Northcrest : an Historic Community

Location of District

The Northcrest Historic District is located in north Dekalb County, Georgia less than a mile to the east of the intersection of Interstates 85 and 285 (known as the Tom Moreland Interchange). The primary entrance is located along Northcrest Road, the western boundary of the district. The district is generally bounded to the south by Chamblee-Tucker Road and to the north and east by Pleasantdale Road. These are local roads. Roads within the district are residential and do not connect beyond the arterial roads at the boundaries.

Summary Description

Northcrest is a suburban residential subdivision located in an unincorporated area of north DeKalb County, Georgia, due east of the interchange of Interstates 85 and 285 (the Tom Moreland Interchange). The development, platted in the late 1950s, features single-family homes primarily constructed between 1959 and the late 1970s.

The development is representative of the tremendous growth that occurred in metropolitan Atlanta, and DeKalb County in particular, in the decades following World War II. The vast majority of homes were constructed by P & H Realty Company, with the development advertised in brochures as Northcrest. 

The proposed district is approximately 396 acres. The district features curvilinear and rectilinear streets with several cul-de-sacs. Lots are generally rectilinear, the exceptions existing in pie-shaped lots around the cul-de-sacs. Each lot features a single residence, typically with a large setback from the street, and private driveway. There are five primary house types within the district: Split-Level, Ranch, A-Frame Split-Level, Traditional Two-Story, and Split Foyer. Northcrest is unique, as its predominant house type is the split-level, making it perhaps the largest single collection of the type in Georgia. The houses in the district feature a range of styles, as well, including: Plain, Colonial Revival, Contemporary, Eichleresque, and Wright-Influenced.

The vast majority of houses within Northcrest have maintained the proportion, massing and scale of their type, as well as the architectural character of their original style. The proposed district also includes contributing buildings that are not single-family homes: the Northcrest Swim & Tennis Clubhouse, Pleasantdale Elementary School and the Azalea Ridge Apartment complex.

The First Developments

The development’s first houses were constructed in 1959 on the western edge of the proposed district, along Regalwoods Drive, Heartwood Lane, Thornewood Drive, and Northcrest Road.  The majority of the development was built in the 1960s, with construction generally moving east through the district following the 1964 platting. There are properties in the proposed district that were constructed into and through the 1970s, in particular a stretch of development in the middle of the district along Hidden Acres Drive.

The landscape of the district features rolling topography  that falls toward a small tributary creek of North Fork Peachtree Creek that runs generally to the northwest through the middle of the development. There are mature trees and landscaping throughout. Front yards are not generally fenced, and generally feature landscaped lawns.  There are few sidewalks in the district, in the immediate vicinity of Pleasantdale Elementary School.

Information listed above is from the US Historic Registry application.