoplight. Turn right at this light. Continue for two more mile until you reach Juniper Street. The area north of your position all the way to SCAD’s Atlanta campus where Peachtree Street NE crosses the Buford-Spring Connector is included into the neighborhood of Midtown.

Getting to the Westside means you will have to turn left off of Ponce de Leon onto Juniper Street, which you will turn quickly off of once you reach North Avenue NE. Drive past The Varsity and Georgia Tech’s campus and turn right onto Tech Parkway NW once you see a Hampton Inn on your left. Ride Tech Parkway until you see 14th Street. The intersection of Tech and 14th is about as close to being the center of the Westside as possible. The Westside is hardly a defined neighborhood, but its boundaries have rough definitions eastward until I-85, excluding Georgia Tech’s campus as well as Atlantic Station. The Westside’s western boundaries extend all the way west to about Marietta Boulevard NW.