Dougherty was born in 1876 in Atlanta. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1895 and then studied architecture at Cornell University and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. The Ecole was the leading architecture school in the world, and Dougherty’s architectural education was superior to all of the well-known Atlanta architects of the time.

Edward Emmett Dougherty

After travelling extensively throughout Europe, he returned to Atlanta in 1905 and developed a thriving practice. Within several years he obtained some of the most important commissions in the city including the Hugh Inman residence, the Imperial Hotel (1911), and the First Church of Christ, Scientist (1913 with Arthur Neal Robinson).

While not as prolific in Druid Hills as Hentz and Reid, Dougherty’s commissions were as grand as any, and his two public Druid Hills commissions, the Druid Hills Golf Club (1912-14) and Druid Hills Baptist Church (1925-28), were essential to the development of the community of Druid Hills and were matched in importance only by Hornbostel’s Emory Campus and Shutze’s Glenn Memorial Church.

Druid Hills Baptist Church

Dougherty married Blanch Carson on June 5, 1907. The bride was socially prominent in both Atlanta and Nashville, and the groom was described as “one of the most popular and prominent young men in the business and club worlds of Atlanta.” The couple became active in the Atlanta social scene. In 1910 the Doughertys entertained the Players’s Club at their new home on Peachtree Road, and a glowing newspaper report claimed that “no more artistic entertainment has marked the brilliant social season than that given…by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Dougherty.” Dougherty belonged to both the Capital City Club and Druid Hills Golf Club.

The Druid Hills Golf Club was formed in 1912. Founding member George Adair had worked with Dougherty on projects at East Lake Golf Club, and Adair hired Dougherty to design the club that was completed in 1914. Dougherty became one of the first members of the club when he joined in 1913, and it was likely through his connection to the golf club that he met Veazey Rainwater and Sam Venable, prominent businessmen who would hire him to design their Druid Hills homes.

Boxwoods – 794 Springdale Road

Charles Veazey Rainwater was a prominent executive with the Coca-Cola company and is credited with the standardization of the Coca-Cola bottle and the bottling process. Rainwater was a key figure in the company’s success and would have been an impressive client for Dougherty. Dougherty designed the house that became known as “Boxwoods” in 1914, and the home and its three acres of manicured gardens were later featured in Garden History of Georgia 1733-1933.

Boxwoods

Stonehenge – 1410 Ponce de Leon

Stonehenge was the dream home of Samuel H. Venable, one of the largest operators of the stone quarries of Stone Mountain. This home was estimated to cost $75,000 and was finished in the late fall of 1913. The Atlanta Constitution described Dougherty’s design as “an old castle transplanted from the middle ages into modern times and one is tempted in gazing upon it to conjure up fancies of romances and adventures of old feudal days.” The long list of amenities and level of detail included in Stonehenge rival any of Atlanta’s grandest homes of the day.

Stonehenge

Dougherty left for Nashville in 1916 when he received numerous commissions from the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad. While there he was engaged to design the Belle Meade Country Club, and after the completion of those commissions, Dougherty decided to remain in Nashville where he continued to have a thriving practice. In 1922 Dougherty completed his most famous design, the Tennessee War Memorial on Nashville’s Memorial Square. Dougherty won both Tennessee and national design competitions for the building, and his success was considered “one of the greatest triumphs in his highly successful career as an architect.” Three years later the American Institute of Architects awarded him the Gold Medal Award, the highest award that the AIA can bestow.

While Dougherty has been largely forgotten in his native city, Dougherty was Atlanta’s true beaux arts architect. Unfortunately, Atlanta let this native son get away.

Francis Luis Abreu was born in 1896 in Roseton, New York, near Newburg. Slightly north of West Point along the Hudson River, Newburgh is a historically and architecturally significant town, and Abreu’s family lived in Danskammer, an antebellum Greek Revival mansion that was an area landmark.

Francis’ mother was the daughter of a wealthy Spanish national, and his father was a Cuban sugar cane planter who had been educated in Spain. Abreu’s first cousin and prominent Atlanta architect, Henry Jova, states “By the middle of the 19th century, the Abreu and Jova families were among the most prosperous families in Cuba.” The Abreu family provided the young Francis with a cultured upbringing that would help his architectural career. During his youth Francis divided his time between Newburgh and Cuba while wintering in Florida and traveling to Spain.

Francis entered Cornell in 1916 to study architecture. He joined the Navy during WWI, served for two years, and graduated from Cornell in 1921. Abreu gained experience working at West Point for several years and two firms in West Palm Beach before moving to Fort Lauderdale. There has been speculation that Abreu worked under the famous Spanish Revival architect, Addison Mizner, but this connection cannot be confirmed.

In 1924 Abreu started his Fort Lauderdale practice at the age of 28 and quickly became one of the city’s most prominent architects. His family provided a wonderful resource for the young architect who needed connections and built projects to attract clients. Abreu’s wealthy family members conveniently provided both. Francis’ grandfather, Juan Jacinto Jova, hired him to design his home that became a prominent local landmark.

While Mizner’s influence is apparent in Abreu’s work, every architect working in the Spanish style in the 1920s would have been compared to Mizner. Mizner was among the first to bring Spanish Revival architecture to Florida; Abreu was part of the second generation that built upon Mizner’s success and continued to develop the style. In addition to his elaborate residences, Abreu designed extensive commercial and civic work including the Fort Lauderdale Country Club, Fort Lauderdale Casino, and St. Anthony’s School.

In Fort Lauderdale Abreu designed in the Spanish Revival style with his own Cuban influence. He was able to improvise and develop a distinct style that was more rustic and less ornate than Mizner. He used architectural details such as towered entrance ways and large arched windows facing the ocean in his early work, and he would continue to develop these themes on Sea Island.

The development of Sea Island began in 1926 when Howard Coffin purchased the island to develop a resort hotel and cottage colony. Coffin originally intended to hire a New York firm to design the hotel but changed his mind after staying in the Ritz-Carlton Cloister in Boca Raton that was designed by Mizner.

Casa Genotta

In 1927 Coffin sent his cousin and partner, Alfred Jones, to Florida to engage Mizner to design the hotel that would become The Cloister. On his trip South, Jones visited Fort Lauderdale and became familiar with Abreu. Years later, Jones summed up the results of his 1927 visit: “Our first knowledge of Mr. Abreu and his work in Fort Lauderdale was through our impressions of what we saw on our trip in 1927. I remember particularly the public swimming pool set-up, so we looked up the architect. And since South Florida was in a sort of recession at that time, we found that Mr. Abreu was interested in moving up here. As a result of that trip, Addison Mizner was engaged to design the original Cloister Hotel, and Francis Abreu was encouraged to move up to this area with indications that the newly organized Sea Island Company would provide some interesting work for him. …We were particularly impressed with the work Mr. Abreu had done in Fort Lauderdale up to that time and his move to Georgia proved to be very good for both of us.”

Mizner’s national reputation was very important to Coffin and Jones to establish the reputation for their development; however, the developers seemed equally taken by Abreu’s talents and his more rustic style for the cottage development.

Cottage 62

Mizner remained based in Florida and made infrequent trips to Sea Island during the design and construction. Mizner left Sea Island having designed only the original hotel and one residence for Alfred Jones. Abreu moved to Sea Island in 1928 and established an office in Brunswick. Due to the instant success of the hotel, Abreu began designing additions to the original hotel including the River House (1929) and Administration Building (1930). Abreu would continue to design additions to the Cloister for another decade. Additionally, architect Jack Davis recalls that Abreu had a virtual monopoly on residential development at Sea Island until the outbreak of WW II.

King Residence

Abreu and James Robeson, a 1926 graduate of Georgia Tech, formed the firm of Abreu & Robeson in 1929. The firm quickly became known for its Mediterranean Revival style buildings and homes along the Georgia coast. During the Depression and World War II, the firm also designed public and war housing projects. WWII marked a turning point for the practice of architecture, and, as with many firms, Abreu & Robeson moved from traditional residential design to more modern commercial and institutional work, maintaining offices in both Brunswick and Atlanta. In Atlanta the firm would design numerous Trust Company bank branches, religious works including major additions to the Cathedral of Christ the King, and many hospital buildings including the Infirmary at St. Joseph’s.

To date, only three residences in Atlanta are attributed to Abreu & Robeson; all three are in Buckhead. Local architect Norman Askins worked for the firm briefly in 1972 and has renovated and enlarged two of the houses. These designs were inspired by early American architecture, drawing primarily from Virginia precedents, and were a distinct departure from Abreu’s Spanish work. Askins was very complimentary of Abreu’s work and knew of his artistic ability from seeing original drawings in the firm’s archives.

Although his legacy has been shadowed by the better known Mizner, Abreu became the most important architect of Sea Island and created the basis of the seaside colony that we know today.

3555 Knollwood

Born in 1907 Clem Ford studied architecture at Georgia Tech and continued his education at Columbia University as had many other notable Atlanta architects such as Neel Reid and Philip Shutze. Ford remained in New York and worked for nationally known architects William Lawrence Bottomley and Dwight James Baum before returning to Atlanta.

Clem Ford

In 1938 he was awarded the Edward Langley Scholarship to travel and study public housing in Europe.  Ford was the first Southerner to ever earn this award.  He returned to Atlanta and worked for Burge and Stevens, which was designing the nation’s first public housing project, Techwood Homes.  Ford joined the Navy during WWII and served as a “sea bee,” building airstrips in the Pacific theatre.

Black Residence Mantel

No other Atlanta architect seems as connected with a piece of property as Clem Ford is to 240 West Andrews Drive. Ford lived there for approximately fifty years, raising his family, building his home, and running his business.  When the Fords purchased the property, it had a small summerhouse that was built in the 1930s and another small frame structure that served as his studio. Ford designed and had the “big house” built in 1952.  Clem’s office would move over time to the summerhouse and then to the basement of the main house.  The house still stands today but has been altered by the two bay windows and other additions.

240 West Andrews Summerhouse

Clem Ford always operated a small practice and focused on traditional, residential design. With few employees and low overhead, Ford could accept only the commissions he enjoyed and were his passion.  While Ford never created and became a partner in a larger firm, he fit the Atlanta architect mold in almost every other way. His education at Tech and Columbia, his military service in World War Two, his Episcopal faith, and his membership in numerous social clubs made him the perfect keeper of the Atlanta’s gentleman architect tradition.

3049 Andrews Drive

Well-known local landscape architect Edward Daugherty became acquainted with Ford in the late 1960s, and the two designers collaborated on numerous projects beginning with the renovation of the Grant Mansion into the Cherokee Town Club. When asked why a client would choose Ford over one of his competitors, who for many years would have been Buck Crook or Jimmy Means, Daugherty stated “if you wanted a home, Clem was your choice.   If you wanted a show place, you chose someone else.”

2915 Normandy

Ford did not typically have the grand lots and large commissions that many of his predecessors enjoyed, and many of Ford’s commissions were one-story homes built on lots that had been subdivided from earlier grand estates. As with Ford himself, his houses have a relaxed elegance and a human scale that is both comfortable and appealing. Clem Ford was ahead of his time in recognizing the lifestyle changes of the post-servant era and adopted his traditional taste to modern living, focusing attention on the kitchen and other less formal areas.

3164 Andrews Drive

Clem Ford exemplified the gentleman architect in the tradition of the men that preceded him, and he kept the classical flame alive in Atlanta in the dark days after World War II until the style’s rebirth in the 1980s. He created casually elegant homes throughout Atlanta for nearly four decades and remains a hero to those who love Atlanta’s classic residential architecture.

Edward Dougherty was born in 1876 in Atlanta.  Dougherty graduated from the University of Georgia in 1895 and then studied architecture at Cornell University and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the leading architecture school in the world.  Dougherty’s architectural education was among the best in the country, and he had a significant number of prominent commissions during his time in Atlanta.  These designs ranged from the Imperial Hotel (1911) and the Druid Hills Golf Club (1912) to numerous residences in Druid Hills and other early Atlanta suburbs.  While the First Church of Christ, Scientist on Peacthree Road is his best known Atlanta work, Dougherty also designed the Druid Hills Baptist Church on Ponce de Leon.  While smaller in scale than the earlier church, the Druid Hills church is another masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style.

First Church of Christ, Scientist

Dougherty left Atlanta in 1918 and moved to Nashville where he finished his successful career. He would become a partner in the firms of Dougherty and Gardner and Dougherty, Wallace, and Clemmons.  Dougherty’s most important Nashville commission is the War Memorial Auditorium, part of Nashville’s Memorial Square which surrounds the State Capitol Building.  This area on Nashville’s Capital Hill area is among the best civic architecture in America.  In 1925 Dougherty’s building received a Gold Medal Award by the American Institute of Architects, the highest award that the AIA can bestow.

Boxwoods

Arthur Neal Robinson was born in Atlanta in 1886 to one of the pioneer families of Atlanta. Robinson received his basic education at Hunter’s School for Boys, finishing in 1902, and then enrolled at the University of Georgia.  Since there were no architectural schools in the South, he began working as a draftsman for local architect, Harry Walker.  In 1907 Robinson began working for the prestigious local architect Edward Dougherty soon after his return from the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Robinson was known as the head draftsman, specification writer, and superintendent during his time with Dougherty.  By 1912 the two men had formed the firm of Dougherty and Robinson. The plans for the First Church of Christ, Scientist were drawn between October 1912 and February 1913.  The landmark, Beaux-Arts church occupies a very impressive position on Peachtree Road at the entrance to Ansley Park.

Druid Hills Baptist Church

While most local sources credit Robinson as the primary architect, the church was collaboration by the firm.  While Dougherty was the established architect, Robinson was a member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Robinson’s connection to the parish likely helped the firm win the commission.  It is difficult to determine which architect is responsible for the design, and the majority of the drawings were completed by a draftsman with initials “CBS.”  As with most architecture firms, the design was likely a group effort.  Both men would design later churches that are similar to this Peachtree landmark.  The Druid Hills Baptist Church was designed by Dougherty and has many similarities. In 1923 Robinson designed the Second Church of Christ, Scientist in Cincinnati that also resembles the earlier Atlanta church.

Arthur Neal Robinson House

While Dougherty remained true to his classical Beaux-Arts training, Robinson was a true eclectic and was progressive for the time.  In 1912 Robinson designed his own home at 924 Springdale Road in the Prairie style and incorporated many Arts and Crafts elements into his designs.  While he would design another Prairie Style home in Druid Hills, he also designed numerous eclectic cottages and homes that cannot be easily categorized.  Using elements of the Tudor Revival, Robison designed one-story cottages for Dr. Frank Huss at 1047 Oakdale in 1920 and for C. S. Carnes 1296 Fairview Road in 1926.   He would continue these Tudor designs throughout his career not only in Druid Hills but also in neighboring Morningside.  Robinson’s reputation grew, and George Willis hired Robinson to be the primary architect for his new city of Avondale Estates.  Based on Stratford-Upon-Avon, Robinson designed the commercial core and community center in the Tudor style. The residence for Lee Hagan at 916 Springdale Road (1920) shows Robinson’s use of the Renaissance inspired work that was also popular at that time.

Huss Residence

Robinson’s son, Arthur Neal Robinson, Jr., followed in his father’s footsteps and studied architecture at Georgia Tech and Yale.  The two men then created the architecture firm of Arthur Neal Robinson Sr. and Jr., Architects and Engineers.  The firm would continue until Robinson Sr.’s death in 1958.

Carnes Residence

During the brief partnership of Dougherty and Robinson, these two native architects designed one of Atlanta’s primary religious landmarks as well as other significant buildings.  Dougherty’s exemplary education was shared with this junior partner, and the two men produced buildings that are very significant to Atlanta’s early development.  Robinson learned from his well-educated mentor and continued for several decades to design homes that became notable in these early suburbs.  While these men receive little credit today, their work is easily recognizable by the residents of Atlanta’s older neighborhoods.

At the end of 1911, Maddox sold William H. Kiser the eastern portion of his property that included the original summer house and several outbuildings.  At that time, Maddox began to build a large home on his remaining property and hired architect Walter T. Downing for the design.  The Tudor Revival home, also named Woodhaven, was built by 1913, and Maddox lived at Woodhaven until 1962 when he sold the remaining seventeen acres to the State of Georgia.  The State demolished Maddox’s home to build the new governor’s mansion.

The original summer house was built by Maddox between 1904-5 and stood where the current Knollwood sits today.  While the Maddox family modestly referred to the summer house as a “cottage,” it was a significant home and the stage for elaborate events.  The Atlanta Constitution wrote that the home “was elegant enough to invite Teddy Roosevelt to a white-tie-and-tails dinner that began with caviar.”  Woodhaven, in both versions, was the scene of many brilliant social affairs, and this tradition continued at the new Knollwood.

Original Summer House

In 1917-18 the Kisers hired Norman C. Butts to develop the formal terraced garden in the rear of the house. These gardens were considered among the finest in the city.  The formal terraced garden was featured in the Garden History of Georgia (1933) as well as on many spring garden tours for local charities.

In 1929 the Kisers engaged Hentz, Adler, and Shutze to design their new home.  The plans were “put out to bid” in February 1930, and Kiser awarded the contract toC ollins, Holbrook, and Collins, the contractor for both the Goodrum and English houses  on Paces Ferry that were also designed by Shutze.  The construction of Knollwood continued into 1931, and the Kisers began entertaining in the fall of 1931.

Mrs. Kiser in the Garden

The Kiser family sold the property in 1952.  Bernard Wolff purchased the home and a few surrounding acres, and the Smyrna Land Company purchased and developed the remainder of the property.  While the home has had several owners since the Wolff family, it has remained largely intact, and the gracious legacy of entertaining has continued to the present owner, Barbara Morgan.

Paces Ferry Facade Knollwood II, 1931

For the design, Phillip Shutze took inspiration from several Georgian precedents in England and her colonies.  As with all of his designs, Shutze would not simply copy an earlier design but would use his extensive historical vocabulary to develop a dynamic system of architectural devices.  While the Paces Ferry façade was modeled after Chatham, an 18^th century estate in Stafford County, Virginia, he used numerous other sources as well. 

The beautifully designed limestone porte cochere recalls the work of English architect William Kent, but the double curved stairs with its elegant wrought iron railing was inspired by the Duncan house (1814) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. While the interior stairs allude to colonial Virginia, the design was modeled after a staircase from the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Clapton, England.  This precedent was published in one of the volumes in the firm’s extensive library, and the conditions of these books indicate their constant use.  As was typical, Shutze was inspired by a historical precedent but developed the design so that it was his own.  The Knollwood staircase is a wonderful example. The Deaf and Dumb Asylum provided the overall inspiration, but Shutze then took details from the Brush-Everhard House near Williamsburg and created a delightfully new combination.

Shutze’s extensive knowledge of both English and American Georgian architecture allowed him to improvise and develop a new design that was uniquely his.  While the design was Shutze’s, Knollwood feels as if it could have comfortably been set in both colonial Virginia and contemporary England.

Stair Detail

Kiser Family

William and Lucy Kiser purchased the property in 1911 and built Knollwood. Both William and Lucy were from prominent Atlanta families and continued the active social and civic lives of their families.  William’s father, Marion Columbus Kiser, was one of the most important businessmen in the city during the later half of the nineteenth century.

The William H. Kiser Family, 1939

Marion Columbus Kiser was born in 1874 on a modest farm in Campbellton (now Fulton) County.  He had limited education but through discipline and hard work became one of Atlanta’s most successful businessmen.  M. C. Kiser began his career working in the dry goods store of his two older brothers.  He continued in the dry goods business and also began investing in real estate. He developed the eight-story Kiser Building in 1890 and another building on Pryor Street.  He also built the Marion Hotel in 1897.  Kiser then began the M.C. Kiser & Company that produced and sold the very popular Shield Brand Shoes.  At his death in 1893, Kiser left the largest estate in Atlanta at that time.

Edyth Kiser Shadburn was born in 1931 and moved directly with her family into Knollwood.  At that time, there were three generations of her family living in the house. During the Depression, Shadburn recalled that “every house on West Paces had three generations living in it except for the Dickeys.” Despite the hardships of the Depression, Shadburn remembers her twenty years at Knollwood as “magical times” and recalls many stories that illustrate the interesting mix of rural and suburban life on Paces Ferry.  Shadburn would live in the house until 1951.  The Kiser family tried for two years to sell the house to a buyer who would not subdivide the property.

Written by Jonathan LaCrosse and Wright Marshall

Growing up in nearby Griffin, I discovered the firm in my teens when my family was searching for a new house. There were always several houses that my family admired, and as my parents began to inquire about them, we realized that all of the homes had been built by the same architects, Charles Frazier and Dan Bodin. Unbeknownst to us, Griffin’s primary residential streets showcased a variety of Frazier and Bodin designs. Between 1927 and 1939, the firm designed sixteen homes and seven commercial or civic buildings in Griffin. After Frazier’s death, Bodin designed two residences and three commercial buildings between 1940 and 1946. Not only had we always enjoyed seeing and visiting these homes, but also my father was born in a hospital that the firm designed in 1929.

Johnson Residence

My parents purchased a Bodin home that was built in 1940 and 1941, and we have yet to stop working on it. After struggling to make me work on weekend projects with him, my father is amazed that I chose renovation as my career. Upon entering college I intended to become a lawyer or investment banker, but my interests shifted from finance and tax law to architecture and architectural history. After taking all of the architectural history classes that Washington and Lee University offered, I undertook an independent study of the Colonial Revival style in Georgia, including the work of Frazier and Bodin. Not knowing how much I would find on the firm, my thesis focused on the eclectic styles of the early twentieth century and did not focus solely on Frazier and Bodin.  During my research I learned a great deal about the firm and discovered the Lamberson Collection at the Atlanta History Center which includes most of the firm’s drawings.  During my senior year, I interviewed Bodin’s daughter, T. D. Ray, and granddaughter, Christine Ray Connolley, who lives in the house that Bodin built for himself in 1923 on Springdale Road in Druid Hills. Fourteen years later, I would move across the street from that house, and Connolley’s daughter would babysit our first son.  With Revival Construction I have had the pleasure of renovating three Frazier and Bodin houses in Buckhead and continue to advise friends in Griffin on their homes.

Bodin House

Charles Frazier was born in Griffin in 1883, and it is not known if another Griffinite preceded him as an architect. Frazier attended the Georgia School of Technology, now Georgia Tech, before there was an architectural program. After completing two years of study, Frazier apprenticed with two local architecture firms before hanging his own shingle in 1908. Frazier is best known for his designs of Asa G. Candler, Jr.’s mansion, known as Briarcliff, and the Pallas and Blackstone Court Apartments on Peachtree Road which have since been demolished.

Charles H. Black, Jr. Residence

Daniel Herman Bodin was born in 1895 in Svana, Sweden, and his family immigrated to Youngstown, Ohio when he was five years old. Bodin attended Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburg where he studied architecture under renowned architect Henry Hornbostel and graduated in 1920. After graduation, Hornbostel hired Bodin as a draftsman  and sent him to work on Callanwolde, the Tudor mansion built by Charles Howard Candler on Briarcliff Road. Callanwolde was one of Hornbostel’s few residential commissions in Atlanta, in addition to his master planning and design of Emory University. After the completion of Callanwolde in 1921, Bodin remained in Atlanta and began working for Charles Frazier. Bodin quickly became the firm’s principle designer and was made a partner in 1926.

Robert Jones Residence

The firm of Frazier and Bodin flourished during the thirteen years before Frazier’s death in 1939. Frazier and Bodin focused on residential commissions and worked primarily in the Tudor, Georgian, and Colonial Revival styles but proved to be adept in all of the popular eclectic styles of the period. Frazier and Bodin is best known for its work with Charles H. Black, Sr. and the development of the Tuxedo Park area of Buckhead. The firm designed the majority of the houses that were built in the neighborhood prior to World War II and set the tone for the entire development. The houses designed for Hugh P. Nunnally, Charles B. Nunnally, Charles King, and Robert “Bobby” Jones are perhaps the firm’s best known.

Life of Georgia Building

In addition to the very impressive residences built in Tuxedo Park and throughout Buckhead, the firm also designed numerous mountain retreats at Tate Mountain and set the standard for residential architecture in neighboring Griffin. Regardless of the scale or cost of the building, Frazier and Bodin’s designs were charming and well conceived.

Frazier died in 1939, and Bodin continued as Daniel H. Bodin Architect until World War II brought an end to most building. After the war Bodin formed a partnership with Willard Lamberson that continued until Bodin’s death in 1963. After 1945 Bodin and Lamberson’s work largely shifted from traditional residential commissions to modern commercial work. Unfortunately, one of the firm’s most successful commercial commissions, the Life of Georgia Building, built in 1930, has been slated for demolition by Crawford Long Hospital.

King-Woodruff Residence

According to his former partner, Willard Lamberson, “Dan was a great Architect.  He could get a job done, do a creditable job of the design, get it built and wind up with a lifelong friend of his client.” The work of Frazier and Bodin has stood the test of the time and compares favorably with the homes of more well known Atlanta architects. Hopefully, in the coming years, Frazier and Bodin’s work will gain its well deserved acclaim.

Southwell was born on September 20, 1892, in New Iberia. His parents’ families were involved in building and architectural businesses. His mother’s family owned an architectural millwork business, and his father’s side owned a brick yard.  His father, William B. Southwell, supplemented his early training in the brick business by studying architecture in New York (1885-1888). Upon his return in 1888, William established an architecture practice in New Iberia and practiced there until the brickyard was sold in 1901. The Southwell family then moved to Pine Island Bayou, Texas just north of Beaumont. William was involved with developing a brick and tile plant in Beaumont to take advantage of the increased building activity created by the 1901 Spindletop oil boom. William Southwell continued in the building business until the 1940s.

Dellbrook, 591 West Paces Ferry Road

Owen Southwell graduated with honors from high school in Beaumont and won a scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans.  His father’s education and occupation gave Owen a distinct advantage, but he proved to be very talented. There were few formally trained architects in America at that point, especially in the South. After studying architecture for two years at Tulane, he transferred to the architecture program at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, headed by Henry Hornbostel. Southwell graduated with a BA in architecture and received an AIA medal and a one-year teaching fellowship. Southwell gained a teaching appointment in the Architectural and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois from 1916 to 1918. Southwell then served in the naval reserve for a brief period before joining the architectural practice of Hornbostel, his former teacher.  After working briefly in Hornbostel’s main Pittsburgh office, Southwell transfered to Atlanta to manage Hornbostel’s office in the growing Southern city.

15 Austell Way

Asa Candler selected nationally recognized architect, Henry Hornbostel, to design the original buildings for Emory University’s campus in the Druid Hills area. Arthur Tufts, a contractor who also was an architect, was selected as the builder for Emory. Between 1914 and 1919, Hornbostel and Tufts collaborated on thirteen buildings at Emory as well as Tufts’ home that is currently surround by Emory’s campus. Southwell was listed in the 1920 Atlanta City Directory as an architect working for the Arthur Tufts Company. It is likely that Southwell may have been Hornbostel’s local representative and used space in Tufts’ Atlanta office. Between 1914 and 1923, Hornbostel designed not only the buildings at Emory but also two residences and two other buildings in Atlanta.  Hornbostel’s national reknown added to Atlanta’s growing architectural reputation. 

Hornbostel’s first Atlanta project was the Callan Court Apartments on West Peachtree and Eighth Streets (1912), and he also designed the Habersham Memorial Hall on 15^th Street (1921 – 1923). However, Callanwolde was Hornbostel’s most impressive Atlanta commission. This elaborate residence on Briarcliff Road was built for Charles Howard Candler (1917 – 1919) and stands as one of America’s most impressive residential buildings.

1202 Springdale Road

Between 1919 and 1922, Southwell worked on Hornbostel’s Atlanta projects, supervising the construction and providing additional drawings for the projects. Interestingly, in 1918 Daniel H. Bodin, featured in the last edition of the Revival Construction Vernacular, also came to Atlanta to work for Hornbostel after graduating from Carnegie Tech.  Although there are no records of a relationship, these men had very similar careers in the 1920s,  and both men lived on Springdale Road in Druid Hills. In the growing but still small Atlanta of that time, the two architects must have been acquainted with one another as they designed homes in Atlanta’s exclusive neighborhoods.

1761 South Ponce de Leon Avenue

Bodin left Hornbostel to work for architect Charles Frazier in 1921. Southwell struck out on his own in 1922 as Hornbostel’s Atlanta work was completed and after he developed a client base of his own. Southwell maintained his Atlanta office until 1931, and during this period he also opened a branch office in Florida as did Neel Reid and others who hoped to take advantage of Florida’s building boom.  According to Texas historian Bradley Brooks, Southwell had a successful practice in Atlanta for those ten years, and his commissions “demonstrate that he gained experience in residential work for affluent patrons who designed houses in the historical styles” that were popular during that time.

Sardis Methodist Church

 Upon moving to Atlanta, Southwell lived at 20 St. Augustine Place in Virginia- Highlands.  The city directories list Southwell’s residence as 89 Springdale Road in 1925 and 1031 Springdale Road in 1929. The street numbers may have changed, and this may be the same house. Currently, there is no 89 Springdale Road. Interestingly, Dan Bodin designed and built his own home in 1923 at 1344 Springdale Road. The 1930 City Directory lists Southwell as living on Powers Ferry Road, but no street address is given. Earlier in 1927 the Sardis Methodist Church was built according to Southwell’s design near the corner of Powers Ferry and Roswell Roads.

3028 Andrews Drive

During this period, Southwell’s native Beaumont was also booming from the new oil discoveries at the Spindletop oil field. While working in Atlanta, John Henry Phelan, a wealthy oilman in Beaumont whose children grew up with Southwell, commissioned Southwell to design his home. Phelan built a palatial home which he called Caed Mile Failte(“one hundred thousand welcomes”). The cost of the entire project was approximately $500,000, a tremendous sum at the time. The estate remains one of the most impressive homes built during this time.

Phelan Mansion

Because little is know about Southwell’s time in Atlanta, it is difficult to determine all of the buildings that he may have designed. At this point, Southwell is credited with designing six residences in Druids Hills, three residences in Buckhead, one apartment building in Virginia-Highlands, and one church in the Chastain area. Southwell likely designed much more in Atlanta than noted here. It is doubtful that he would have earned the Dellbrook, Jacqueland, and other prominent commissions in the late 1920s without designing additional impressive work in Atlanta. 

As the Depression worsened, Southwell consolidated his practice in New Iberia where he continued to work until World War II.  During this time, Southwell designed houses, churches, theatres, and other buildings. Religious buildings became a niche for him, and at least four Louisiana churches are attributed to him.  

At the outbreak of World War II, private construction came to a halt, and Southwell travelled to Texas to visit his brother John, an engineer working in Beaumont. In 1942 Owen took a job as an estimator for a construction firm working on a rubber plant near Beaumont. Southwell continued to work on military related projects for the remainder of the war. In 1945 he was married for the first time to Yvonne Patout, a widow originally from New Iberia, whom Southwell had courted as a young man. They returned to New Iberia where Southwell enjoyed a thriving practice until his retirement. He died in 1961. Although little attention has been paid to Southwell’s career, his contributions to Atlanta and other areas is significant and worthy of our appreciation.

Callanwolde

In 1917 the Candler family hired nationally renowned architect Henry Hornbostel to design the initial buildings at the new Atlanta campus of Emory University.  That same year Charles Howard Candler engaged Hornbostel to design his elaborate home, Callanwolde.  In 1919 Hornbostel transferred Owen Southwell from his Pittsburgh office to Atlanta to represent the firm and in 1920 hired Dan Bodin to provide additional help.  The architectural history of Callanwolde largely stops with Hornbostel, but architecture and construction are collaborative efforts. These two talented young architects played a significant role in the estate’s design and construction.  While Hornbostel increased Atlanta’s national reputation and laid a beautiful foundation in Druid Hills, his introduction of Southwell and Bodin was an equally significant contribution to Atlanta.

Owen Southwell, who was featured in the last edition of the Druid Hills News, won a scholarship to Tulane University where he studied architecture for two years before transferring to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh where Hornbostel founded the architecture department in 1905.  Dan Bodin also studied architecture at Carnegie Tech and was hired by Hornbostel upon graduation.

Briarcliff

There is no record that either architect had a “grand tour” of Europe, but the US military provided both men with a tour during WWI. Southwell was stationed in Southampton, England during his time with the Navy, and Bodin was stationed in Contreville, France with the Army. With their interest in historic European architecture, it is natural to assume that both men traveled as much as they were allowed in surrounding areas.

Because of the distance between Atlanta and Hornbostel’s northern offices, it is likely that the two men completed the working drawings and design details in addition to supervising the construction. Because little is known about the working relationship, these architects’ later work provides the only clues to their contributions.   Although neither Southwell nor Bodin achieved significant national recognition, their existing work speaks to their architectural talents.  Many of the features and details used on Callanwolde can be seen in later designs, and Briarcliff, the mansion built for Charles Howard Candler’s brother, provides an interesting study.

Callanwolde Entry and Stairs

After Hornbostel’s Atlanta work was completed in 1921, Bodin began working for Charles Frazier, an established Atlanta architect. Since 1907 Frazier had maintained a small firm and hired Dan Bodin in 1921.  Frazier offered Bodin partnership in 1925, and Bodin quickly became the firm’s principle designer.  Frazier and Bodin continued to grow until Frazier’s death in December 1939, and Bodin would continue working until his passing in 1963.  Frazier and Bodin would become known primarily for its work in the Tuxedo Park neighborhood where the firm designed thirty-nine houses and set an impressive tone for the entire development.  Their designs for the Hugh Nunnally, Charles King, and Charles Nunnally houses are perhaps their best known, and they also designed a home for Bobby Jones in 1928 on Northside Drive.

Callanwolde Winter LIving Room

 Asa Griggs Candler, Jr. engaged Frazier in 1920 to design an elegant estate that he would name “Briarcliff” on forty-two acres just north of Callanwolde. Briarcliff was built between 1920 and 1922, and as with Hornbostel in 1920, Bodin would help see Frazier’s original design to completion.  The house was completed in 1922, but Frazier and Bodin continued to work on the property for another thirteen years.  In 1925 Candler asked Bodin to enlarge the estate, and while there were several additions, the music room, now known as DeOvies Hall, provides the best insight into Bodin’s participation at Callanwolde and his design acumen.

Briarcliff Music Room

The music room is Bodin’s most elaborate Tudor interior. This impressive room with its vaulted ceiling, limestone fireplace, and paneled walls recalls the winter living room at Callanwolde. The restrained Georgian Revival exterior gives no hint of the music room’s interior, but this was a common theme during the creative electric period.  Hornbostel and his associates had employed a similar device at Callanwolde where the dining room featured an eclectic mix of Regency inspired ornamentation.

The elaborate Tudor room was not Buddy Candler’s only surprise at Briarcliff, and his zoo and other monkey business are Atlanta legends.  In 1920 when Bodin began his relationship with the Candler family, he could never have anticipated designing cages for wild animals and lanning a zoo fifteen years later.   After designing formal residences for many years, building cages was quite an aberration for the architect.

Callanwolde Dining Room

Briarcliff was sold in 1948, and it has continued to have an interesting role in the area’s history.  Unfortunately, the house is only a shell of its former glory and is deteriorating in obscurity.  Callanwolde was sold in 1959 and languished under several owners and tenants but has been painstakingly restored to serve Druid Hills as an arts center.  The legacies of Southwell and Bodin may follow similar paths to the mansions that they helped design.  Hopefully, new chapters will be written not only about these talented architects but also Briarcliff as well.

Unfortunately information was not so forthcoming on my latest research project: Georgia’s Governors’ Mansions.  While military scholars can speculate 145 years later about what division fired a cannon ball that was found in a back yard on West Wesley Road, after weeks of research I could not determine the architects of or find much information about two of our state’s governor’s mansions,  both built and torn down after the Civil War.  Of Georgia’s four official governors’ mansions, only the antebellum and current structures still remain.  The two intermediate residences were demolished and have largely vanished from our cultural memory. Additionally, the current Governor’s Mansion stands where another impressive home once stood. Despite their claims to the contrary, Georgians have adopted some of Sherman’s bad habits in the name of progress.

In 1835 the Georgia legislature enacted legislation to build the first official residence for the governor in Milledgeville and engaged Charles Cluskey for the design.  Cluskey was born in Ireland but moved to Savannah in 1829 after working in New York; he designed some of Savannah’s most impressive homes as well as other buildings in Milledgeville and Augusta.  The construction began in 1836 and was completed in 1839.  Timothy Porter of Farmington, Connecticut, was the builder. The mansion is a nationally recognized example of the Greek Revival style and is noted as one of Cluskey’s finest works. 

First Georgia Governor's Mansion in Milledgeville

General Sherman briefly occupied the mansion in 1864 on his March to the Sea.  After the war the home was abandoned until Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College, chartered in 1879, converted the building into cadet barracks.  In 1891 the new Georgia Normal and Industrial College, now Georgia College and State University, converted the building into its president’s home, and it served that function until 1987.  Carefully restored in the 1960s and again in 2001, the Old Governor’s Mansion was  designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and is open for tours.

When the state capitol moved north to Atlanta in 1868, the governor took up residence in a three-story building owned by Charles Carenden on Ellis and Baker Streets.  This house was never considered an official Governor’s Mansion although it served that purpose until 1870 when the State of Georgia purchased the first official Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta from John H. James.   The James home stood at the intersection of Cain Street, now International Boulevard, and Peachtree Street.  John James was one of the more colorful characters in Atlanta’s history.  James was a self-made man who came to Atlanta as a whiskey salesman and became one of the city’s most prominent bankers.  Although James would eventually fall on hard times, his home was described by The Atlanta Constitution as “one of the best-equipped and most magnificent homes in the city. “ 

First Georgia Governor's Mansion in Atlanta

In 1870 the General Assembly purchased James’ home and its furnishings for an impressive sum of $100,000.  James lived in the house for just one year before selling it.  Many would consider the large red brick home and its sixty foot tall tower of the Victorian style.  However, this elaborate residence almost defies description with its Italianate details, a Dutch gable, and hints of both the Gothic and Romanesque Revivals.   After selling this home to the state, James built another grand home on Peachtree that would later be purchased by the Capital City Club.

Seventeen governors occupied this large residence, but the once grand mansion became increasingly neglected to the point that it was described as dilapidated and dangerous.  Governor Dorsey moved to his personal residence in 1921.  This mansion was demolished in 1923, and the Henry Grady Hotel was built on the site.  That hotel was also torn down, and the Westin Peachtree Plaza now stands at that location. According to local historian Anne Taylor Boutwell, governors lived in either the Georgian Terrace Hotel or a rented home from 1921 until 1925, when the next Governor’s Mansion was purchased. 

Governor's Mansion, Ansley Park

Photo Courtesy of Atlanta History Center 

The Governor’s Mansion moved north to The Prado in 1925 when the state acquired the former estate of Edwin Ansley, the developer of Ansley Park.  The large granite home sat impressively on three hilltop acres, but the scale of the house was not considered large enough for many state functions.  The grandness of the house was also not enhanced, as Boutwell noted, by the goats and cows that were kept on site during the terms of both Eugene Talmadge and Herman, his son and later governor.  The unusual Atlanta estate housed Georgia’s governors until 1968 and was later demolished when the land was subdivided.

The migration north continued to West Paces Ferry Road when the current Governor’s Mansion officially opened on January 1, 1968.  Lester Maddox was the first governor to occupy the current Governor’s Mansion. This Greek Revival home was designed by Atlanta architect Thomas Bradbury.  The house covers approximately 24,000 square feet and has a total of 30 Doric columns.  The entire first floor is used for official entertaining, and the governor’s family occupies the second level.  The Governor’s Mansion stands on approximately eighteen acres that once belonged to Robert Maddox, a prominent banker and Atlanta’s mayor from 1909 to 1910.  Maddox’s home, Woodhaven, and the surrounding property were sold to the state in 1963.  A fire damaged parts of the house, and the elaborate country home was demolished.  The carriage house and the gardens were saved.  

It is hard to deny the importance of each governor’s mansion to Georgia’s history. Unfortunately, preservation has rarely trumped financial concerns.  When describing the desertion of the former James residence in 1921, The Atlanta Constitution provided an eloquent argument that “the historic mansion is linked indissolubly with the political and social history of Georgia for half a century.  Within its historic walls, the destinies of a people have been shaped.”   Unfortunately, this bit of Georgia’s history cannot be blamed on the carpetbaggers.

This site is maintained by Revival Construction, Inc (www.revivalconstruction.com).  Our mission is to build beautiful homes and lasting relationships, focusing on classically designed whole house renovations and additions to houses built before WWII in the in-town areas of Atlanta, Georgia.  We are also actively involved in the preservation of Atlanta and Georgia architects and architectural history through our memberships with The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.preservationnation.org), The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation (www.georgiatrust.org), and The Atlanta Preservation Center (www.preserveatlanta.com).  We believe by preserving our past, we can sustain our future.