Garden Hills was a planned neighborhood developed by Phillips Campbell McDuffie who was a prominent Atlanta lawyer and real estate entrepreneur.  In 1925 he formed the Garden Hills Corporation and advertised the area as "Beautiful Garden Hills."  The underlying idea for his development was prompted by the growing use of private automobiles after World War I which allowed residents to live farther away from where they worked.  His vision for the development was a country club community with a swimming pool and community center at its heart.

A natural ravine divided the original plat into two sections.  There were plans to simultaneously develop second section, which was to be named Beverly Hills Subdivision.  However, this section was merged with Garden Hills.

The Garden Hills neighborhood subsequently was developed in three phases.  The first phase was the Country Club which actually included the swimming pool and community center.  The second phase was the Peachtree section, and the third phase was the Brentwood Section.  Along the northern streets, residences are mixed with commercial establishments which include excellent restaurants, shops, galleries, and salons.

Today, Garden Hills is a large urban neighborhood offering densely-treed, in-town living.  The Garden Hills homes has all the charm one could want:  winding streets lined with huge, towering trees, an impressive mix of early 20th century homes, small parks and landscaped traffic islands with granite markers, a neighborhood pool and recreation center, not to mention that it’s all convenient to shopping, transportation, schools, and churches. 

The oldest streets in the neighborhood were given Historic District status in 1987.  Garden Hills Elementary School and Atlanta International School (formerly North Fulton High School) are examples of the work of the famed Atlanta architect Philip Shutze and are also included on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today the neighborhood offers single-family residences and also includes apartment buildings, a church, two schools, a historic commercial area, and new businesses that lead to a fairly self-contained community.  The Garden Hills homes range from Georgian, Tudor, and Spanish Revival to Craftsman with a scattering of later, more modern architecture.

Three parks are in or near Garden Hills: Sunnybrook Park, a wooded strip with a stream and stone bridges; Alexander Park lies across from the Garden Hills Pool; and Frankie Allen Park, which is a larger complex that includes baseball diamonds, tennis courts and picnic areas.  The Garden Hills swimming pool is still the heart of the neighborhood.  A popular gathering place, it has a rustic clubhouse with a large porch and fireplace that gives one the feeling of being in a cabin tucked away in woods.