The Atlanta Preservation Center’s 11^th Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Atlanta’s Historic Sites came to a close on Sunday, March 23, 2014. Preservation Partners report that events were well received and attendance was significant. The APC is honored to coordinate efforts of the many organizations and individuals it takes to make this City-wide effort succeed.

The Atlanta Preservation Center thanks the following for their financial and in-kind support of the Celebration:

WSB-TV Family2Family

Georgia Power

City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs

Georgia Humanities Council

Lampe-Farley

Elizabeth & Howell Adams III

Chrissie & Jim Wayt

4D Printing

AM1690, The Voice of the Arts

Atlanta History Center

Doug Young, Boyd Coons and Jessica Lavandier enjoying the LP Grant Mansion during an Open House

Buckhead Life Group Restaurants

CIRCA

Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead

Robbins Advertising

Whole Foods Market, Ponce de Leon

Glenn Hotel

F.H. Boyd Coons

Caroline & Harry Gilham

Atlanta Woman’s Club

Easements Atlanta, Inc.

The Healey Building Condominiums

Log Cabin Community Church

Westview

Allen Hoss of Pimsler Hoss Architects reviewing plans for the renovation of the DAR Building

Marge & Steve Hays

Bill Pennington

The Wren’s Nest

Jay Tribby

William White

Alfred Holt Colquitt Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy

Sally & Charles Bayless

Cathy & Bo Bradshaw

W.L. Cook

Katharine & Clayton Farnham

Daniel Getan

Syd & Don Janney

Tad Brown of the Watson-Brown Foundation leading a tour of the Goodrum House

Mary & Dick Leslie

Carolyn Stine McLaughlin

Bill Mitchell, Southern Architecture Foundation

Origins Real Estate

Mary S. Osier

Alida Silverman

Jane & Mo Thrash

Mark Watkins

Rainey & Ben Woodward

Christopher Kellen

APC's Director of Education Paul Hammock leading a Box City program

Paul Hammock

Hoke Kimball

The Atlanta Preservation Center also thanks its dedicated volunteers, volunteer walking tour guides and the 82 Preservation Partners who demonstrated their passion for Atlanta and its history.

Paula Blechner

Mike Canfield

Jeff Clemmons

Bob Caine

Phil Cuthbertson

Tim Easterling

Colleen Herren

Terry Hynes

Jan Keith

MH Mitchell Panel Discussion "Atlanta - 150 Years of History in Our Architecture

Dan Knapp

Frank Koch

Jeff Morrison

Ruth Middleton

Gene Ramsey

Amanda Rhein

Pat Reynolds

Jessica Sheppard

Justin Slaughter

Lisette Van Leemput

Barbara Vogel

Jennifer McConnell leading the Trees Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum History Tour

Ahavath Achim Synagogue

Alonso F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation

Atlanta BeltLine Partnership

Atlanta Curb Market

Atlanta First United Methodist

Atlanta History Center

Atlanta Urban Design Commission

Atlanta Woman’s Club

B*ATL

Bass Lofts

The Breman Museum

Buckhead Heritage Society

Burns Club of Atlanta

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center

Capital City Club

Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association

Cathedral of St Philip

Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Center for Puppetry Arts

City of Atlanta Fire Department & Atlanta Fire Foundation

Coalition to Remember the 1906 Race Riots

Collins United Methodist Church

Cyclorama

Druid Hills Baptist Church

Druid Hills Presbyterian Church

Early Edgewood-Candler Park BiRacial History Project

Easements Atlanta

East Lake Golf Club

First Church Christ, Scientist

First Presbyterian Church

The Fox Theatre

Georgia Battlefields Association

Georgia Capitol Museum

Georgia Tech Living History Program

Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

Glenn Hotel

Grant Park Conservancy

Gregor Turk

Hammonds House Museum

Healey Building

Historic Oakland Foundation

Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Historic South-View Preservation Foundation

Historic Sylvester Cemetery Foundation

Historic Westside Cultural Arts Council

Howell Station Neighborhood Association

Inman Park United Methodist Church

Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, Southeast

Jamestown Properties

Log Cabin Community Church

Lost-n-Found Youth, Inc.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site

M Rich Building

MH Mitchell, Inc.

Oglethorpe University

Olmstead Linear Park Alliance

Peachtree Christian Church

Piedmont Driving Club

Piedmont Park Conservancy

The Ponce

Pimsler Hoss Architects

River Line Historic Area

Rock Spring Presbyterian

Saint Mark United Methodist Church

Savannah College of Art and Design – Ivy Hall Writing Center

Shellmont Inn

Southern Architecture Foundation, Inc.

St Luke’s Episcopal Church

St Paul United Methodist Church

The Stacks at Fulton Cotton Mill

The Temple

Theatrical Outfit

Training and Counseling Center at St Luke’s

Trees Atlanta

US General Services Administration

Utoy Cemetery Association

Watson-Brown Foundation

Westview

Whittier Mill Village Neighborhood Association

Wrecking Bar Brewpub & The Marianna

The Wren’s Nest

During the Phoenix Flies Celebration, the Atlanta Preservation Center the welcomes many organizations and individual to showcase their work in preservation. On Saturday, March 22 there are two organizations with the primary mission of historic preservation. They of course are not in the North of the Nation but rather north of the center of the City.

At both 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, Buckhead Heritage Society will be giving tours of Sardis Church and Cemetery. The current church building on this site, 3725 Powers Ferry Rd NE, 30342, was complete in
1927 and is known to be the third building at the site to house the congregation which dates from 1869. Reservations are not required.

At 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm, the Georgia Trust will give docent led tours of Rhodes Hall. This historic home dating from 1904 was designed by Willis F. Denny for the Rhodes family. It is now serves as offices for the Trust and an events facility. Meet for theses tours on the front porch of Rhodes Hall, 1516 Peachtree St NW, 30309. Reservations are not required.

Can you name the Atlanta Historic Site with the following in its history?

• Queen Anne Victorian architectural style
• Named after something that took up residence in a mailbox
• Preserves African American folklore
• Has been a house museum since 1913

If you answered the Wren’s Nest…an orange start for you!

The Wren’s Nest will be open Saturday, March 22 for house tours from 10:00 am until 2:30 pm. The Wren’s Nest Ramblers will weave their tales at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm. The historic home is located at 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, 30310. Reservations are not required for these events.

Be sure to visit another of the other Southwest Preservation Partners open on March 22. The Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples St SW, 30310, will be open from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm for self-guided tours. This museum was once home to prominent Atlanta physician and arts patron Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds and now focuses on the preservation and presentation of art by artists of African descent.

Westview, 1680 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, 30310, will be open for self-guided tours from 10:00 am – 2:00pm. This cemetery is the resting place of many important Atlantans, the site of the Civil War Battle of Ezra Church and the largest private cemetery in the Southeast.

Here is the scoop on the clues:

This Queen Anne style of architecture was popular from 1880 to 1910. One of the features of this style, a dominant forward facing gable, can be seen on the Wren’s Nest and another important example of this style in Atlanta, the Peters House (now Ivy Hall).

The house was dubbed the Wren’s Nest more than 120 years ago because a wren made it nest in the mailbox. This still happens today, be sure to take a look during your visit.

The Wren’s Nest was home to Joel Chandler Harris from 1881 to 1908. Harris’ Uncle Remus tales were the most successful publication of Brer Rabbit stories. The majority of these stories were from Africa and developed through the oral history important to the enslaved Africans in the South.

After Harris’ death, the home became a house museum in 1913. It includes many family furnishings and gives a distinctive picture of what upper middle class living was like during the time the house was occupied by the Harris family. Noteworthy is the fact that the author’s bedroom has not been changed since the time of his death.

It is day 12 of the 16-day Phoenix Flies Celebration and there are still nearly 100 events from now until Sunday afternoon.

Remaining events are listed here. Here are some highlights:

Westview Cemetery – this new Preservation Partner is open daily from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm for self-guided tours through Saturday, March 22, no reservations required. Guided tours are available at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm, reservations required contact: cjulian@westveiwcemetery.com.

Downtown On Thursday – Beginning with the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s tour of Historic City Hall (68 Mitchell St SW, 30303) at 10:00 am there are three sites scheduled together in Downtown. Historic City Hall is followed by the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (48 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, 30303) at 12:45. Then the US General Services Administration will give guided tours of the Martin Luther King Jr Federal Building (77 Forsyth St SW, 30303) at 2:30 pm. Reservations are not required for these events.

Preservation Success – SCAD will be giving tours of Ivy Hall on Friday, March 21 at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Built for Edward C Peters in 1883 this house is now used as the college’s creative writing center. The Atlanta Preservation Center and the preservation community waged a seven-year battle for the preservation of this house that now is a valuable resource for the Atlanta community. Reservations are required for these events, contact 404-253-3206.

Saturday on the Northwest – Get a unique picture of the City’s northwest site with events from three Preservation Partners on Saturday, March 22. Meet for Howell Station Neighborhood Association’s Historic Howell Station Guided Walking Tour at Northwest Baptist Church (1150 Niles Ave NW, 30318). The next Preservation Partner, Collins United Methodist Church (2220 Bolton Road NW, 30318) will offer tours at 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm. The third partner, Whittier Mill Village Neighborhood Association will present the Whittier Mill Home and School Tour from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (pick up maps at First Baptist Church of the Chattahoochee, 1950 Bolton Rd NW, 30318). Guests at Collins and Whittier Mill can visit either partner first. Reservations are not required for these events.

Historic Westside – For the last weekend of the Celebration the Historic Westside Cultural Arts Council will offer two events west of Downtown. On Saturday, March 22 at 2:00 pm, the Sunset Avenue Walking Tour will lead you through Atlanta’s most recently designated Historic District which was home to important Civil Rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Meet for this tour at the Hickman Student Center, 715 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW, 30314. On Sunday, March 23 at 2:00 pm, a lecture titled, The Black Church, will be followed by a walking tour of English Avenue and visits to 5 of the 22 churches in the neighborhood. Reservations are not required for these events.

Three beautiful houses of worship on Peachtree Street will open their doors for Phoenix Flies tours on Wednesday, March 19. Begin at 10:00 am at First Presbyterian Church, proceed north to Peachtree Christian Church at 12:30 pm and then cross the street to The Temple at 2:00 pm. These tours do not require reservations.

William Lyon, grandson of the church’s founding pastor, will greet you at First Presbyterian Church (1328 Peachtree St NE, 30309). The congregation dates from 1848 and held its first service in this sanctuary designed by Atlanta architects E.C. Wachendorf and W.T. Dowing in 1915.  Tiffany, Willet and D’Ascenzo stained glass graces the structure.

The Gothic Revival style sanctuary of Peachtree Christian Church (1580 Peachtree St NE, 30309) offers a bit of Scotland’s Melrose Abbey in Atlanta. When the church was built between 1925 and 1928, the Abbey was used as a model. The bright sanctuary is enhanced by Glasby of London stained glass and organ pipes in both the front and rear.

The Temple’s (1589 Peachtree St NE, 30309) floor plan is modeled after King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and the sanctuary includes materials from the congregation’s two prior locations. That which began in 1867 as the Hebrew Benevolent Society, Atlanta’s first official Jewish organization, is a thriving congregation that engaged Philip Trammell Shutze to design this Classical structure in 1930.

This Friday, March 14, there are a series of three Downtown Phoenix Flies events to enjoy.

This suggested agenda begins at 12:00 pm with an Atlanta Preservation Center’s Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown. The tour includes Atlanta’s first skyscrapers and a description of how the City’s prominent 19^th and 20^th century families shaped the City. Meet at the Candler Building, 127 Peachtree St NE, 30312. Reservations are not required.

Following this tour and a lunch break, the Healey Building Condominium Association will offer the Healey Building Tour at 2:00 pm. This magnificent building in the heart of the Fairlie-Poplar District celebrated its 100^th birthday last year. The important Atlanta architect Walter T. Downing designed this Neo-Gothic skyscraper (other Downing designs that are a part of Phoenix Flies are the Atlanta Woman’s Club’s Wimbish House, First Presbyterian and the Shellmont Inn which was built as the Nicholas House). Meet at 57 Forsyth St NW, 30303. Reservations are not required.

Round out the afternoon at the LEED Certified Balzer Theatre at 3:30 pm. Theatrical Outfit will present The Herren’s Story and the Balzer Theater Tour. In 1962, Herren’s Restaurant, a longtime Downtown fixture, was the first restaurant to voluntarily desegregate. Herren’s was also the site of meetings to organize the preservation of the Fox Theatre in 1974 (Negri, Ed, Herren’s: An Atlanta Landmark, Roswell, GA: Roswell Publishing, 2005, pg.109). Meet for this tour at 84 Luckie St NW, 30303. Reservations are not required.

Saturday, March 22 offers this same itinerary with the Guided Tour of Historic Downtown beginning at 11:00 am.

Wednesday, March 11^th  events for Phoenix Flies include two new Preservation Partners and an Atlanta Preservation Center Guided Walking Tour.

Just east of Downtown in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, you can start with a tour at the Atlanta Curb Market at 11:00 am. This site dates from 1924 and was designed by A. Ten Eyck Brown. Learn about the Atlanta Woman’s Club connection to this site and visit with all the great vendors that now serve up culinary treats to thousands of visitors each day (this would be a great place to have lunch). This tour is also available, Saturday, March 22 at 11:00 am.  Meet for this tour at the Market, 209 Edgewood Ave SE, 30303. Reservations are not required.

At 1:00 pm you can continue in Sweet Auburn with an Atlanta Preservation Center Guided Walking Tour. Learn about the important history of this area as the center of African American commerce and culture in the City. This tour is also available, Saturday, March 22 at 1:00 pm. Meet for this tour at the APEX Museum, 135 Auburn Ave SE, 30303. Reservations are not required.

The other new Preservation Partner that is offering tours on Wednesday, March 13^th  is The Glenn. This boutique hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the name sake of the 31st Mayor of Atlanta, John Thomas Glenn.  Learn about this beautiful building and hear the story of why its listing on the National Register took a unusually long period of time. If you decide to continue in Sweet Auburn, make sure to catch this tour on Thursday, March 13. For both days the tour starts at 1:30 pm.  Meet for this tour at the hotel, 110 Marietta St NW, 30303. Reservations are not required.

Can you name the Atlanta Historic Site with all of the following in its history?

• One of three documented antebellum structures remaining in the City of Atlanta
• Atlanta’s defenses for the Civil War
• Legendary Golfer Bobby Jones
• Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell
• Dubbed by Franklin Garrett, Atlanta’s former historian, as the most historic place in Atlanta
• Atlanta’s non-profit preservation organization

If you guessed LP Grant Mansion… an orange star for you!

For Phoenix Flies, there are many times to visit the LP Grant Mansion at 327 St Paul Ave SE, 30312. Events are being presented by the Atlanta Preservation Center and by other Preservation Partners of the Celebration including Easements Atlanta; the Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; and MH Mitchell.

Here the remaining events that either meet at or take place at the Mansion. Reservations are not required:

Atlanta Preservation Center

• Guided Tours of the LP Grant Mansion – Tuesdays, March 11 & Tuesday, March 18 at 11:00 am
• Box City® (interactive children’s program) – Tuesday, March 11 at 1:00 pm & Saturday, March 15 at 3:00 pm
• The History of Atlanta for Young Preservationists – Tuesday, March 18 at 1 pm & Sunday, March 23 at 3:00 pm
• Open House – Saturday, March 15 & Sunday, March 23 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Guided Walking Tour of Grant Park – Sunday, March 23 at 10:00 pm

Easements Atlanta, Inc.

• Architectural Gifts: 30 Years of Preservation Easements photography exhibit gallery hours – Mondays through Fridays until March 21 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
• Perpetual Easements: A Preservation Tool with Potential Tax Benefits lecture – Thursday, March 13 at 11:00 am

Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

• The National Register of Historic Places and Atlanta lecture – Saturday, March 15 at 1:30 pm

MH Mitchell, Inc.

• Fort Walker Guided Walking Tour – Saturday, March 15 at 3:30 pm
• Atlanta – 150 Years of History in Our Architecture panel discussion – Sunday, March 16 at 2:30 pm

Here’s the scoop on the hints:

There are three documented structures in Atlanta that date from before 1864: the Lemuel Pratt Grant Mansion for which construction was started in 1854 and completed in 1856; Meadow Nook which was built in 1856 for Colonel Robert A. Alston and is in the East Lake neighborhood; and the 1856-1859 Judge William Wilson House in Southwest Atlanta which is unoccupied and has been on the APC’s Most Endangered Historic Places since 2001.

Lemuel Pratt Grant came to Atlanta in 1843 to work for the railroads. He was very involved in City affairs and, when the Civil War began, he engineered the defenses for the City. The plans were drawn up in his Library, in the Mansion which is now used for exhibit space about Grant and the history of the Mansion.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Purmedus Jones, who were friends with the Grant family, came to the Madison just after the turn-of-the-century so that Mrs. Jones could be close to medical care for the birth of their child. She did not need this expert attention and Bobby Jones was born on March 17, 1902 in the Master Bedroom of the Mansion which the APC now uses as a conference room.

In the 1940s, Margaret Mitchell, famed author of Gone With the Wind, gave funds to a friend to buy and preserve the Mansion. Shortly before her death, she filed suit against this individual for mishandling the arrangement.

Franklin Garrett was the City’s historian in the late 1980s and author of Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of its People and Events. These volumes which were published in 1954 remain invaluable resources.

After a succession of owners and years of decline, the LP Grant Mansion was slated for demolition so that the lot could be divided for two new homes. In 2001, the Atlanta Preservation Center stopped this by purchasing the site. After now 13 years of ownership, stabilization and restoration, the remaining first floor is used for the APC’s office, exhibition space and preservation related meetings and events.

We hope you will come and see the progress at Atlanta’s most historic site during the APC’s Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Atlanta’s Historic Sites.

Can you name the Atlanta Historic Site with all of the following in its history?

• Fredrick Law Olmsted
• First pavilion at an international exposition designed by a woman architect
• Has a lake that is spring fed from another City park
• Its care is undertaken by a public/private partnership
• Was home to Atlanta pioneers starting in 1834

Did you guess Piedmont Park? Then orange star for you!

For Phoenix Flies, Park History Tours will be given by Piedmont Park Conservancy volunteers on Saturdays, March 8, 15 & 22 and Tuesdays, March 11 & 18 at 11:00 am. Reservations are requested for this event; email tours@piedmontpark.org (each tour limited to 25).

Here is the scoop on the hints.

In 1909 the Olmsted Brothers were commissioned to develop a master plan for the property’s conversion from fair ground to public park. This plan was not fully implemented then because of budget constraints. However, the Conservancy and the City’s current master plan for the park honor the brothers’ original vision. Fredrick Law Olmsted, considered the father of landscape architecture, was their father. (Park History, 11/4/2013, www.piedmontpark.org)

In 1895 the Cotton States and International Exposition took place at the park. This world exposition was the first to have a pavilion designed by a woman architect, Her Name-ASK Boyd, and the first to have a Negro pavilion.

Atlanta has many springs and creeks that are diverted into the sewer system. One of these creeks starts in Grant Park (designed by John C. Olmsted in 1903) and is the source of Piedmont Park’s lake, Clara Meer. (Interview with Phil Cuthbertson, 10/29/13)

Piedmont Park is owned by the City of Atlanta. The Piedmont Park Conservancy was formed 1989 to restore the park after years of reduced City capacity and heavy use threatened the site. In 1992 the City and the Conservancy formalized a public/private partnership ensuring the rehabilitation and maintenance of the park. (Park History, 11/4/2013, www.piedmontpark.org)

In 1834, before there was Fulton County or Atlanta, Samuel and Sarah Walker acquired the forest that is now the park. They built a log cabin on what is now the Park’s Active Oval. At age 23, their son, Benjamin, built a log cabin on the site of the Piedmont Driving Club. (Park History, 11/4/2013, www.piedmontpark.org)

 Located in Inman Park, Atlanta’s first “garden suburb,” Inman Park United Methodist Church was dedicated on April 17, 1898 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. Designed in the Romanesque style by Willis Franklin Denny and constructed of Stone Mountain granite, IPUMC has stood in the role of “Mother Church” to many undertakings in Inman Park and beyond. Emory University, Emory University Hospital, Epworth UMC and Druid Hills UMC all have roots in the church, which continues to be vital part of its community.

The sanctuary has many impressive architectural features. The soaring timber arches in the ceiling are notable for their scale and simplicity. The southern wall features three 12’ x 12’ passages that lead to an annex originally used for Sunday school classes and additional seating. These movable walls open and close with a wooden system that functions like a roll-top desk. Lovely stained glass windows include a portrait of the original pastor and the colorful north window dedicated to Asa Candler’s mother, Martha Beale Candler, with the words “She hath done what she could” in the center panel.

This beautiful site is giving tours on Sunday, March 9 and Sunday, March 16 at 1 pm during the Phoenix Flies Celebration. Reservations are not required. The church is located at 1015 Edgewood Ave NE, 30307. Atlanta Preservation Center Guided Walking Tours of Inman Park follow these tours at 2 pm. Reservations are not required. Meet at the King-Keith House, 889 Edgewood Ave NE, 30307.