Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville, Georgia, is a neighborhood located just south of the downtown area, and is home to many ethnic communities, while also being targeted for a revitalization effort in the city. It can be reached from either I-75 or I-85, and is home to the historical railway that served the city at one point, transporting cotton among other domestic products. There are several old warehouses that have been converted into lofts along the old railroad tracks.

The Atlanta Public School system supports the Mechanicsville neighborhood, and by city standards, their rating is higher then most in academic achievement and athletics. If your looking for churches in the neighborhood, you can find the New Hope Baptist Church on Richardson Street based out of the Southwest District; however, if your looking to find a mosque in the area, look no further than Masjid Al-Mu'minum, located on Hank Aaron Drive in the Southwest corridor as well.

If your family is looking to get some shopping done, then you could simply catch a taxi from Mechanicsville, and take a short drive to Hotel Row in downtown, and experience cultural influence from the various restaurants to the clothing stores and everything in between.

If you would like to visit the attractions of the neighborhood and beyond, look no further than the Zoo of Atlanta, based out of Cherokee Avenue in the Southwest district of the city, a location that proudly holds hundreds of different species, along with Pandas currently on display. In the neighborhood, there is also the Pheonix pool, a place of relaxation and lots of family fun. No matter what the situation, Mechanicsville is the perfect location for your family and friends to visit and even live.

If you’ve seen the movie “ATL,” rapper T.I.’s homage to his hometown, you’ve seen Mechanicsville. In a word, this ‘hood is pretty, well, hood. Walking though it – which you’ll want to avoid after twilight unless you have a large-armed entourage – you’ll see the prerequisite busted houses with peeling paint and porches littered with forlorn-looking children’s toys and grubby furniture; poorly kempt brick apartment complexes with residents milling about the parking lot and on individual doorsteps; and fast-food wrappers, shattered booze bottles and other jetsam tangling in the kudzu vines along roadsides.

But, just like in the surprisingly not un-watchable film, Mechanicsville also has a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of cheeriness to it, and is, like many parts of Downtown Atlanta, hitching a ride on the urban renewal train. (Also known, at least in those parts that actually border the railroad tracks, as the Beltline Project – a massive and massively cool revitalization and redevelopment plan inspired by a Georgia Tech grad’s student’s master thesis.)

Many houses here boast fresh coats of paint in typical new-construction earth tones and pastels on their large, columned facades. Both single-family homes and strips of new townhomes crop up with surprising frequency, often dominating whole streets. Not too many noteworthy businesses call the area home just yet, but that’ll likely come with time.

It’s easy to see Mechanicsville following in the still-fresh footsteps of neighboring Summerhill, which is fast earning itself a new reputation as a budget-friendly, mostly safe-ish place for unfussy, wallet-conscious intowners to snap up their very first home.

Not entirely sure how T.I. feels about the spit-and-polishing and general gentrifying of one of ATL’s original ‘hoods (I myself give it mixed reviews), but whatever…

He lives in Buckhead, anyway. Cheers!