How Alta Vista came to be
Alta Vista, "high view," was cotton fields until banker John Wilkins Norwood bought the 39 acre tract from textile entrepreneur Charles Lanneau in 1907 for $12,000. In 1924 Norwood subdivided it into 106 lots with sewers, paved streets, and telephone and power lines, cutting three new avenues, Belmont, Fairview, and Afton, between McDaniel Avenue and Crescent Avenue. The first lot sold that year for $8,000, and the neighborhood was advertised as sitting on the highest knoll overlooking the business district.
The Lanneau-Norwood House still stands at the center of it all, facing McDaniel Avenue, and it and the T.Q. Donaldson House are both on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood is bordered by Cleveland Street to the north, Augusta Street to the south, South Church Street to the west, and East Faris Road to the east.
The homes in Alta Vista
The original 1920s houses are Colonial Revival, Tudor, and Craftsman, many with deep porches and formal front gardens on generous lots. Crescent Avenue and McDaniel Avenue carry the largest of them, and both are among the most recognized addresses in the city. Because the streets were platted with large lots, the neighborhood has also seen a run of new construction in the last decade, including full custom homes on Southland Avenue and infill lots of a third of an acre or more.
That mix is the neighborhood's real character: a 1920s cottage, a landmark estate, and a new white oak and brick build can share the same block. Turnover is modest, on the order of a few dozen sales a year, so buyers who want a particular street usually wait for it.
Walking and getting around from Alta Vista
Alta Vista is a walking neighborhood in a way few others in Greenville are. McDaniel Avenue leads straight into Cleveland Park, the Greenville Zoo, and the Fernwood Nature Trail, and from there the Swamp Rabbit Trail runs into downtown past Cancer Survivors Park and Falls Park. Henry Bacon McCoy Park on Afton Avenue is the neighborhood playground, and the Caine Halter Family YMCA sits on Cleveland Street.
The Augusta Street shops and restaurants begin at the southern edge, and downtown's Main Street is a ten minute walk from most of the neighborhood. Augusta Circle Elementary is nearby, with assignments set by address. Prices here sit at the top of the in town market and the range is wide, so ask us for comparable sales on the specific street before relying on any figure.
