Upper Avenue A Historic District

Upper Avenue A Historic District is a residential neighborhood of about 20 acres on the west bank of the Oostanaula River in Rome, Georgia. It began as part of DeSoto, a suburban village laid out by Rome entrepreneurs and land companies in the 1870s and 1880s. DeSoto was annexed by Rome in 1885 and became the Fourth Ward. A bridge built in 1886, a streetcar line and nearby industries drove rapid growth. Most houses date from 1880 to 1920. Larger frame houses along Avenue A, with porches, brackets, decorative shingles, scrollwork and stained glass, were homes of business and professional men. Smaller one-story houses of two to four rooms, found at the north end and scattered elsewhere, were built for factory workers. Together they show how Rome's middle-class and working-class residents lived near one another, a pattern typical of Rome. The district was listed for its planning history, its architecture and its local history.