Dr. Marion Luther Brittain, Sr., House
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.
Information and photos courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Atlanta, Georgia Travel Itinerary, a subsidiary of the National Park Service.
