They Tore It Down the Next Day

I'll be dog if they didn't tear it down the very next day. It was at 2348 Hosea Williams where Second Avenue crosses Hosea - a forlorn corner that's coming back.


I've been passing here for more than 15 years but something struck me on February 2nd. I drove two blocks past it and thought: "Better go back and take a picture."

Dekalb County property tax records say it was built in 1910. I'll take you around the house counterclockwise. My full size pictures are in Flickr if you want to see more detail: 2348 Hosea Williams Kirkwood Teardown probably 1900-1915 East Lake at 2nd Ave Dekalb tax records say 1910


It was so beat up inside.




























Here's where it is.





Parcel ID: 15 204 06 046, Deeded Acreage  0.5

Here's what the corner looked like on 2017-02-12

Moore Chapel (1906) a Decatur Gem

Moore Chapel is a little gem that serves the United Methodist Children's Home.


I've been driving by for decades hoping to see inside.

One day the door was wide open and I had a look inside. Glad I did. What a space, what stained glass.

I was saying "Hello, Terry here, hello" all the while. Nobody home though so I took a few pictures and a video (below).


"In Memoriam William Chandler Smith"


Cornerstone 1906


"In Memory of Frank S. Bale"  Is it a "B?"


Who's who including George Muse.


The narthex stained glass window. "In Memory of Asa G. Candler III"


Looking back into the Narthex.


The first door to the left leads to a little chapel / office (see video below).  The second door is the sacristy in a niche.




The ceiling.


I don't know what you call these. Decorative braces?


View from the chapel into the little chapel / office.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass.

Here is the little video.


Wish I'd taken more time.

Grateful for the opportunity.

House Crushes: Four New Small'ish Atlanta Builds I REALLY Like

Atlanta is building houses to beat the band. Our finest architects, designers, and builders are producing amazing work. But most are huge. I love them but I rarely fall in love with them.

But I get crushes on small'ish houses. Here are four though one is not so small.

1. I saw this Amy Landsberg design while poking around Decatur.


I slammed on the brakes and called Amy from the car.  An artist / architect / lecturer designing a house is my kind of thing.


I believe you can have your cake and eat it too: You can fit in style-wise and scale-wise AND be "modern." Give me sloped roof lines, a hint of gables, a corrugated metal roof, divided light windows, narrow clapboard siding, and throw in the old chimney, and if the detailing are right, I'll probably fall in love. Throw in saw-tooth clerestory windows? I'm so there.

Look: no corner boards, skinny rafter tails, why doesn't the front door have a transom like the windows, details, details.

What are those bottoms up shade things in the windows? They ward off the blackout-windows look.

2. On to Reynoldstown, not an architectural destination for many yet it's a beloved spot for the Architecture Tourist.



This is Christopher Leerssen's RTown Lane in Reynoldstown. Is there a more appropriate and fun infill development in Atlanta? Go see.


There are bigger units, smaller units, units that live-work, units with mother-in-law suites. There's an alley. The last two units are queued up for construction. Sold out in a hurry. Some sold before construction. More of these please.

3. The Cheshire Bridge O&I / Skin district really needs Manchester. 



This is Manchester by Hedgewood where the Habersham Gardens retails store used to be, next to Futo's on Cheshire Bridge.

"Lew Oliver worked with us on the Manchester project and has designed much of our architecture over the past 30 years."


Detached harmony in human scale by Hedgewood.

4. There is a high end a design war in Ansley Park where there's no protection. Smallish lots put them close the curb so it's a spectator sport.



On Polo by Bobby McAlpine. This is as close to the curb as you'll see a "Bobby." It's not small but it seems small'sh. It has 11 foot ceilings but the roof slope and through-the-eave dormers conceal the height so it fits in in size-wise. It's a spec house, it can be yours but it's not cheap. Call The Getzinger Group.

I'll bet you have crushes too. I've love to see them?

Demolition Watch: Go See This Little Oakhurst Landmark Before It's Gone

We've lost bigger buildings, finer designs, and more historic places lately. But this funky little flatrion - I'm taking it pretty hard. I have an uncanny attachment to it and I'm not the only one.

It was still there on Friday May 1. Go see, there's a map at the bottom of this post.


It was last the Tabernacle Missionary Holiness Church. Before? Do you know? Do you have a picture?

" 102 Fifth Ave. was built c. 1916-1920. I suspect the City of Decatur is anxious to see this parcel open up for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being the current owner is a religious, i.e., tax-exempt, entity. When the City Commission approves the bid tonight, it will place a $21,000 lien on the property to cover the demolition costs, etc. Expect to see soon a request to rezone and redevelop the property so that the City can add it to the tax digest." Thanks to David Rotenstein



On one of our most picturesque streets, the oddest building is the most memorable.

" Bid Award.
Recommend accepting a proposal from Leon Benton Construction, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia in the amount of $18,750 for the demolition and removal of a dilapidated building of the building at 102 Fifth Avenue. "


Somebody must have lived up there.


Why did they cover the brick?


Are folks squatting there?

If you can't get by, here's the video, about five minutes long.





From Dekalb County Tax Records


Go See.

More pictures of Tabernacle Missionary Holiness Church 102 5th Ave Decatur Georgia.

"Most landmarks and focal points in cities - of which we need more, not fewer - come from the contrast of use radically different from its surroundings, and therefore inherently special-looking, happily located to make some drama and contrast of the inherent difference ... noble buildings ... set within the matrix of the city, instead being sorted out and withdrawn into 'courts of honor'"- Page 228, ”The Death and Life of Great American Cities” - Jane Jacobs, Vintage Books Edition 1991

Gordon's Column, Remembering Gordon, Cherishing our Gordons.

I watched as the chief mason looked over his shoulder tilting the brick, looking back at Gordon for the proper angle knowing he was building something special. This glorious column and fencing made the little porch into a welcoming outdoor room.

Most of Gordon's clients have things like this. It could be a piece of furniture, a painting, bowl, color, fabric, or nicknack, something we couldn't imagine working. We call them "Gordons" and we smile. Why did we ever doubt him?

When I'm in Decatur, I drive this great little street to see this little 1925 house, to remember Gordon Stringer via this column and that moment with the mason.

 
Gordon designed this renovation, designed everything inside and out. He punctuated it with two "crazy" columns.


Gordon gave me a tour when it was all studs, walls moved, ceilings raised, skylights in, bathrooms laid out, kitchen roughed out.

Inside were the lanterns, the curvy metal fencing, the fruity urns and plinths, a drawing of the shutters, color samples of everything. These were the details. You can see that Gordon pulled the color of the fruity urns into the window and door frames.


Gordon shopped Scott Antique Market among other places. He'd find things that fit his vision, knowing he could make it work. I don't know if the purchases came from the vision or the vision from the purchases. Probably both.

If you could keep up with him, shopping with Gordon was big fun.


I was there the day the masons built the columns. Gordon directed every brick course by eye.

The chief mason knew he was building something unique and special, building a Gordon.

Every time I drive by I smile.

Nine Teardowns Done

These Atlanta teardowns mostly South of Buckhead are done There are more of these than ever in the intown neighborhoods. Somebody's got some money. The spec houses sell fast, most before they are complete. A few of these are custom designs.

One was a poptop:


Morningside






Lake Claire:






Buckhead






Morningside




 

Sherwood Forest






Midtown







Lenox Park (Morningside)







Winnona Park Decatur






Argonne Forest, Buckhead