Poncey-Highland (PoHi) is a neighborhood near and dear to the Environs Team’s hearts. Both Dawn and John spent plenty of late nights in the 90s in the local bars, ending up eating “breakfast” at the Majestic Diner at 3am. Just down the road is Manuel’s Tavern – the meeting place for local liberals and, which, famously hosted a huge inauguration party when President Obama first took office back in Jan 2009. Manuel’s was recently taken apart and reassembled to allow for future development options. John has more to say about this Atlanta icon in his review. We have friends and clients who have lived in PoHi for years. It’s exciting to have so much to write about in this fabulous community!

Geographically, PoHi is a neighborhood heading towards the east of Atlanta, located south of Virginia–Highland. So named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and north/southwest North Highland Avenue, this Atlanta neighborhood was established between 1905 and 1930.

Poncey–Highland is home to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, established in 1982. The Carter Center occupies an area of land that was originally the neighborhood of Copenhill, and which was razed to build an interchange between eight-lane highways: Interstate 485 (now Stone Mountain Freeway) east and west, and Georgia 400 and Interstate 675 north and south. The development was successfully stopped by the surrounding neighborhoods, leaving Freedom Parkway in the area where GDOT had already demolished over 500 homes.  You can learn more about the Citizens Against Unnecessary Thoroughfares in Older Neighborhoods (CAUTION) at the Freedom Park website.