Internal Built Environment Description: Rhodes Hall (part four)

The inauguration of Jefferson Davis

The inauguration of Jefferson Davis

Depiction of Stonewall Jackson at the first battle of Manassas

Depiction of Stonewall Jackson at the first battle of Manassas

Robert E. Lee right before surrendering

Robert E. Lee right before surrendering

This is, in my opinion, the most fascinating part of the entire mansion. These three painted-glass window panels were installed to depict the rise and fall of the confederacy. There was a lot of southern nationalism around this time in history as the southern surrender was approaching it’s 40th anniversary and several Confederate generals died right around this time. The first panel depicts the inauguration of Confederate president Jefferson Davis above and the Battle of Fort Sumter below. The second panel shows the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Manassas with “Stonewall” Jackson earning his nickname. Finally, the third panel depicts Confederate General Robert E. Lee saying goodbye to his soldiers right before departing to go sign the terms of surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. The level of detail of these fixtures is absolutely incredible; you can get up close and see the individual soldiers and details of their faces and uniforms. All three windows are divided by portraits of over a dozen important Confederate figures.

Window in a closet below the staircase

Window in a closet below the staircase

Finally, this last window kind of put into perspective the mindset of the architect and of Amos Giles Rhodes when this house was being designed. This window is in a small closet below the staircase and the rest of the windows and was supposed to be symbolic of taking down the Confederate Flag and storing it away in order to let go of the past while still honoring the sense of southern heritage that many southerners then and now associate with the Confederacy.

Internal Built Environment Description: Rhodes Hall (part two)

Vaulted Ceiling of Living Room

Vaulted Ceiling of Living Room

Painting of coastal Georgia on wall of the living room

Painting of coastal Georgia on wall of the living room

The perimeter of the living room floor is lined with intricate patterns using woods of different shades

The perimeter of the living room floor is lined with intricate patterns using woods of different shades

Stained glass above the front door

Stained glass above the front door

The Grand stair-case with the painted glass windows behind it.

The Grand stair-case with the painted glass windows behind it.

Banister of the Grand stair-case

Banister of the Grand stair-case

The first thing I noticed when walking into the house is the stained glass window above the front door bearing the overlapped letters “AGR”, the initials of Amos Giles Rhodes (which seemed slightly egotistical to me). The next thing you see after passing the threshold of the front entrance is the expansive, very open landing area/living room with exquisite woodworking on the walls and scenes from the Georgian and Floridian coast painted along the tops of the walls. The vaulted ceiling holds light bulbs in each individual square compartment which was a very novel feature for homes at the time. The room contains the large semi-circle grand staircase to the left and is topped off with a large wood burning fireplace (unique in that fact as most of the other fireplaces are coal-burning). Another impressive feature of this room is the Banister on the stair-case, which is carved into a very ornate lion with a shield displayed across it’s chest. The house had a slight antique-esque smell that is only ever authentically produced by buildings that are similar in age to this one. This smell is very much that of aging wood, something to be expected of Rhodes Hall as the interior is rife with wooden ornamentation (the most striking of which being the massive mahogany grand staircase). This earthy, postbellum atmosphere is completed by the signature creaking and protesting of the still-original floorboards as one walks across them, especially on the staircases.

Fireplace in the Parlor

Fireplace in the Parlor

Another coal-burning fireplace

Another coal-burning fireplace

Main wood-burning Fireplace

Main wood-burning Fireplace

One fascinating recurring feature of this estate was the mosaic tiling around the 12 fireplaces. They all still have the original stone work and show varying degrees of age and use.

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Internal Built Environment Description: Rhodes Hall (part one)

Photo of Rhodes Hall from the intersection of Peachtree Street and South Rhodes Center

Photo of Rhodes Hall from the intersection of Peachtree Street and South Rhodes Center

Sign Marking Rhodes Hall as Headquarters of the Georgia Trust

Sign Marking Rhodes Hall as Headquarters of the Georgia Trust

State of Georgia Historical Marker for Rhodes Hall

State of Georgia Historical Marker for Rhodes Hall

For my Interior Built Environment Description I chose the Rhodes Hall, the Late-Victorian home also known as “The Castle on Peachtree Street”. The house was built by Amos Giles Rhodes in 1904 with the fortune he amassed through his founding of the Rhodes Furniture. Rhodes decided on a Romanesque-Revival architectural style after being inspired by castles in the Rhineland during a trip to Europe, with the outer facade of the building being composed entirely of granite from Stone Mountain.

One of the first things to strike me when I saw the Rhodes Hall from the street after arriving with a few minutes to spare before my 1:00 pm tour was how out of place it looked in the modern cityscape; it’s next-door neighbor is a branch of the “EquiFax” firm with more modern office buildings and a gas station in the immediate area. It gives off an interesting “southern aristocracy” kind of atmosphere with a wrap-around porch combined with the castle architecture and courtyard style front lawn. The sounds from the exterior of the house consists mostly of the hum of traffic and pedestrians.

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Side View of Rhodes Hall

Side View of Rhodes Hall

Side View of Rhodes Hall

Side View of Rhodes Hall