Midtown Ponce de Leon Avenue begins at Spring Street at the south edge of
Midtown Atlanta, though prior to the construction of the
Downtown Connector, it started a block further west at
Williams Street (across from
Georgia Tech, one block east of
Bobby Dodd Stadium) It passes West Peachtree Street and then
Peachtree Street, the
city block which has the
BellSouth Building (now Tower Square) and the historic
Fox Theatre on the north side of the street. At the next two intersections, it takes multiple
numbered routes from
North Avenue, which runs one block to the south and forms the boundary between Midtown and
downtown Atlanta. Via
one-way Juniper Street southbound and
Piedmont Avenue (formerly part of
Georgia 237) northbound, it gets
U.S. 29 north,
U.S. 78 east,
U.S. 278 east, and
Georgia 8 east.
Historic Midtown and Old Fourth Ward Passing
Piedmont Avenue and the
Edward C. Peters House, Ponce forms the border of
NRHP-listed
Historic Midtown to the north and
Old Fourth Ward to the south. Here are found the historic
Mary Mac's Tea Room, the
Kodak Building, the
Atlanta Eagle, Atlanta's original
Krispy Kreme store, and
Grace United Methodist Church. After drifting toward the east-northeast, it passes
Boulevard (which continues north as Monroe Drive), and after Glen Iris Drive it passes the north side of the hulking former Sears building, later used as City Hall East, and now as
Ponce City Market, a
food hall and
mixed-use complex. Before Sears, the Ponce de Leon Amusement Park was located here. On the north side of Ponce is the Midtown Place
strip mall, on the site of the
Ponce de Leon ballpark, which was home to the
Atlanta Crackers and
Atlanta Black Crackers baseball teams.
Poncey-Highland and Virginia-Highland Ponce de Leon Avenue then passes under a former rail bridge which is part of the
BeltLine trail, after which it forms the border between the
Poncey-Highland neighborhood to the south and
Virginia-Highland to the north. After the now-redeveloped
Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant bordering the BeltLine, it passes the
Clermont Hotel and Clermont Lounge and then the north end of
Freedom Parkway, where it also picks up the route designation
Georgia 10 east. It then passes
725 Ponce, a mixed-use development on the former site of a supermarket nicknamed "
Murder Kroger". A few blocks further east is the intersection with
North Highland Avenue (from which the name of
Poncey-Highland is derived), and at this intersection are found the historic
Plaza Theatre and
Briarcliff Hotel, designed by the
same architect as
Atlanta City Hall and once home to
Coca-Cola heir
Asa G. Candler Jr. Druid Hills Presbyterian Church, despite the name, is also located in this area, across the street from
Briarcliff Plaza.
Druid Hills After crossing the intersection of
Georgia 42 (
Moreland Avenue south and
Briarcliff Road north), it gets a
sixth route number:
U.S. 23 north. Although still within Atlanta
city limits, it also crosses the county line from
Fulton into
DeKalb at this street and enters the
Druid Hills neighborhood. Here are the early 20th century mansions of Atlanta's wealthy including the St. John's Chrysostom Melkite Church along in
Druid Hills, Atlanta, 2012, formerly the mansion of
Asa Griggs Candler (Senior), and Rainbow Terrace, home of
Lucy Beall Candler Owens Heinz Leide at number 1610. The
Druid Hills Historic District incorporates the earlier
Druid Hills Parks and Parkways Historic District that was listed on the National Register in 1975, specifically recognizing the parks and parkways along Ponce de Leon Avenue. The road begins to gradually curve back and forth, and is followed on its south side by South Ponce de Leon Avenue, the land between them being
Oak Grove Park. A second segment of
linear park is called
Dellwood Park, and around
Clifton Road it finally leaves the city, just before passing the south side of the
Fernbank Museum of Natural History. A third segment called North Ponce de Leon Avenue surrounds a heavily forested
county park called
Deepdene Park, and on its south side, mainline Ponce de Leon Avenue loses U.S. 278 and Georgia 10 at a split with
East Lake Road.
Decatur After a northward curve, it loses its other four route numbers at a split with Scott Boulevard, and continues eastward into the city of
Decatur as West Ponce de Leon Avenue. Crossing the centerpoint of downtown at
Clairemont Avenue (north) and McDonough Street (south), near
city hall and the
Decatur MARTA station, it becomes East Ponce de Leon Avenue.
East of Decatur It then continues on through
Scottdale and downtown Clarkston to become
Main Street southward through downtown Stone Mountain, then becoming Stone Mountain Lithonia Road on its way south to
Lithonia. It is also an exit at mile 40 off
Interstate 285 ("the Perimeter") north. The only way to access I-285 south is to exit onto Church Street, since this is a
split diamond interchange, and the two roads run parallel to each other separated by a railroad line. ==Improvements==