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This story is part of Atlanta magazine’s Streets Issue—a block-by-block exploration of our city and the stories it tells. Find the entire package here.
According to an oft-cited figure from the Atlanta Regional Commission, the metro boasts 71 streets bearing some variation on the name “Peachtree.” That number is several years old, though, and a spokesperson says the organization doesn’t keep a running list. (Peachtree, meanwhile, might be a variation on another phrase entirely: The name derives from a Muscogee settlement near the Chattahoochee River called Pakanahuili. That’s been translated from the Muscogee as “Standing Peach Tree,” but it may mean “Standing Pitch Tree”—referring to pine, not peach.)
Seeking clarity, we put a list together ourselves, starting downtown and working outward. We only made it a little past the Perimeter, but in that space, we were able to find 40 streets bearing the name. It’s possible the earlier figure distinguished between directionals—i.e., Peachtree Street NE and Peachtree Street SW—whereas we considered them parts of the same Peachtree Street, though not to be confused with West Peachtree (separate street), and also not to be confused with the Peachtree Street in Peachtree Corners, or for that matter any of the three (?) Peachtree Streets in Norcross. It’s also possible we just got worn out; as we went to press, we kept finding Peachtrees in places we were sure we’d already looked. Here, then, an assuredly incomplete, highly subjective ranking. You’ll never guess who came out on top.
40
Peachtree Street
The one in Peachtree Corners.
39-37
The Peachtree Forests
Avenue, Drive, and Terrace. (In that order.)
36
Peachtree Corners Circle
35
Peachtree Dunwoody Circle
34
Peachtree View
33
Peachtree Way
The one in Dunwoody. It intersects with North Peachtree Road (see item 28).
32
Peachtree Hollow Court
31
Peachtree Industrial Court
30
Peachtree Place Parkway
If you put “Peachtree Boulevard” into Google Maps, it’ll show you Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, but enter “Peachtree Place Parkway” and you’ll wind up at a place called Peachtree Boulevard (in Dunwoody).
29
Peachtree Parkway
The far reaches of the Peachtree universe; it turns into Medlock Bridge Road near the Chattahoochee.
28
North Peachtree Road
This one intersects with the other Peachtree Road in Chamblee, between Peachtree Industrial and New Peachtree Road. Got it?
27
Peachtree Dunwoody Road
26
Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
An underdog among Peachtrees, this bustling thoroughfare splits off from Peachtree Road in Brookhaven and extends for miles beyond the Perimeter, winding all the way up past Sugar Hill.
25-23
Peachtree Streets (charming downtown Norcross edition)
West Peachtree Street begins at Jimmy Carter Boulevard, running parallel to Norcross’s South Peachtree Street before it hits Holcomb Bridge Road and turns into North Peachtree Street.
22
Peachtree Center Avenue
If you’re here, you’re lost in downtown’s maze of one-way streets. You’re probably a tourist. If you’d wanted to eat at Hsu’s (a worthy objective), you should’ve walked.
21
West Peachtree Street
Not the west end of Peachtree Street, but parallel to it. At Hardy Ivy Park, West Peachtree intersects with itself.
20
Peachtree Road
The one in Atlanta.
19
New Peachtree Road
Sandwiched between Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Buford Highway, this is somewhat a roadway with an identity crisis—but any street that provides a (less trafficked) path from Atlanta Chinatown to the BuHi Farmers Market can’t help but shine.
18-13
Peachtree variants between Pharr and Collier Roads
Land of the wannabes. In this two-mile stretch of Buckhead, the original Peachtree Road intersects with at least seven streets named Peachtree something-or-other, including: Peachtree Avenue, Peachtree Hills Circle, Peachtree Hills Avenue, Peachtree Memorial Drive, Peachtree Park Drive, Peachtree Valley Road. (Not counting Peachtree Battle; see below.)
12
Peachtree Way
Another of the Buckhead offshoots, but ranked slightly higher given its proximity to Duck Pond Park.
11
Peachtree Walk
The rare Atlanta street that’s only for walking, at least in part; it begins on 10th Street across from Midtown MARTA and heads north a couple blocks.
10
Peachtree Place
9
Old Peachtree Road
The metro’s original—aka the source of all this—actually located in Gwinnett County.
8
South Old Peachtree Road
Somebody noticed this on the map—also in Gwinnett, several miles southwest of Old Peachtree Road—just as we were going to press. Bonus points for being
a surprise!
7-4
Peachtree Battle Avenue + three offshoots (Circle, Court, Place)
One of Atlanta’s most beautiful boulevards, with a name evoking a bloody Civil War conflict.
3
Peachtree Circle
We are forever lost on its roundabout, though the location—Ansley Park, between Piedmont Park and the High Museum—is awfully nice.
2
Peachtree Drive
With a nondescript entrance next to Krystal’s on Piedmont Road, this street leads to a bucolic, walkable neighborhood, founded in the early 20th century for railroad workers.
1
Peachtree Street
Home to DragonCon and Pride—and the main artery of downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. Plus, there’s expanded pedestrian access near AmericasMart! Oops, no there’s not.
This article appears in our August 2022 issue.
