Historic Homes in Atlanta: A Timeline Through Architecture and Legacy

Atlanta isn’t just home to glimmering towers and trendsetting neighborhoods—it also hides deep-rooted stories tucked inside century-old walls. From Greek Revival grandeur to literary legends and Civil Rights landmarks, these historic homes in Atlanta offer a tangible timeline of the city’s evolution.

Let’s journey through 15 of Atlanta’s most iconic homes—now arranged by the year they were built, starting with the oldest still standing.

1. Roswell’s Southern Trilogy – Roswell, GA

Includes: Bulloch Hall (1839), Smith Plantation (1845), Barrington Hall (1839)

📍Historic Roswell Square, Roswell, GA

Roswell, just 30 minutes north of Atlanta, boasts not one but three preserved antebellum estates—all open to the public. Bulloch Hall is the childhood home of Mittie Bulloch, mother of Teddy Roosevelt. Barrington Hall was built by the co-founder of Roswell, and Smith Plantation offers a rare look at preserved outbuildings like a cookhouse and slave quarters. All three showcase Greek Revival or Plantation Plain architecture, elegant interiors, and curated gardens. Tours are available individually or as part of the "Southern Trilogy" experience, offering a sweeping look at Georgia life before and after the Civil War. These homes provide powerful context—architecturally and socially—for anyone exploring historic estates near Atlanta.

👉 Explore Roswell’s Southern Trilogy. Plan your visit.

2. Tullie Smith House – Buckhead

Built: c. 1840 | Style: Plantation Plain

📍Atlanta, GA

Originally located in North Druid Hills, this modest farmhouse was moved to the Atlanta History Center to preserve and share its story. The Tullie Smith House is one of the few surviving examples of Georgia’s working-class rural architecture, featuring a central hall plan and wide porches for airflow. Visitors can explore the home and surrounding outbuildings—including a smokehouse and blacksmith shop—with costumed interpreters and hands-on heritage craft demonstrations. It’s a quiet but powerful look into early settler life.

👉 Visit Tullie Smith House. Part of the Atlanta History Center.

3. Judge William Wilson House – Cascade/Fairburn Road SW

Built: 1856–1859 | Style: Greek Revival

📍501 Fairburn Road SW

This grand antebellum home once served as Union General Sherman’s temporary headquarters during the Battle of Atlanta. Built by Judge William Wilson, a civic leader who would go on to become sheriff and state legislator, the house is a fading yet powerful symbol of Civil War Atlanta. The Greek Revival styling—complete with a columned portico and symmetrical wings—spoke to a time when Southern grandeur was rooted in land and legal power. Today, the home is in a state of advanced disrepair and is listed as endangered, barely visible from the roadside. However, its story still haunts local history books and preservation efforts. Though closed to the public, it remains a poignant landmark of both resilience and urgency in Atlanta’s preservation landscape.

👉 Support preservation efforts. Learn how you can help save endangered historic homes through The Georgia Trust.

4. Meadow Nook – East Lake

Built: 1856 | Style: Greek Revival (Private Residence)

📍East Lake

Built as a wedding gift to his bride by Col. Robert Alston, this Greek Revival home in East Lake miraculously survived the Civil War. Alston’s later assassination in the Georgia State Capitol made headlines in the New York Times, and his legacy still lingers in the neighborhood that grew from his land. The home remains one of the oldest privately owned residences in Atlanta. Though not open for tours, Meadow Nook has been lovingly preserved by its owners and occasionally featured in architectural documentaries. It’s one of Atlanta’s true hidden gems—still standing strong after more than 160 years.

👉 Drive by or research Meadow Nook’s remarkable legacy. A quiet monument in the heart of East Lake.

5. L.P. Grant Mansion – Grant Park

Built: 1856 | Style: Italianate

📍327 St. Paul Avenue SE

The man who donated 100 acres for what is now Grant Park built this Italianate-style home in 1856. Lemuel Pratt Grant’s mansion not only survived the Civil War—it later became the birthplace of golf legend Bobby Jones and caught the interest of Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell. Today, it’s home to the Atlanta Preservation Center and welcomes visitors eager to step back in time. Tours, events, and walking tours offer a look into the social and architectural story of Grant Park’s earliest development.

👉 Visit the mansion that helped shape Grant Park. Plan your trip to the L.P. Grant Mansion.



6. G.W. Collier House – Ansley Park

Built: c. 1868 | Style: Postbellum Vernacular (Private Residence)

📍1649 Lady Marian Lane NE

Built on the site of an 1820 home destroyed during the Civil War, this Ansley Park residence is a piece of postbellum Atlanta. George Washington Collier was Atlanta’s first postmaster and a key player in shaping the Peachtree Street corridor. This house, and the Collier legacy, played a major role in how northern Atlanta was developed. Though not open to the public, it remains a neighborhood landmark. Those interested in post-war Atlanta development and early civic figures will find its story especially compelling.

👉 Explore the roots of Ansley Park. A key part of any self-guided architectural tour.

7. Edward C. Peters House (Ivy Hall) – Midtown Atlanta

Built: 1883 | Style: Queen Anne / Victorian

📍179 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE

This Midtown mansion once belonged to Edward Peters, a major figure in Atlanta’s rail and streetcar expansion. Sitting on a lush acre of land, the house is a rare post-Civil War architectural survivor. Today, it’s been lovingly restored by SCAD and functions as Ivy Hall—where art, history, and education intersect. With its turrets, stained-glass windows, and deep porches, Ivy Hall is one of the most architecturally engaging buildings in Midtown. SCAD regularly hosts events, lectures, and gallery programs inside.

👉 Explore the intersection of heritage and art. Visit Ivy Hall by SCAD.

8. Joel Chandler Harris House (The Wren’s Nest) – West End

Built: 1884 (Farmhouse from 1870) | Style: Queen Anne

📍1050 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard SW

What began as a simple farmhouse in 1870 was transformed in 1884 into the charming Queen Anne–style home we now know as The Wren’s Nest. Author Joel Chandler Harris wrote

his famous Uncle Remus stories here, and the home—still filled with original furniture—offers immersive tours and storytelling events that keep his literary legacy alive.

Visitors can take part in public storytelling programs, explore the museum’s permanent exhibits, or just relax on the wraparound porch where Southern literature lived and breathed.

👉 Experience Southern storytelling where it was born. Visit The Wren’s Nest.

9. Dr. William P. Nicholson House – Old Fourth Ward

Built: 1892 | Style: Eclectic Victorian (Private Residence)

📍Piedmont Avenue NE

Built for prominent surgeon and Georgia Medical Association President William P. Nicholson, this home is a blend of late 19th-century architectural styles. Nicholson

wasn’t just a leading doctor—he was also an educator, helping shape Atlanta’s medical landscape through the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Though it remains a private residence, it’s one of Atlanta’s most historically significant medical homes—its preservation adds important texture to the city’s story.

👉 Appreciate one of Atlanta’s medical landmarks. Best viewed on a neighborhood walk through Piedmont Avenue.

10. Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home – Sweet Auburn

Built: 1895 | Style: Queen Anne

📍501 Auburn Avenue NE

This humble two-story Queen Anne house in the heart of the Sweet Auburn Historic District is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised. With its gabled roof and double verandas, the home is a modest yet powerful site of national significance. It paints a deeply human portrait of the civil rights leader’s early life, long before his speeches echoed around the world. Run by the National Park Service, the home is part of the larger Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. Free tours are offered daily (with timed tickets), and the nearby visitor center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and King Center help bring the broader story to life.

👉 Step into the birthplace of a movement. Reserve your free tour.

11. Margaret Mitchell House – Midtown

Built: 1899 | Style: Tudor Revival

📍979 Crescent Avenue NE

The Margaret Mitchell House may look like a humble apartment building, but it’s where one of the most enduring American novels—Gone With the Wind—was born. Mitchell and her husband lived in Apartment No. 1, where she wrote her Pulitzer-winning manuscript while recovering from a broken ankle. Operated by the Atlanta History Center, the house includes period furnishings, Mitchell’s typewriter, and exhibits on both her life and the book’s controversial legacy. Tours offer a deeper understanding of Atlanta in the 1920s and the literary imagination that emerged from it.

👉 Explore the apartment that wrote literary history. Visit the Margaret Mitchell House.

12. Rhodes Hall – Midtown Atlanta

Built: 1904 | Style: Romanesque Revival

📍1516 Peachtree Street NW

Also known as the “Castle on Peachtree,” this Romanesque Revival gem was built by furniture magnate Amos Rhodes. Complete with stained glass windows and winding staircases, it remains one of the most distinctive homes on Peachtree Street. Today, it houses The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and opens its doors for tours, events, and weddings steeped in grandeur. The home’s turrets, wood carvings, and storytelling spaces reflect both fantasy and function—making it one of the most interactive and visually stunning historic estates in the city.

👉 Tour the Castle on Peachtree. Book a visit to Rhodes Hall.



13. Herndon Home – Vine City

Built: 1910 | Style: Beaux Arts

📍587 University Place NW

Commissioned by Alonzo Herndon—the city’s first Black millionaire—this 15-room Beaux Arts mansion was a symbol of ambition and success. Designed by his wife Adrienne, the Herndon Home reflects Atlanta’s early Black entrepreneurial history. Herndon rose from slavery to found Atlanta Life Insurance Company, becoming a beacon of Black wealthand resilience. While currently undergoing restoration, the home offers occasional public tours and events hosted by the Herndon Foundation. It’s a must-visit for anyone interested in Black history, entrepreneurship, or Atlanta’s lesser-told stories of resilience and self-determination.

👉 Uncover the legacy of Alonzo Herndon. Learn more or plan a visit.

14. Villa Lamar – Buckhead

Built: 1911 | Style: Italian Renaissance Revival (Private Residence)

📍801 West Paces Ferry Road NW

Once home to Florida Congressman William Bailey Lamar and his wife Ethel, Villa Lamar is a private Italian Renaissance–style residence in Buckhead. Set on what was once 200 acres (formerly owned by ferry operator Hardy Pace), the estate has taken on many names—Hollywood, Newcastle, and the Reuben Garland House among them. It’s an elegant nod to Atlanta’s upper-crust past and a standout even among West Paces’ many opulent homes. Though privately owned and not open to the public, Villa Lamar remains a hallmark of Buckhead’s architectural elegance. Whether on a self-guided drive or local history walk, it’s well worth admiring from the street.

👉 Admire Villa Lamar from the historic West Paces corridor. Discover more about Buckhead’s stately roots on a self-guided tour.

15. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center – Druid Hills

Built: 1920 | Style: Tudor Gothic Revival

📍980 Briarcliff Road NE

Built for Charles Howard Candler, the son of Coca-Cola co-founder Asa Candler, Callanwolde is an enchanting 27,000-square-foot mansion known for its blend of Gothic and Tudor Revival style. From the ivy-covered stone façade to the intricate wood carvings and leaded-glass windows, Callanwolde feels more like an English manor than an Atlanta estate.

Now a cultural hub and fine arts center, Callanwolde offers public art exhibitions, music performances, and seasonal events. Whether you’re attending a jazz night or just admiring the architecture on a weekend stroll, the mansion’s historical elegance makes it a standout in Druid Hills.

👉 Experience the arts in a historic estate. Explore Callanwolde.

16. Swan House – Buckhead

Built: 1928 | Style: Classical Revival

📍130 West Paces Ferry Road NW

With its grand staircases and symmetrical façade, Swan House is one of the most photographed homes in Atlanta—and one of the most glamorous. Originally home to the Edward Inman family, who made their fortune in cotton brokerage, the house was designed by famed architect Philip T. Shutze and features classical columns, intricate woodwork, and period-perfect interiors. Today, the Swan House is part of the Atlanta History Center and offers immersive tours, rotating exhibitions, and even Hunger Games filming location tours. It’s both cinematic and educational, perfect for history buffs and design lovers alike.

👉 Step into Atlanta’s Gilded Age. Book your Swan House tour.

🎯 Final Word: Discover Atlanta’s Living Legacy

From pre-Civil War mansions in Roswell to Buckhead’s Italianate gems and West End’s literary hideaways, these historic homes in Atlanta are more than buildings—they’re living stories. Some are open for tours, others preserved by passion and pride. All offer a portal into the layered cultural fabric that defines Atlanta.



👉 Explore more historic homes, museums, and cultural outings at CultureOwl.