Cheshire Bridge Road

Cheshire Bridge Road
Length1.55 mi (2.49 km)
LocationAtlanta
South endPiedmont Avenue / Piedmont Road / Piedmont Circle
Major
junctions		 SR 236 (Lindbergh Drive / Lavista Road)
I-85 (Northeast Expressway / SR 403)
North endLenox Road

Cheshire Bridge Road is a mainly north–south thoroughfare of Atlanta, Georgia, USA traversing the Morningside-Lenox Park and Lindridge-Martin Manor neighborhoods from Piedmont Avenue to Buford Highway just north of Interstate 85.[1]

While the corridor was originally settled during the 1800s, it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that it rapidly developed as a suburban commercial center dominated by strip malls. Following the massive white flight from Intown Atlanta during the 1970s due to increased desegregation, the corridor became well known for various types of adult entertainment such as sex shops, strip clubs, gay circuit parties, and gay nightclubs that had moved into its abandoned retail spaces.[2] The area has been noted as important in the LGBT history of Georgia.[3]

Since the 2000s, urban redevelopment projects and gentrification have challenged the legacy of the area.[4][5] In 2005, the Atlanta City Council banned new adult businesses from opening on Cheshire Bridge Road but existing ones were allowed to stay.[6] However, new high-density residential developments have become common in recent years and some existing businesses and nightclubs have closed or relocated.[7]

  1. ^ "Site of Old Cheshire Bridge", GeorgiaInfo, University of Georgia
  2. ^ "History", Lindridge-Martin Manor Neighbors Association Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Cheshire Bridge Road Study", 1999, City of Atlanta Department of Planning, Development and Neighborhood Conservation, Bureau of Planning In conjunction with the Cheshire Bridge Road Task Force Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference cla was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference cla2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "The 'sterilization' of Cheshire Bridge Road: How LGBT culture can thrive amidst new developments". Georgia Voice - Gay & LGBT Atlanta News. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2018.