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At an impromptu gathering of the neighbors a couple of weeks ago, we began a discussion of the history of our apartments at 1355 Euclid Avenue. While I have only been living here since early June, I was fortunate enough to engage in this conversation with neighbors who had logged some serious time here.

While no one is quite sure when the complex was built, we judged by the design of the sign in front that the apartment went up in the late 1950s or very early 1960s. The complex is made of three separate buildings, A, B and C. Today, they are painted grey and black, earning the nickname “The Army Barracks” from us residents.

My neighbors told me that the buildings were once red brick, before they were painted. Another neighbor told me that at one point, the buildings were painted all types of crazy colors. Now they are all a uniform color and were renovated several years ago, kitchens and bathrooms upgraded to modern standards complete with security systems.

Not too long ago, these apartments were not well kept, with broken windows, drifters squatting in places and much less security, or so the story goes. Today, each apartment seems safe and I find that I know more of my neighbors than at any other place I’ve lived.

Probably the best feature about the 1355 Euclid Avenue apartments is there proximity to the surrounding neighborhoods. Historic neighborhoods like Little Five Points, Inman Park, Grant Park, Ansley Park, Cabbagetown, and Reynoldstown are all within a reasonable distance, especially Little Five Points, which can be reached on a bicycle via the bike path in Freedom Park. We’re also close to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station.

Rumors circulating among the neighbors here are that there are new owners who are not going to lease apartments that open up. This suggests that the new owners will wait until all the current residents move out, tear the complex down and build condos on the property or sell it to someone else for some other kind of use. I have not been able to confirm new owners nor their intentions. There are several apartments that are opening up and we’ll see if we get new neighbors or the apartments remain empty. According to neighbors, the apartments across the street were converted to condos not long ago. Are we subject to the same fate here? Stay tuned.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 30th, 2005 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Looking at the Past. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.