It has become a destination for people across Atlanta with its eclectic mix of restaurants, bars, and shops as well as for the Summerfest festival, annual Tour of Homes and other events.

During the revolt against the construction of the I-485 freeway through Morningside and what is now Virginia–Highland, a pro-highway group called themselves the "Highland–Virginia Civic Association", claiming to speak for the neighborhood.

When Joe Drolet and other residents formed a group to oppose the highway in Fall 1971, they chose the name "Virginia–Highland Civic Association".

[8] With the victory of the anti-highway forces, the Virginia–Highland name stuck and the press started to use it to refer to the entire neighborhood between Amsterdam, Ponce, Piedmont Park and Druid Hills.

The term VaHi, imitating the New York style of naming neighborhoods (SoHo, TriBeCa), first was used in the Atlanta newspapers in 1998.

In the 1880s, Georgia Railroad executive Richard Peters and real estate developer George Washington Adair organized the Atlanta Street Railway Company.

Between 1928 and 1930, the Howard Dry Cleaning Company and the Phelps Millard Grocery opened, anchoring the Amsterdam and N. Highland business district.

In 1924, fire station 19 was built on N. Highland at Los Angeles Ave. Streetcar service to Virginia–Highland ended around 1947, along with all of the other trolley lines into and out of central Atlanta.

[12] They along with residents of Stone Mountain, Inman Park, and Morningside finally defeated I-485, and became a political force to be reckoned with.

In 2009, the original north/south freeway (connecting 675 to 400) was again put on GDOT's to-do list, but this time running in a tunnel underneath the neighborhoods, with buildings to vent exhaust fumes and smog above ground.

The 3 acres (12,000 m2) of land on Virginia Avenue where 11 houses had been taken and demolished to make way for a Virginia Avenue exit, however, was finally opened in 1988 as John Howell Memorial Park, in memory of Virginia–Highland resident and anti-freeway activist John Howell, who died from complications of HIV in 1988.

In 1988, the turn-of-the-century trolley barns on 5 acres (2.0 ha) on Virginia Avenue on the east side of the BeltLine Eastside Trail (today's Virginia–Highland Apartments) were torn down despite the City Council and VHCA's attempts to save them.

Although previously assuring local residents that he favored saving the historic structures, Mayor Andrew Young then vetoed the resolution, and the Council's vote of 11-3 was not enough to override it.

[13][14] As the neighborhood continued to regentrify, property values increased rapidly; the shops and restaurants became progressively more upscale.

In November 2006, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation added Virginia–Highland to its list of "places in peril" due to an acceleration of teardowns and infill projects by real estate developers and newcomers to the area.

Amsterdam Walk, a shopping and entertainment complex built in what was originally part of the Campbell Coal Company warehouse.

Adjacent is the former Sears building, now Ponce City Market, with office, retail and residential space, and a gourmet food hall.

[30] Besides the churches noted below, some other landmarks of note are: Virginia–Highland and Atkins Park are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), with Atkins Park having in addition the status of historic overlay district which, unlike a NRHP listing by itself, actually provides for measures to enforce preservation.

are controlled by the Neighborhood planning unit F, which also includes Morningside-Lenox Park, Piedmont Heights and Lindridge-Martin Manor.

Virginia–Highland serves as a model for other neighborhoods of Atlanta in implementing a comprehensive range of safety measures: Virginia–Highland borders: Within the boundaries of Virginia–Highland are: In 2014, residents cleaned up and beautified the unpaved alley between St. Charles Avenue and Ponce, and it is now known as Maiden Trail.

[33] Virginia–Highland has one of seven Atlanta "neighborhood arboreta", which are in fact walking routes of trees (identified by markers) in yards, sidewalk planting strips, and parks.

In May, A Taste of the Highlands in John Howell Park features samplings from favorite neighborhood restaurants and live music.

[41][42] Virginia–Highland is home to a number of churches: The Chabad Intown synagogue is located on Ponce de Leon Place.