Moore Chapel (1906) a Decatur Gem

Moore Chapel is a little gem that serves the United Methodist Children's Home.


I've been driving by for decades hoping to see inside.

One day the door was wide open and I had a look inside. Glad I did. What a space, what stained glass.

I was saying "Hello, Terry here, hello" all the while. Nobody home though so I took a few pictures and a video (below).


"In Memoriam William Chandler Smith"


Cornerstone 1906


"In Memory of Frank S. Bale"  Is it a "B?"


Who's who including George Muse.


The narthex stained glass window. "In Memory of Asa G. Candler III"


Looking back into the Narthex.


The first door to the left leads to a little chapel / office (see video below).  The second door is the sacristy in a niche.




The ceiling.


I don't know what you call these. Decorative braces?


View from the chapel into the little chapel / office.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass pair.


Stained glass.

Here is the little video.


Wish I'd taken more time.

Grateful for the opportunity.

Happy Fun Gables - A Victorian and Three Modest Contemporary Eyecatchers

I'm a kicky-color-gable-guy and there's no beating Victorians for that. But I'm very easy to please.


A yummy oldie in Inman Park.

But there are three newer houses whose show-off colors always catch my eye. All these are SOB (South of Buckhead). Can you do this in Buckhead? I hope so.

Are all three by the same designer? I think maybe yes. Anyone? Anyone?


On my route from Oakhurst to Reynoldstown.


On Hosea Williams in Edgewood. This will hide during leafy season.



On Florida in North Ormewood Park.

(Mental note: How may "state" and "city" streets does Atlanta have?)


On Rock Springs in Piedmont Heights.




I'm following this one Ponce de Leon Place in Virginia-Highland by Artist / Designer William Rossoto. I'm waiting for the colors to come home. The gables are pretty kicky already with that triple tall-in-the-middle window.

Got any favorites?

Road Trip 8: Guyton Georgia the Beautiful

We're headed home now, up Highway 17 hoping to reach Sparta by dark.

 And here comes Guyton, Georgia - pronounced "GUY-ton" as in "Guys and Gals" and 2,000 pounds.


This got our attention: Armstrong Morgan House ca 1883 104 Central Boulevard Guyton, Georgia.

This would explain something:

"...People could work in Savannah and then ride the train home to Guyton or other towns along the railway and spend their weekends or summers where they were away from "the fever" or other unpleasantries of the city." - source

There's a terrific walking tour of Guyton, here's the terrific brochure. Here's why you should go:


Claudette's Bed and Breakfast built 1868.



The Anna Duvant House built in 1868 looks like Claudette's sister.



 The former post office built in the 1890's.


I don't know what this one is but it's a doll.


See?


A little tired but beautiful.


It was starting to rain and we needed to get going.


Cool corner entrance.


The giraffe will probably be gone by the time we get back.




Next stop: Oliver.

Road Trip 6: Everything's Better in Metter Georgia - Restoring a Queen Anne Ruin?

Now we know how to pronounce "Meter." And it's a handsome town, county seat of Candler County with a downtown more vital that we expected. We'll visit again.

"...as legend has it, the city's name honors a railroad official's wife. Thankful that he'd "met her" in the town, the official memorialized their marriage with the city's naming." - Georgia.gov 
 
We explored a few blocks and found this handsome ruin. Can you imagine this in any neighborhood in Atlanta? We can.


It's on North Kennedy Street. Looks like work's been stopped for a while.


My friend Carl told me you can "tell" if a house is bad or good way before it's finished. I think you can "tell" even for a ruin.


It's not a mansion but it couldn't be more dignified in it's setting.


It's smelled like a campfire but I didn't seen any burn. It's for sale.


We'll revisit Metter if only to see cheer this house on.


Map to the ruin.

There is more to see.

Road Trip 2: Pink House Between Newborn and Shady Dale

I think this was the only pink house between Newborn and Shady Dale, Georgia.


We don't know how old or new it is but it's an eye-catching Queen Anne. We turned around so we could take a couple of pictures.


Looks like it was painted yesterday. Where did the wide stair go exactly?
"Free Classic: Hipped Roof with Lower Cross Gables" - A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia Savage McAlester, Lee McAlester


Avoiding the Interstates as best we could on the way to the beach.

Happening Now: Painting a 1890 Victorian in Hapeville - the Madden House

Al emailed me July 7:

"Tim and I are (about to paint) our old Victorian......we need...professional advise as to the color selection and which architectural pieces should be painted which color...



"I am an Aries, strong and dominate opinionated, Tim, my partner, is certified interior designer, who happens to be Virgo, so pairing these, I think a mediator could salvage what could be a heated discussion..."

I asked Jessica McCarron who is in the Historic Preservation masters program at Georgia state.

"With your permission, I can forward to Richard Laub and Maryellen Higginbotham at GSU. Richard you may know, he's the director of the HP program. I'm in Maryellen's Historic Interiors class now; she would probably have some suggestions since her area of study is paint and wallpaper."



I dropped by on Saturday and discovered work had begun. I think they are up to 800 hours of repairing, scraping, replacing, and priming.


Victorian Exterior Decoration: How to Paint Your Nineteenth-Century American House Historically is the key find from the consultations. This book is the bomb!


Al and Tim are design pros and started rocking it. This is one of their studies.


It was blue in 2011.



When I got there Saturday, the south side had at least 8 colors.


I confess: I'm in love with these crazy houses.


The back side of the house is primed out.


I'm fascinated to see a Queen Anne in white primer; lets my eye focus on shapes and textures.


Right: The porch  / sun-room is an addition that makes a bodacious acute angle.


Lot's of work ahead but no hiding the wrinkles.


There's not as much birdhouse material as you might expect.


Live painting now in Hapeville, Georgia.


Here's another look from back in the day.


Here's a Kirkwood sister on Howard a few years ago.

I'll keep you updated.