132 E Lake Dr SE
Atlanta, GA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - William T. Gentry House

Statement of Significant:

In architecture, the William T. Gentry House is significant as a fine example of a house built in the Neoclassical era as an almost exact replica of an antebellum Greek Revival mansion. It is significant also as a work of P. Thornton Marye (1872 - 1935), a Virginia born and trained architect who came to Atlanta in 1904 to design Terminal Station. His firm did major work in Atlanta and Birmingham and is best known for the Fox Theater. He was also architect for the Art--Deco-style Southern Bell Telephone Company. The house is significant in communications for having been built for William T. Gentry (1854-1925). Also a Virginia native, Gentry entered the communications world in 1870 and at the time he built this house was president of the Southern Bell Telephone Company. He lived here until his retirement in 1919-1920. In community planning, the house is significant for the role it played in encouraging people to move and build in the East Lake neighborhood. Pictures of the Gentry House were used in the newspaper in 1914 to promote development of the area.

These areas of significance support the property's eligibility under National Register Criteria B and C.