It has taken Tuxedo Park more than 50 years to evolve from woodland and farms to magnificent summer estates to one of Buckhead's most prestigious neighborhoods. The elegant Tuxedo Park homes range from Georgian and Tudor to Italianate and Greek revival structures and sit on large lots in a lush and natural environment. Indeed, they often appear to be nestled in a rolling, park-like setting. Because of the beauty of the area, Tuxedo Park has become a magnate for tour buses.
Tuxedo Park has a rich history, beginning with the earliest settlers, the Creek Indians. In the mid-1880s, white  settlers encroached on the Creek lands northwest of the rapidly developing town of Atlanta. At that time, Paces Ferry Road was a main route to the Chattahoochee River. The name Pace Ferry is derived from a flat-boat ferry service that Hardy Pace, a settler who came to the area from North Carolina, established in the early 1800s near where Peachtree Creek empties into the Chattahoochee. Mr. Pace also ran the post office near Vinings. During the Civil War, Union troops moved in to capture the city of Atlanta by using the ferry crossing and encamping along the Paces Ferry Road.
The area remained rural until the early 1900s wealthy families from Atlanta began to build their summer homes along Paces Ferry Road. The wooded, rolling hills offered an ideal retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city just six miles to the south.
After several landowners built their estates in the area, Charles H. Black, Sr.’s Tuxedo Park and Valley Road companies and the Ferry Road Development Company continued developing the area. As the popularity of the automobile began to change the mobility of Atlantans, Black bought 300 acres to develop into what now is Tuxedo Park. However, sales of the tracts and further development were halted by the economic depression of the 1930s and World War II in the 1940s.
Later, some of the larger estates were subdivided and although subdividing of the large estates continues today, Tuxedo Park remains one of the most outstanding neighborhoods of grand and picturesque homes with exquisite landscaping.
The Tuxedo Park homes include styles of architecture from English, French, and Mediterranean influence to Colonial Revival. The diversity of architectural style has been integrated by the landscape design, most of which English in influence or naturalistic in treatment. Whether designed by a noted architect or gardener, lawns are broad and abundant with various types of trees, shrubs, flower gardens and walks, most of which are informally arranged. |