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Entrance to Dr. Marion Luther
Brittain, Sr., House
National Register photograph by Yen Tang
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Built for one of Georgia's most renown educators, the Dr. Marion
Luther Brittain, Sr., House is a good example of the Neoclassical
Revival Style. Dr. Brittain (1866-1953) was State school superintendent
from 1910 to 1922. During this time he saw the consolidation of
many country school systems and the building of more modern schools
in almost every county. In 1922, he became the fourth president
of the Georgia Institute of Technology, from
which he retired in 1944. The house was built in 1911, and Dr. Brittain
and his family lived here until he became president of Georgia Tech,
and they moved to the university-owned president's house.
The two-story Neoclassical Revival house features an entrance facade
dominated by four Corinthian columns. They support a monumental
temple front before the three-bay west facade. The entrance is positioned
between large single-pane windows on the first floor that are flanked
by sidelights and surmounted by a fixed transom. The exterior siding
on the west facade is clapboard, the column shafts and plinths are
wooden, and the capitals are plaster. Renovations in 1986 covered
the other three facades with vinyl siding. The interior is characterized
by a modified central hall plan. The original floor plan included
three large rooms adjoining the modified central hall. After the
Brittains moved to the Georgia Tech's president's house in 1922,
the home was converted into four apartments. The larger rooms east
of the front parlors were partitioned and additional balconies were
built to flank the original central balcony. An addition of a warehouse
was made to the rear of the building in 1965. In 1991, the building
was converted to a doctor's office.
The Dr. Marion Luther Brittain, Sr., House and Apartments is
located at 1109 W. Peachtree St. in north Atlanta. It is a private
office, and not open to the general public.
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