Dec 22, 1978
National Register of Historic Places - Stuart Witham House (Witham-Clark House)
Statement of Significance: The Witham-Clark House, a Neo-Georgian style house built in 1926, represents one of the latter works of Neel Reid, the principal designer for the early twentieth century firm of Hentz, Reid and Adler. It was the work of this Atlanta firm that gave impetus to the characterization of Atlanta's early twentieth century elite neighborhoods and made them among the most architecturally prominent of urban residential areas in America. Joseph Neel Reid was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, on October 15, 1885. He moved with his family to Macon in 1903 where he met Curran R. Ellis, a Macon architect, when his parents' home was being remodeled. By 1904 he had moved to Atlanta, was working with architect Willis F. Denny, and had met Hal F. Hentz, with whom he would later go to Columbia University (1905-6), the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (1906), and form a partnership (1909 until Reid's death in 1926). Upon Reid's re- turn from Paris and the atelier Laloux, he worked in New York for the firm of Murphy and Dana. By 1909 Reid had returned to Atlanta, rejoined Hentz (who had remained in Paris), and formed a partnership. In the same year, they received their first substantial commission, the Georgia Life Insurance Building in Macon. By 1910 the Macon office had been closed, an Atlanta firm opened, and they had made the elderly Norwegian architect, G. L. Norrman, a partner. Norrman died soon after and by 1913 Rudolph Adler had joined the firm. It was these three men who worked as a collaborative group, with Neel Reid as the principal designer, that made major contributions to Atlanta and Georgia's architectural heritage during the early twentieth century. The work of Hentz, Reid and Adler, although mainly residential, did include apartments, department stores, and libraries. A basic ingredient of their design was a profound sense of scale and proportion and the sensitive use of classical details in inventive and creative re-compositions - whether the project was a small- town library or one of Atlanta's largest mansions. The Architecturally, the Witham-Clark House is a twentieth century version of a Georgian "Westover" - a massive hip roof mansion with all the grandeur and appointments of the age in which it was built. The outbuildings and numerous servants have been replaced by twentieth century technology built into the house. architectural details are not pattern book designs but inventive compositions of the architect. The house's setting is important; not only is the correlation of the exterior facade's position with the landscape a concern, but the relationship of the house with the grounds and gardens is taken into consideration.
National Register of Historic Places - Stuart Witham House (Witham-Clark House)
Statement of Significance: The Witham-Clark House, a Neo-Georgian style house built in 1926, represents one of the latter works of Neel Reid, the principal designer for the early twentieth century firm of Hentz, Reid and Adler. It was the work of this Atlanta firm that gave impetus to the characterization of Atlanta's early twentieth century elite neighborhoods and made them among the most architecturally prominent of urban residential areas in America. Joseph Neel Reid was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, on October 15, 1885. He moved with his family to Macon in 1903 where he met Curran R. Ellis, a Macon architect, when his parents' home was being remodeled. By 1904 he had moved to Atlanta, was working with architect Willis F. Denny, and had met Hal F. Hentz, with whom he would later go to Columbia University (1905-6), the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (1906), and form a partnership (1909 until Reid's death in 1926). Upon Reid's re- turn from Paris and the atelier Laloux, he worked in New York for the firm of Murphy and Dana. By 1909 Reid had returned to Atlanta, rejoined Hentz (who had remained in Paris), and formed a partnership. In the same year, they received their first substantial commission, the Georgia Life Insurance Building in Macon. By 1910 the Macon office had been closed, an Atlanta firm opened, and they had made the elderly Norwegian architect, G. L. Norrman, a partner. Norrman died soon after and by 1913 Rudolph Adler had joined the firm. It was these three men who worked as a collaborative group, with Neel Reid as the principal designer, that made major contributions to Atlanta and Georgia's architectural heritage during the early twentieth century. The work of Hentz, Reid and Adler, although mainly residential, did include apartments, department stores, and libraries. A basic ingredient of their design was a profound sense of scale and proportion and the sensitive use of classical details in inventive and creative re-compositions - whether the project was a small- town library or one of Atlanta's largest mansions. The Architecturally, the Witham-Clark House is a twentieth century version of a Georgian "Westover" - a massive hip roof mansion with all the grandeur and appointments of the age in which it was built. The outbuildings and numerous servants have been replaced by twentieth century technology built into the house. architectural details are not pattern book designs but inventive compositions of the architect. The house's setting is important; not only is the correlation of the exterior facade's position with the landscape a concern, but the relationship of the house with the grounds and gardens is taken into consideration.
Dec 22, 1978
Posted Date
Aug 11, 2023
Historical Record Date
Dec 22, 1978
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
