Atlanta's 19 Most Endangered Historic Properties

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Atlanta's 19 Most Endangered Historic Properties
July 5, 2011
Rhetta Akamatsu
Examiner.com

The Atlanta Preservation Society has released its latest list of Atlanta's most endangered historic properties. I will be writing about these properties in more depth over the next few weeks, but here is an overview from the list:

1. Atlanta's Historic Downtown Street Grid - the issue here is the renaming of streets.

2. Atlanta's Public Monuments - Many are either missing or damaged.

3. Auburn & Edgewood Avenues Commerical District (Sweet Auburn) - Despite its historic significance, redevelopment and the expansion of Georgia State University, natural disaster and future planning have caused significant damage to the neighborhood.

4. Brookwood Station- Atlanta's only remaining passenger terminal is currently run by Amtrak. Plans to move Amtrak's operatons endanger its future.

5. Buckhead Triangle and Buckhead Library- the intersection of Paces Ferry Rd., Peachtree Rd., and Roswell Rd., has already lost many historic buildings. One building that is endangered is the Buckhead Library, which is only 22 years old but is a design treasure now threatened with demolition for redevelopment.

6. Constitution Building - The original home of the Atlanta Constitution, also known as the Georgia Power Atlanta Division building, has been empty since 1972 and is in danger of demolition soon.

7. The Craigie House- Built in 1911 as the headquarters of the DAR, the house is now empty and suffering from neglect.

8.Georgiia Archives Building - Built in 1965 to house the state's records, the building suffered damage from its nearness to the Interstates. It was closed in 2003 and is now scheduled for demolition.

9. Georgia Institute of Technology Modern Resources - A number of buildings from the 1940's and 1950's are scheduled for demolition to make way for new buildings.

10. Grace Towns Hamilton House- this 1910 house was the home of the first African-American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly. The house is in need of restoration to save it.
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11. Hirsch and Feeback Halls- These buildings on the Grady campus are scheduled for demolition. Hirsch Hall was built in the 1920's and Feeback Hall was built during World War II.

12. Judge William Wilson House - one of the few remaining pre-Civil War houses in Atlanta, this house is in decaying and needs major repairs in order to save it.

13. Medical Arts Building - This Atlanta landmark, built in 1927, suffered a fire in 1995 and has been vacant ever since. It is continually deteriorating.

14. Citizens and South National Bank - This building is important for its design. It was built in 1965 and is currently empty and its fate is uncertain.

15. Morris Brown College Campus - Several of the remaining historic buildings on the college campus are endangered because of the financial and accreditation problems faced by the college.

16. Peachtree Heights West - This beautiful Buckhead neighborhood is currently threatened with destruction in order to build high-rises and commercial buildings.

17. Pickrick Cafeteria- Not a pretty building and not a pretty piece of our history, but this former cafeteria owned by Lester Maddox and his wife was important in the history of the Civil RIghts battle and should be preserved as such. Georgia Tech now owns it and plans to demolish it.

18. The Rufus M. Rose House- This 1901 house is the oldest remaining house on Peachtree St. It has been foreclosed, and at present the roofing has been removed. It is for sale for $339,000, but needs to find an owner quickly.

19. Sherwood Forest, BUckhead- The neighborhood was Atlanta's most upscale division post World War II, but now has suffered multiple demolitions and is threatened with rapid infill construction.

Join me here in the coming weeks to learn more about this heartbreaking list.