Brookwood Hills Historic District
Brookwood Hills is a well-defined residential area that incorporates the major architectural, landscape, and planning elements of suburban development of the early 1920s. In 1912, Benjamin F. Burdett and a partner had purchased approximately 50 acres of land from the A.J. Collier estate. Early in the 1920s, Burdette joined George Washington Collier, Jr., who owned some 25 acres directly south of the Burdette holdings, to jointly develop 65 acres as a suburban subdivision called Brookwood Hills. Brookwood Hills was developed in a series of phases over a period of years.
Phase I included the development of Huntington Road, Palisades Road, Woodcrest Avenue and Northwood Avenue. The area was substantially developed and homes sold by 1924. Civil engineer O.F. Kauffman, who previously worked for the Druid Hills Company, drew the plat for the subdivision. The curvilinear design for Brookwood Hills clearly reveals the influence of Frederick Law Olmstead's principles, although on a reduced scale, with whom Kauffman worked on the development of Druid Hills.
The second phase of development at Brookwood Hills proceeded from 1924 to 1930. Development occurred along Wakefield Drive, Camden Road, Brighton Road and the northern portion of Palisades from Huntington Road to Wakefield Drive. Overall, the historic district encompasses approximately 90 acres and includes more than 250 residences. It includes a large recreation area and two distinctive bricked and landscaped entrance-ways to the subdivision. The general development density in the first phase of construction provided an air of urbanity amidst the semi-rural setting. Building lots in Phase II were primarily rectangular in shape, and all the homes in this section give the impression of facing inward toward the middle, or center, of the subdivision.
The residences of Brookwood Hills are diverse in style, scale and building materials, and reflect a full range of early 20th-century architecture. Eclectic styles and elements are represented by Tudor, Colonial, Neoclassical, Bungalow, and Cottage styles. A variety of building materials, clapboard, brick, stone, clay roof, and slate roofing add to the architectural diversity. This diversity of stylistic expression is furthered by the range of scale in the residences--varying from one-story bungalows and cottages to two-and three-story spacious Colonial and Tudor mansions. Brookwood Hills Historic District, east of Peachtree Rd., is roughly bounded by Huntington Rd. to the south and east, Northwood Ave. and Montclair Dr. on the west, and Brighton Rd. to the north.
The houses in the district are private residences and are not open to the public. Visit www.brookwoodhills.com for information on community events.
Information and photos courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Atlanta, GA Travel Itinerary, a subsidiary of the National Park Service.
