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 threatened 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]

History

Origins

White settlers originally settled the corridor in the 1820s. Two of these early settlers were Napoleon and Jerome Cheshire, two brothers who owned farms on opposite sides of South Fork of Peachtree Creek, and connected their farms by a bridge known as the Cheshire Bridge, giving the road its name.[2][3]

The area remained agricultural until the early 20th century. At that time suburban development encroached from Atlanta to the south, in today's Morningside neighborhood. By the 1960s the entire area was suburban.

Possible "cleanup" of Cheshire Bridge

In 2005, the city banned new adult businesses on Cheshire Bridge, but existing ones were allowed to stay.[4][5]

In 2013, councilman Alex Wan introduced legislation, supported by neighborhood associations and NPU F,[8] to remove existing adult businesses from Cheshire Bridge by 2018, but this was not passed, opposed by a mix of gays, strippers and Atlanta's real estate interests – including Scott Selig.[6] Some in the gay community wondered if Cheshire Bridge were "sanitized", "where would people go for sexual expression"?[9] Matthew Cardinale, the editor and publisher of Atlanta Progressive News, and a resident of the Road, decried "the ongoing project of gentrification, homogenization, sterilization and capitalization of a historic neighborhood", Atlanta's "red-light district".[4]

By 2020, several prominent adult entertainment businesses and gay nightclubs were forced to close or relocate to make the area more palatable for developers and investors seeking to make it more residential and family friendly. However, area business owners and Atlanta residents have organized to preserve the legacy of Cheshire Bridge Road and combat more unwanted gentrification.[10][11]

Businesses

Well known current and former businesses along Cheshire Bridge Road include:

  • Tokyo Valentino Erotique (formerly Inserection) - a sex shop[12][13]
  • Allure, Onyx, Bliss, and Doll House - straight strip clubs[14][15][16]
  • The Chamber - a BDSM and burlesque centric straight nightclub[17][18]
  • Cheshire Motor Inn - a motel famous for gay cruising[19]
  • The Colonnade restaurant - a popular restaurant among "gays and grays"[20]
  • Roxx Taven - a popular restaurant among gays[21][22][23]
  • Bliss Atlanta - a gay strip club[24]
  • B.J. Roosters, Xion, The Heretic[19] and The Jungle - gay nightclubs

Amenities

References

  1. ↑ "Site of Old Cheshire Bridge", GeorgiaInfo, University of Georgia
  2. 1 2 "History", Lindridge-Martin Manor Neighbors Association Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 Friedman, Jordan (February 15, 2013). "What to do with Cheshire Bridge Road?". Creative Loafing. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Clean up Cheshire Bridge?", Creative Loafing, May 8, 2013
  6. 1 2 "Cheshire Bridge Road to remain an “adult” district, if Atlanta City Council upholds ruling by its zoning board" Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Saporta Report, May 9, 2013
  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.
  8. ↑ Max Blau, "Residents OK Cheshire Bridge plan to gently give adult businesses the boot", Creative Loafing, April 16, 2013
  9. ↑ Taylor Trimble, "Opinion: Cheshire Bridge is Falling Down" Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, David Atlanta, March 2013
  10. ↑ "How long can we keep Cheshire Bridge weird?". August 23, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Advocates Fight to Save Popular Gay Club Threatened by MARTA Plan". December 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Atlanta renews effort to shut down Tokyo Valentino". November 12, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Sexcapades: Atlanta's sex shops — Where to go for some added flavor to your love life". February 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Atlanta to consider closing Cheshire Bridge strip clubs". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  15. ↑ "Cheshire Bridge is Officially Getting Less Sexy". June 21, 2016.
  16. ↑ Legal crackdown threatens metro Atlanta strip clubs
  17. ↑ "Party like it's 1996: 7 iconic Atlanta nightlife spots of the era". March 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ "End of a gothic era".
  19. 1 2 "HOW TO GET LAID BY A MAN: IF YOU ARE ALSO A MAN", DJ Toyota Fest, Vice, December 31, 1999
  20. ↑ "The Colonnade Restaurant" Zagat
  21. ↑ "Meet the Best of Atlanta 2019 Winners: Food". July 19, 2019.
  22. ↑ "What makes a restaurant gay-friendly?".
  23. ↑ "Food porn at Roxx again gets gay thumbs up". December 30, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Strip club Bliss closes after troubled 3-year run". June 2, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Cheshire Farm Trail", South Fork Conservancy
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