
02 May Atlanta sites, leaders win Georgia Trust historic preservation awards
Several Atlanta-area leaders and sites are among the statewide winners of Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation awards.
The Georgia Trust announced its 2023 Preservation Awards at an Atlanta event on April 22. Among the top winners for historic rehabilitation were the Cherry Grove Schoolhouse in Washington in Wilkes County and Macon’s Fire Hall and Hotel Forty Five. State Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon) won the Senator George Hooks Award for public leadership for his work in preserving the state’s historic preservation tax credit. For a full list of winners, see the Georgia Trust website.
The Atlanta-area honorees included:
Susan Kidd
Mary Gregory Jewett Award for Lifetime Preservation Service
Kidd is director of sustainability at Decatur’s Agnes Scott College, where several projects have won previous Georgia Trust Preservation Awards, including rehabilitations of Rebekah Scott Hall and Campbell Hall. Kidd previously served as director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Southern Regional Office, director of the Georgia Scenic Byways Program, and senior vice president for policy at the Georgia Conservancy. She also previously worked at the Georgia Historic Preservation Division.
Thomas F. Little
Excellence in Preservation Service
Little is an architect specializing in historic preservation. In more than 40 years in the profession, he has worked on such projects as Ponce City Market and Rhodes Hall, the Georgia Trust’s Atlanta headquarters, and many others statewide. In 2002, he co-founded the Georgia chapter of Docomomo, a nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of modern architecture. He has worked on oral history projects about modern architects and mentored young professionals in preservation and architecture. He has served on the board of such organizations as the Georgia Trust, the Atlanta Preservation Center, Easements Atlanta, the Fox Theatre’s Facilities and Preservation Committee and the Georgia National Register Review Board.
788 Lake Avenue
Excellence in Rehabilitation
This 1907 Victorian cottage is a contributing property to the City’s Inman Park Historic District. But it sat vacant for nearly 40 years and suffered major structural problems, including a 16-inch sag in the foundation and water infiltration. The project used state and federal historic tax credits for a year-long rehabilitation and addition.
Capitol View Apartments
Excellence in Rehabilitation
Built in 1947 through the Federal Housing Administration’s Veterans Emergency Housing program, this 10-building complex along the Atlanta BeltLine at the western end of University Avenue in Adair Park has been rehabilitated into the Columbia at Capitol View. The project retained most of the original design while making the units accessible under Americans With Disabilities Act standards.
Revival Lofts
Excellence in Rehabilitation
This former headquarters of the North Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church at Ralph McGill Boulevard and Piedmont Avenue in Downtown dates to 1966. It was vacant for nearly 20 years before its remake as 51 rental apartments, whose tenants will use the modern, 12-sided chapel on the corner as a common area.
Zuber-Jarrell House
Excellence in Rehabilitation
This 1906 mansion at Flat Shoals and Pasley Avenues in East Atlanta has been under extensive rehabilitation since 2003 by current owners Jennifer Murray and Marc Dobiecki. The Georgia Trust calls the house a “living laboratory” for rehabilitation regularly visited by Georgia State University students, community groups and experts. The house is a contributing property to the East Atlanta Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Westview Abbey & Mausoleum
Excellence in Stewardship
This massive structure was built in 1943 as an amenity to historic Westview Cemetery, which dates to 1884. Holding more than 11,000 crypts and a chapel, the structure faced significant maintenance issues. The Bowen family, current owners of the cemetery at 1680 Westview Drive, have overseen such work as cleaning and repair of the cast-stone facade, restoration of 11 skylights and replacement of the 33,000-square-foot roof.