Bordered by LaVista Road, Briarcliff Road, Chantilly Drive and Cheshire Bridge Road, LaVista Park is a neighborhood that's convenient to Buckhead, Emory University, the CDC, the Lindbergh MARTA station, several shopping centers, parks, restaurants, I-85 and GA 400. It's an older neighborhood with many wonderful examples of ranch-style houses from the 1950s and 1960s. The Brady Bunch would have lived here, and Mike would have commuted to his architecture practice in Midtown. With Whole Foods so close, Alice wouldn't have needed Sam the butcher – except that she was sweet on him.
Many of these ranch houses have been renovated, often with additions, and they may have a one-car garage. LaVista Park also has some new construction that includes traditional and contemporary styles, some of which raised eyebrows as "a big-box invasion" and were definitely not designed by Mike Brady.
Since 1980, the LaVista Park Civic Association (LVPCA) has been marshalling their volunteer forces to preserve the beauty and residential character of the neighborhood. The LVPCA has divided LaVista Park into four sections, each with its own vice president, to represent the issues of distinct parts of the neighborhood.
The organization sponsors an off-duty police patrol and holds periodic social events for people to meet each other. The annual Fall Festival always brings out a crowd for food, music and fun and games.
The LVPCA sponsors a business membership for area businesses, the "Friends of LaVista Park," in which local merchants offer discounts and exclusive promotions to the association members.
Neighborhood gardeners have been exercising their green thumbs in the LaVista Park Garden Club since 1951. The group also looks after the neighborhood's namesake park, LaVista Park. Also close by are Herbert Taylor Park and David Johnson Nature Preserve, which together provide 30 acres of greenspace with old growth trees and wooden bridges; recently renovated Kittredge Park; and Meadow Loop Trail, a natural-surface trail that will one day connect to the Morningside Nature Preserve.
Children in LaVista Park go to DeKalb County Schools – Briar Vista Elementary School, Druid Hills Middle School and Druid Hills High School, which Newsweek ranked as one of the top 500 high schools in the country.
Briar Vista Elementary is one of only two DeKalb public schools that give parents the options of the Montessori track, with multi-age classes that span three years, or the traditional track, where students are the same age. Druid Hills Middle School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School with an emphasis on developing community awareness and the skills required to make an effective contribution to society. The International Baccalaureate is considered one of the leading educational programs in the world.
Druid Hills High School offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program for 11th and 12th graders; it's recognized by universities throughout the world. The IB is called a “diploma” program because students can earn a diploma from the International Baccalaureate Organization at the same time that they earn a Georgia high school diploma.
In addition, Druid Hills offers the Advanced Placement program. It's one of only six Georgia high schools to be named an Advanced Placement Honor School in five categories.