Rhodes Memorial Hall, commonly known as Rhodes Hall, is a historic house located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was built as the home of

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

magnate Amos Giles Rhodes,

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based Rhodes Furniture. The

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

house occupies a prominent location on

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks afte ...

, the main street of Atlanta, and is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It is open to the public and has been the home of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation since 1983.

Inspiration

Rhodes Hall is a

house inspired by the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s that Rhodes admired on a trip to Europe in the late 1890s. Architect

Willis F. Denny Willis F. Denny (1874⁠–1905) was an architect active in Atlanta, Georgia around the turn of the twentieth century. He was the architect of Rhodes Hall (1903) and the Kriegshaber House (1900, now Wrecking Bar Brewpub), both listed on the N ...

designed the unique home with

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...

granite, incorporating medieval Romanesque, Victorian, and Arts and Crafts designs as well as necessary adaptations for an early 20th-century home. After two years of construction, the house was completed in 1904.

Victorian architecture

Known as Le Rêve ("The Dream"), Rhodes Hall is one of the finest intact expressions of

medievalism Medievalism is a system of belief and practice inspired by the Middle Ages of Europe, or by devotion to elements of that period, which have been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and variou ...

and late Victorian architectural design in Atlanta. The grandest feature of the interior is a magnificent series of stained and painted glass windows that rise above a carved

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

staircase. The three-panel series depicts the rise and fall of the Confederacy from

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

to Appomattox, and includes

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s of over a dozen Confederates. These confederate officers include ardent opponents of reconstruction (

Robert Toombs Robert Augustus Toombs (July 2, 1810 – December 15, 1885) was an American politician from Georgia, who was an important figure in the formation of the Confederacy. From a privileged background as a wealthy planter and slaveholder, Toomb ...

, 1810–1885), a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

, 1821–1877), and the head of the Ku Klux Klan in the State of Georgia ( John B. Gordon, 1832–1904). Rhodes Hall Windows

Characteristics

The house cost Rhodes $50,000 to build in 1904. Wired for

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

when it was built, Rhodes Hall is a prime example of the fascination that new

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

held for Atlantans at the turn of the century. Over 300

light bulb Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James Bay * Electric Light ( ...

s light the entire house. The house also had electric call buttons in most rooms as well as a

security system A security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusions, such as unauthorized entry, into a building or other areas, such as a home or school. Security alarms protect against burglary (theft) or property damage, as well as against intruders. ...

. Among the materials used to build the home, the mahogany was from the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and the exterior

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

was brought over in 500-pound (227 kg) blocks in wagons from

, located about east of Atlanta. Although Rhodes Hall is now surrounded by commercial buildings and heavy traffic, it has survived damage due to careful

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

and restoration efforts. After the death of Rhodes and his wife, their children deeded the house to the U.S. state of Georgia, with a restriction that it be used for "

historic History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

purposes". State historian Ruth Blair moved the Georgia Department of Archives and History to the house, and lived in the house as well. It was used to house the Georgia State Archives from 1930 to 1965. After the Archives moved to a more modern building, Rhodes Hall continued to provide archive services as a branch. In 1983 Rhodes Hall was transferred to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, which undertook a long-term restoration program. The main stair and windows, which had been moved to the new Archives, were brought back and re-installed in 1990. From 1984 to 1992, the house was a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

attraction every year for

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, prior to

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

and conversion to a museum.

House museum

Rhodes Hall is used as both an event space and as the offices of the

Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is the United States' largest statewide, nonprofit preservation organization with more than 8,000 members. Founded in 1973 by Mary Gregory Jewett and others, the Trust is committed to preserving and enhanc ...

. There are house tours on Saturdays (from 10 - 2, the last tour starts at 1) and group tours can be given on other days with advance arrangement. Rhodes Hall is also available for rentals including weddings, receptions, corporate events, cocktail gatherings, and birthday parties.

Rhodes Center

In 1937, the Rhodes Center, Atlanta's first shopping center, was built on the north, west and south sides of Rhodes Hall
photo, p.5
. Only the south building remains.

References

External links

Rhodes Memorial Hall
at Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

a
National Register of Historic Places

National Park Service Atlanta
Rhodes Memorial Hall
Atlanta Urban Design Commission {{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1904 Houses in Atlanta Romanesque Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic house museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums in Atlanta Willis F. Denny buildings National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) 1904 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)