Kirkwood was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1899. Governed beginning in 1899 by its city council and mayor, the town boasted its water system, school systems, and fire department. The former Kirkwood School is a handsome building from this period, located on Kirkwood Road NE just north of Bessie Branham Park. Individually nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, the primary building on the property's south side was originally designed by John Francis Downing, the son of the noted Atlanta architect W. T. Downing. Both buildings now comprise the Kirkwood Lofts apartments as a result of a $1 million renovation in 1997.