The Belshauses replaced a one-story hexagonal rear addition with a two-story addition that matches the lines, siding, and windows of the original house, providing a bright new kitchen and master bedroom for the family.

Inside the home they made some exciting discoveries, uncovering a fireplace and windows that had been walled in, and finding an original newel post and rail on a stair that had been enclosed. They reconstructed panel doors and ceiling beams, and saved the white oak floors, carefully feathering in new pieces and leveling each room with laser precision.

Carl did a lot of the work himself with the help of his dad, who taught him about woodworking and construction since a young age. Together they created wainscotting in the baby’s room from some reclaimed heart pine flooring, a fitting tribute to the lasting beauty of good craftmanship.

Beau and Alfredo lived in the circa 1912 brick Italian Renaissance house that sits high upon a hill for a year before they embarked on a major restoration project. The impressive front façade had stayed very much the same since 1912, however the inside was greatly modified into a minimalistic Asian style by a previous owner.

Living in the space provided a clear direction to restore the beautiful P. Thorton Marye facades, preserving the carved limestone lintels, bronze lanterns, front door, and clay barrel tile roof. The roof was badly damaged, so it was replaced with the same material in a dignified green to complement the red brick walls. All the front windows were replaced within the original openings.

Inside, the Martins reconstructed period details and reimagined the space to suit their growing family, a son and daughter, and their love of entertaining. They added back molding, trim, and fireplace mantels in the front rooms, and built a rear addition to create a new light-filled kitchen and family room. They took great care to replicate the home’s fine craftsmanship on the exterior of the addition, matching the Flemish brick pattern and intricate chimney design.

Beau and Alfredo’s vision and great effort has preserved one of Atlanta’s gems by architect P. Thorton Marye. A few examples of this noted architect’s work remain, including his own residence on Lafayette, the Randolph-Lucas-Jones house, and the fabulous Fox Theatre.

• Architect: Steve Kemp - Kemp Happ Studio
• Builder - Revival Construction
• 15 Inman Circle (formerly Winecoff), after 1909, architect unknown. This house is included as an example of the continuation and adaptation of the Classical-Queen Anne style originally popular between 1885-1900. Its fine use of materials and attention to details are characteristic of this period.
• Ideal lot overlooking Inman. Beautiful house/good bones that needed work. Indoor pool in the back.
• Steve and Michelle really thought through the design process. Fortunately, they didn’t have to rush it.
• Found the right partners which specialized in restoration
• Bricks from a fireplace moved outdoors
• Moving stones to be benches
• Not hiding materials
• Showing more of the brick
• Ability to preserve while having state-of-the-art interior

178 E. 15th Street is this year’s winner of the Christopher Jones Historic Preservation Award. Tom Klein and Erik LaValle, new owners of the A.C. Bruce house built in 1907 for William O. Jones, thoughtfully restored it to its original glory.

“We were looking for a teardown because we wanted a super contemporary home. The floor plan of this house was perfect for us, but we didn’t want to live in a period piece,” said Klein. “Our architect, Linda MacArthur, showed us how we could restore a historic home and also have the modern dwelling we envisioned.”

The result of Klein and LaValle’s efforts is stunning. Having the benefit of historic photos, they restored the façade to the 1907 design. Inside the home they retained many original details including pocket doors, wood trim, and leaded glass windows. Where historic elements didn’t work in the new design, they creatively repurposed them elsewhere in the home.

The residence is thoroughly modern, masterfully combining contemporary and mid-century modern furnishings with period pieces and details. As you move from the gracious entertaining-friendly home front, you enter a modern addition on the back where their contemporary vision is fully realized. The home is equipped with today’s modern conveniences including home automation, an elevator, and a garage.

Klein and LaValle have not only saved a neighborhood gem for everyone to enjoy; they have also created the blueprint for how to save a historic home and equip it to meet today’s requirements.

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178 15th Street

• One of the first lots sold in Ansley Park, house completed in 1907
• Bruce & Everett Architects – this is the only surviving private home by AC Bruce
• Major fire in 1910 rebuilt 1912
• Italian Renaissance Revival
• Reframing front of house
• restoration of front façade to original appearance
• restoration of the soffit surrounding the grand front porch
• new slate roof
• plumbing electrical, HVAC

We are proud to present the 2020 Christopher Jones Historic Preservation award to Michael Barnett & Jay Reynolds for the preservation and restoration of their home at 29 Peachtree Circle.

The house was one of the first houses to be built in Ansley Park, completed in 1905. Throughout the years it has kept it’s original Queen Anne façade, with front and side gables with dentil detail, a multiplicity of sizes of windows, arranged in an asymmetric fashion, some double-hung sash windows and some leaded diamond-paned, and a wrap around porch.

Michael and Jay purchased the house in 2015 and began the major work of preservation and restoration by 2018. Rotted wood was replaced on the front and side gables, roof decking and trim. The original slate roof was restored, the chimneys rebuilt. All original windows and historic columns and hand rails were reconditioned and retained. A poorly constructed addition was removed from the back of the house and replaced with compatible infill that mimics the front façade with a front gable with dentil detail, and a wrap around porch with matching columns.

The house was rewired and HVAC updated. The plaster ceiling and walls were restored and repaired, original windows, hardwood floors and millwork reconditioned and original fireplaces retained. Michael and Jay replaced newer light fixtures and window and door hardware with period antique versions.

The careful attention to detail is evident throughout the project. Michael and Jay have successfully preserved and restored one of Ansley Park’s oldest houses while bringing it along to meet modern needs. Together with their architects, Spiztmiller & Norris and interior design from Holifield Design & Renovations, Michael and Jay have ensured that 29 Peachtree Circle will long continue to stand proudly as a symbol of Ansley Park’s rich history.

The reason Christopher Jones began this award was to promote preservation in Ansley Park. It is in that spirit that we would also like to recognize Lisa & Pat Luke for the compatible infill and reconstruction of the exterior of their home at 141 17th Street. The 1932 house had been stripped of porches and clad in aluminum siding. Lisa & Pat’s thoughtful reconstruction reused the marble foundation for the front and back porches, they kept the original windows and choose a modern material, Artisanal lap siding made of fiber cement, to mimic the original cedar clapboard siding. They added more space with dormers in the existing attic thereby respecting the original footprint of the house. Their careful planning and execution will see this house stand proudly in Ansley Park for another 100 years.

It is only fitting that Christopher Jones and Roger Smith be awarded today with History & Preservation’s top honor the, which we have newly designated as the Christopher Jones Award. This award that Christopher devised many years ago is to honor acts of preservation in Ansley Park. The award follows the guidelines set by the secretary of the interior on preservation and the one stipulation is that the project be “done”, or as “done” as any restoration project can be. In 2013 Christopher and Roger rescued the Randolph-Lucas house, a house listed on the National Registry of Historic Places yet was slated for demolition. They moved the 1924 Georgian Revival beauty to an empty lot in Ansley Park at 78 Peachtree Circle. The house was split in two and top and bottom were lifted by cranes onto flat bed trucks and driven up Peachtree Road where power lines had to be moved out of the way. The interior doors, window trim, moldings were taken down, numbered and then meticulously put back together after the move. Many artisans worked on this project with Christopher and Roger along side them, Christopher doing much of the lathe plaster and millwork himself and Roger stripping years of paint off of doors. After 6 years of hard work both on-site and jumping through hoops with the city the result is the Randolph-Lucas house restored to her former glory with original windows, shutters, fanlights, doors, hardware, moldings in tact, looking as it did when it was built by architect P. Thorton Mayre for Holins Randolph, the great-great grandson of Thomas Jefferson. Thanks to Christopher and Roger Atlanta retains a prominent piece of her history and Ansley Park gained a jewel in her crown. Christopher’s passing in January of this year was a great loss to us all but it is a solace to know that with their donation to the Georgia Trust of a façade easement on the Randolph-Lucas-Jones house part of Christopher will stand in Ansley Park in perpetuity.

The H&P award for 2018 is for the reconstruction of the exterior façade at 22 The Prado. The 1920 home had undergone several renovations in the 80’s and 90’s that removed original details. Wendy Kirkpatrick set out to bring the house back to it’s Farmhouse roots. There were no surviving photographs of the house in 1920 so they did a bit of detective work. A 1980’s photo of the house showed it’s original siding, so they changed the faux stucco façade back to lap siding. They retained the six original twelve paned sash windows and replicated two to replace a newer arched window above the door. From the Atlanta History Center they found the original footprint of the house in a 1920 Sanburn fire map showing it had a front porch. Wendy reconstructed the front porch using architectural references from similar 1920’s houses in the neighborhood. The result of this thoughtful renovation is a gem of a house that sits beautifully in the neighborhood and indeed looks as it once did.

The H&P award for 2017 is for the restoration of the historic Leyden House Columns at 149 Peachtree Circle. The building was originally called The Woodberry School for girls built in 1914 and the 12 white ionic columns that graced it’s facade were salvaged from the demolished Leyden House built in 1858. When Alon Panovka’s outfit Manhatten Peachtree LLC bought the building, it had long been converted to apartments called The Peachtree Circle Apartments and had long suffered from deferred maintenance. In restoring the building and façade the original windows were kept in tact, outside lighting was custom made to match the existing lampposts and lanterns, and most notably the peeling columns were restored to their original beauty. Thanks to this restoration these 160 year old columns could very well stand tall in Ansley Park and Atlanta for another century.