The Jaxson and Modern Cities take a visit to one of urban Atlanta's most popular neighborhoods: Cabbagetown

Cabbagetown

The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill (Wikipedia)

Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1976, Cabbagetown is one of Atlanta’s oldest industrial settlements. Then located on the outskirts of Atlanta, the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill was established by Jacob Elsas in 1881. Elsas, a German Jewish immigrant, also established a small community for the workers of his textile mill, recruiting laborers from north Georgia’s Appalachian region.

Employing 2,600 workers at its height, Elsas expanded the community adjacent to his mill by adding blocks of small frame shotgun and cottage-style dwellings. Cabbagetown remained a small, semi-isolated community economically anchored by the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill until the mill ceased operations in 1977. After a brief period of decline, the neighborhood emerged as a destination for artist during the 1980s. During the 1990s, it became one of Atlanta’s early examples of an intown neighborhood to undergo rapid gentrification.

Cabbagetown’s Carroll Street.

With its historic building fabric largely remaining in tact, today Cabbagetown is a unique, walkable and mixed-use community in one the the country’s most sprawling regions. Here is a virtual walk through a vibrant neighborhood known for its restaurants, architecture and eccentric environment.

Virtual Cabbagetown Tour

A map identifying the location of Cabbagetown (Google Maps)

Fulton Cotton Mill Loft Apartments

The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill was built in 1881 on the site of the Atlanta Rolling Mill, which was destroyed in 1864 to keep Union General William Tecumseh Sherman from acquiring it. An economic anchor, Cabbagetown was developed as a community to house the mill’s workers.

Closed in 1977, the mill was renovated and redeveloped into the Fulton Cotton Mill loft apartments during the late 1990s.

Carroll Street

Carroll Street separates the old mill from the residential community that once housed its workers. Considered the main drag of Cabbagetown, it has become a popular destination for dining, gathering and people watching.

Residential Cabbagetown

Designated as a National Register Historic District in 1976, the residential quadrant of Cabbagetown is characterized by a compact mix of small frame cottages located on narrow streets. Once populated by mill workers and their families, these dwellings are now home to a mix of singles, artist, professions, young couples and families.