Hallowed Halls

A recent renovation of Ivy Hall by SCAD has restored The Edward Peters House to its original architectural splendor, including rejuvenation of the surrounding gardens and trees.

A recent renovation of Ivy Hall by SCAD has restored The Edward Peters House to its original architectural splendor, including rejuvenation of the surrounding gardens and trees.

The original woodwork and built-in cabinetry were also preserved in the renovation.

SCAD Historic Preservation students conducted research and provided hands-on conservation work while SCAD interior design students worked with Paula Wallace, president of SCAD, to select paint colors, furnishings and lighting.

The property has been a meeting place where literary luminaries, including Margaret Atwood and Colson Whitehead, have gathered.

The house required significant efforts to not only salvage the original architecture, but also upgrade electrical, plumbing, mechanical and communications systems throughout the property.

The house required significant efforts to not only salvage the original architecture, but also upgrade electrical, plumbing, mechanical and communications systems throughout the property.

Mature boxwoods and hydrangeas surround the fountain.

One of Atlanta’s oldest surviving Victorian-Queen Anne Revival homes, Ivy Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Atlanta landmark building. As impressive as those accolades are, Ivy Hall’s most recent iteration is equally remarkable and notable for both the city and the arts.

In 1883 real estate developer Edward Peters commissioned renowned Swedish architect Gottfried Norrman to design the residence—a home that remained in the Peters family for over a century. Ivy Hall takes its name from the abundant ivy aesthetics Norrman integrated into the architecture that range from ivy wood carvings to a gilded quote from Charles Dickens’ poem The Ivy Green. The house survived the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917, and went on to become a restaurant. Today the 138-year-old residence is used for events and education in the arts.

When the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) acquired Ivy Hall, the house required extensive restoration—a process that was documented on PBS in The Art of Restoration. SCAD preservation design students conducted archival research, materials analysis and hands-on conservation. Exceptional efforts for adaptive reuse by the SCAD preservation team included reusing milled roof timbers for flooring, window and millwork repairs, as well as excavated sand for masonry mortar mix. SCAD interior design students integrated modern lighting systems and chose historically accurate paint colors for the interiors.

SCAD has received numerous awards for the restoration including the Georgia Trust Preservation Award for Excellence and the Philip Trammell Shutze Award for Craftsmanship from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. 

Ivy Hall remains a vital part of SCAD’s Atlanta campus and has served as an artist residence, literary salon, event space and lecture hall. With renowned authors including Margaret Atwood, Colson Whitehead and Augusten Burroughs gracing the residence with readings, Ivy Hall continues to write her own illustrious path in Atlanta’s architectural annals.