East Lake Real Estate

East Lake, Atlanta

East Lake is a neighborhood on Atlanta's east side, sitting mostly within DeKalb County and largely inside the 30317 zip code. It is the easternmost of the City of Atlanta's officially recognized neighborhoods, positioned about 4.5 miles from Downtown Atlanta and roughly 11 to 13 miles from SRA Signature Realty's office in Tucker. East Lake borders Oakhurst to the north, Kirkwood to the west, Belvedere Park to the east, and Candler-McAfee to the south. The neighborhood's western edge runs along 1st Street toward Kirkwood, while Candler Road marks its eastern boundary with Belvedere Park.

Home of a Golf Legacy

East Lake traces back to a 19th-century plantation that was subdivided in 1892, when the East Lake Land Company laid out residential lots and built a streetcar line to the property. That early venture struggled, but the Atlanta Athletic Club, founded in 1898 with football coach John Heisman directing its early athletic programs, later purchased land in the area in 1904 to build a new country club and golf course. East Lake Golf Club opened its clubhouse and course in 1908, and its early years also included lawn bowling greens, tennis courts, and a boating lake for members alongside golf, plus a wading pool that reflected the club's early ambition to be a broad social and recreational destination beyond golf alone. The club is where golfing great Bobby Jones developed his game as a boy, and it remains Atlanta's oldest golf club today. East Lake incorporated as its own town in 1908 and was annexed into the City of Atlanta two decades later. By the mid-1980s the club and surrounding property had fallen into disrepair, and in 1993 Atlanta businessman Tom Cousins purchased East Lake Golf Club to restore it as a tribute to its amateur golf legacy and as a catalyst for reinvestment in the surrounding neighborhood. The course was substantially rebuilt in the mid-1990s under golf course architect Rees Jones.

Parks and Public Golf

East Lake Golf Club still occupies its original grounds and hosts a PGA Tour Championship event each year. Next to it, the Charlie Yates Golf Course gives the public access to golf in the neighborhood, built in 1998 and named for the East Lake amateur champion who grew up along its fairways between the club's two courses. East Lake Park, a public green space in the neighborhood, includes a playground, ballfield, and basketball and tennis courts for residents. The Home Depot Foundation, based in Atlanta, contributed a grant toward improvements at East Lake Park in 2005, part of a broader wave of investment in the neighborhood's public spaces during that period.

• East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta's oldest golf club


• Charlie Yates Golf Course, open to the public


• East Lake Park playground and athletic courts


• Weekly farmers market at 2nd Avenue and Hosea L. Williams Drive


• Annual East Lake Tour of Homes

Dining and Community Life

Memorial Drive and Hosea L. Williams Drive carry a growing collection of independent restaurants and cafes that give East Lake a walkable commercial edge along its northern boundary. A neighborhood farmers market, running since 2009, brings local produce and vendors to the corner of 2nd Avenue and Hosea L. Williams Drive. The neighborhood holds an annual Tour of Homes each summer, giving residents and visitors a look at the area's historic housing stock.

Housing in East Lake

East Lake's housing stock centers on bungalows and cottages built between 1910 and the 1940s, a reflection of the neighborhood's early 20th-century growth as a streetcar-era community tied to the golf club. Many of these homes have been renovated over the past few decades while retaining their original scale and front-porch character, and newer construction fills in select lots throughout the neighborhood. Streets closest to the golf club tend to follow the curving lanes laid out in the community's earliest plans, while blocks nearer Hosea L. Williams Drive keep the tighter, grid-based lot pattern typical of the original streetcar suburb. Front porches, gabled roofs, and single-story footprints remain common throughout the neighborhood, giving many blocks a consistent, early 20th-century character even as individual homes have been updated over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What county is East Lake in?

East Lake sits mostly within DeKalb County on Atlanta's east side, and it is considered the easternmost neighborhood within the Atlanta city limits.

How far is East Lake from Downtown Atlanta?

East Lake is approximately 4.5 miles from Downtown Atlanta.

What neighborhoods border East Lake?

East Lake borders Oakhurst to the north, Kirkwood to the west, Belvedere Park to the east, and Candler-McAfee to the south.

What is East Lake known for?

East Lake is best known as the home of East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta's oldest golf club and the place where Bobby Jones learned to play.

What types of homes are in East Lake?

The neighborhood is known for bungalows and cottages built from 1910 through the 1940s, many of which have been renovated in recent decades.