Buckhead Mansion By Famed Atlanta Architect Faces Demolition

The Shutze-designed Buckhead mansion was built in 1938.

MICHAEL KAHN / CURBED ATLANTA

A historic mansion designed by Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze may be torn down.

The Tuxedo Road home was purchased late last year and, according to Rosser International architect and Curbed Atlanta editor Michael Kahn, the new owner plans to build a 10,000-square-foot house in its place.

The Shutze-designed Buckhead mansion was built in 1938. CREDIT MICHAEL KAHN / CURBED ATLANTA

Kahn said the mansion’s demolition reveals something about historic preservation in Atlanta, even though, he conceded, the home was not Shutze’s greatest work.

“As far as the quality of the architecture there’s nothing that stands out as something that is a textbook example and should be preserved purely on architectural aesthetic,” said Kahn.

“But it brings up the importance or lack of a review process, or really lack of oversight, because if we can go and tear down a Philip Shutze-designed home without anyone batting an eyelash, what else can be done beyond the protections that are already afforded historic structures in the city?”