Commercial Locksmith in Athens, GA

Storefronts in the downtown historic district

Downtown Athens' historic district centers on College Avenue and Clayton Street, where storefronts run in solid blocks east and west. On Broad Street they line only the north side, facing the University of Georgia campus. The county's guidelines describe mostly brick and stone buildings of two to four stories, built to the sidewalk. The typical storefront from about 1860 to 1920 pairs display windows with a transom, a bulkhead and often a recessed main door.

What the guidelines mean for door hardware

Guideline 3.15 of the downtown guidelines 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. For a storefront, that points toward work that leaves the door and its recess in place, such as rekeying or repair, rather than changes to the opening. Ask about the district's rules before altering a storefront door. This is general information, not legal advice.

Offices and shared buildings

Beyond downtown, Milledge Avenue is another place where offices share the street with apartments and Greek houses, so one address can hold several occupants, several keyholders and a mix of shared and private doors. Name the exact door in your request.

When a tenant leaves or a staff member changes roles, every key that person held is still out there. Lock rekeying ends that old access without replacing the hardware, and a master key system can give each person one key for many doors. Keep a written list of who holds which key, and rekey when that list cannot be reconciled.

What to include in a request

• The address or cross street: College Avenue, Clayton Street, Broad Street or elsewhere.
• The door types: recessed main door, wood, secondary or back door, and how many.
• Whether the building is in a historic district, and whether you own or lease.
• The reason for the change: new tenant, staff change or a lost key.

The commercial locksmith page describes the service, and the Athens page has the local notes.