BUCKHEAD IN BLOOM 2009 404-688-3353 x11
www.preserveatlanta.com
APC presents The 29th Annual Buckhead in Bloom tour
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Eight of Atlanta’s most exquisite houses and gardens open to the public
ATLANTA (Mar. 20, 2009) – The Atlanta Preservation Center (APC) presents the 29th Annual Buckhead in Bloom tour, a chance for visitors to stroll through eight of the city’s most exquisite houses and gardens. From noon to 5 pm on April 5, homes in the Tuxedo Park and Peachtree Heights West neighborhoods will showcase their exceptional architectural styles and extraordinary landscape designs.
Case-Davis House
This year’s tour, sponsored by Harry Norman, Realtors, includes two of the finest examples of work by noted early 20th-Century architect Neel Reid. Both the Case-Davis House on Habersham Road and the Tompkins House on West Wesley Road are considered among the best in Atlanta.
“The Case-Davis house, built in 1919, is one of the most recognized in the city because of the refinement of the architecture and the eagles perched on the gateposts,” said APC executive director Boyd Coons. “It’s a lovely house with an intimate interior that’s quite unexpected, given the formality of the stone exterior. It also has 90-year-old boxwood garden that is simple but outstanding.”
The second Reid home on West Wesley dates to the early 1920s and boasts a sunken garden with granite walls, sculpture and sweeping curved staircases. It has been in the same family since its construction in 1922.
“This is a stunning Anglo-Palladian house with influences of Mannerist architecture,” said Coons. “Inside, it has handsome paneling throughout; a 19th-Century marble mantel in the drawing room; and an unusual octagonal entrance hall.”
The Tuxedo Park portion of the tour includes the Cocke House, a 1934 Georgian Revival on Valley Road with lavish gardens and an interior lovingly decorated with family heirlooms and antiques. Nearby, the former Robert Woodruff House on Tuxedo Road is a neo-Georgian house with an expansive and detailed drawing room, crowned by the same painting above the marble mantel that hung there in the Woodruff days. This room was also featured in the book, “100 Most Beautiful Rooms in America.”
In conjunction with the tour, the APC will host a free lecture on the Atlanta architectural firm of Frazier and Bodin by Wright Marshall, president of Revival Construction, an intown firm specializing in classically-designed whole-house renovations. Among Frazier and Bodin’s extensive credits is the former Woodruff House on Tuxedo Road. The lecture will be held at 8 pm April 3 at the Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road.
Additional houses on the tour are located on Habersham Road, Habersham Way, Vernon Road and Peachtree Battle Avenue.
Tour tickets are $30 for APC members; $40 for nonmembers. Tickets, as well as APC memberships, are available in advance by calling 404-688-3353 x11. Tickets are also for sale at the Cathedral of St. Philip Bookstore, Smith and Hawken and Boxwoods in Buckhead, as well as the Harry Norman offices on Powers Ferry Road, Northside Parkway and Paces Ferry Road. Tickets on the tour day will be sold at 125 West Wesley Road.
The Atlanta Preservation Center is a non-profit membership organization that serves as the agency for coordination, knowledge, research and advocacy for preservation in the city. Founded in 1980, the Center has worked to preserve thousands of endangered residential and commercial structures, neighborhoods and landscapes. The Center’s walking tours of historic neighborhoods and sites, school programs, workshops and The Phoenix Flies: A Citywide Celebration of Living Landmarks educate thousands of students, residents and visitors each year about the value of protecting and reusing Atlanta’s landmark buildings. For more information, visit www.preserveatlanta.com or call 404-688-3353.
