Locksmith Services in Athens, GA

Homes and locks in Athens

Athens-Clarke County's local historic districts include Cobbham, Dearing, Boulevard, Milledge, Milledge Circle, Buena Vista, Bloomfield, Reese, Woodlawn and West Cloverhurst-Springdale.

Milledge Avenue dates to the late 1850s. Cobbham and Dearing grew up along its northern and central stretches, while the southern end stayed farmland, including the Cloverhurst experimental farm, until the city pushed toward Five Points. In 1938 and 1939, sororities bought three of its mansions, and offices, apartments and more Greek houses followed.

The county's Milledge Avenue guidelines describe the surviving original doors as mostly wood, with glass panes or panels, often under a transom. In a chapter house or converted office where keys change hands often, lock rekeying retires the old keys while the old door and its hardware stay.

Businesses and buildings

Downtown's historic district centers on College Avenue and Clayton Street, where solid blocks of storefronts run east and west. On Broad Street, storefronts line only the north side, facing the University of Georgia campus.

The county's downtown guidelines describe mostly brick and stone buildings of two to four stories, built to the sidewalk. The vernacular storefront of about 1860 to 1920 pairs display windows with a transom, a bulkhead and an often recessed main door.

Guideline 3.15 asks owners to keep the features of historic doors, hardware included, and not to seal secondary doors shut irreversibly. Guideline 3.16 asks that recessed entries be kept. Plan commercial locksmith work around those original doors.

Car trouble in Athens

The Athens Downtown Development Authority enforces downtown on-street parking and runs the West Washington Street deck. The Downtown Athens Parking System runs the College Avenue deck. Meters are enforced from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with a two-hour maximum between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

On home football weekends, UGA Transportation and Parking Services asks drivers to clear most campus lots by 5:00 a.m. Saturday. Vehicles left after that may be cited or towed at the owner's expense, and a few lots, such as the Tate Surface Lot, must be cleared on Thursday or Friday. For a car lockout in a campus lot that week, give the lot number.

Local rules worth knowing

Historic districts. Chapter 8-5 of the Athens-Clarke County Code covers historic preservation. Many exterior changes in a local district need a Certificate of Appropriateness, sometimes even when no building permit is required. The Milledge Avenue guidelines (section 2c.3) treat repairing existing doors and replacing door hardware and locks as maintenance needing no review. Under section 2c.2, adding a screen, storm or security door goes to staff review at a secondary entrance but needs a Historic Preservation Commission hearing at the front entrance. Street-facing security bars also need a hearing (section 2b.4). Other districts have their own guidelines.

Rental repairs. The county's Code Enforcement Division lists exterior or bathroom door locks missing or not working among common property maintenance code violations. Its tenant guide says to ask the landlord for the repair in writing first, then call Code Enforcement if it is not fixed in a reasonable time. A confirmed violation brings the owner a notice with a deadline, then a citation to Municipal Court if unresolved. For a failed lock, see lock repair.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Athens

Give the street and nearest cross street or the historic district, and say whether original door hardware should stay. For a car, name the deck or campus lot. Georgia Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Athens. See house lockout or the Georgia page.