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Your Financial Gift Would Be Greatly Appreciated
new site We are now accepting donations to help pay for the
cost of flyers, printing, yard signs and other efforts
directed toward the campaign to have the Fischer Mansion
permanently designated as an historic property. Simply
select the button below to make a secure donation.
Please note that due to the
cost of filing for non-profit status, we are not officially
a non-profit organization. Therefore your gift may not
tax deductible. However, we are actively exploring ways
in which we can achieve non-profit status and those
who make donations will be notified of any changes in
our status.
Show your support,
Place a Save Fischer Mansion sign on your front
lawn !!
read more |
News Alert
!!
Full
Page of Mansion Pictures!!
In the news
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Dunwoody
Crier Article on Mansion [03/01]
Dunwoody
Crier Article on Mansion [03/08]
Atlanta
Journal Constitution on Mansion [04/07]
Atlanta Unity Church Revokes Church Membership
On Friday, April 15th the first of several letters
were received by members of the Atlanta Unity Church
informing them that their membership in The Atlanta
Unity Church had been revoked for advocating the preservation
of the Fischer Mansion. Church officials further stated
in the letter that if any of these individuals continued
to publically advocate the preservation of the Fischer
Mansion, they would be barred from the church campus
and from church services.
Demolition Permit Applied For !
On Thursday, March 31, 2005,
the Atlanta Unity Church made application for a demolition
permit to demolish the Fischer Mansion. However, the
pending historic designation decision will temporarily
protect it from demolition. However, it is urgent that
all those who want to save the Fischer Mansion from
being destroyed by Atlanta Unity Church complete the
Speak Out Form
Immediately, call your Dekalb County commissioners and
encourage all your friends to do the same.
Once destroyed, it will be gone forever!
Church Board Threatens
Members Who Have Expressed Opposition to the Demolition
of the Fischer Mansion With Lose Of Church Membership
On Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005,
members of Atlanta Unity Church who have expressed opposition
to the church's wish to demolish the Fischer Mansion,
received a letter from the church board, asking that
they resign from the church or cease their efforts to
oppose the demolition of the Fischer Mansion. The church
board will permit those members to appear before them
on April 7th in a formal hearing closed to nonmembers.
Church Shows No Interest
In Offers By Outside Group To Restore Mansion
Earlier in March, a successful
special events company expressed interest in purchasing
the Fischer Mansion from the church. Though the church
administration initially expressed some interest in
this offer, they later told the events company that
they were no longer interested. The church did, however,
ask if the events company was interested in buying the
entire church property. However, though the events company
did express some interest in the entire property, there
has been no indication that the church has followed
up with the events company regarding this interest.
The events company has also expressed an interest in
leasing the mansion from the church, but the church
has not expressed any interest in this offer either.
Please
Visit This Page Often For the Most Current Updates! |
More
Pictures of mansion see below.
Historic Fischer Mansion at risk
for demolition |
| Current owners of
Fischer Mansion are proposing to replace the mansion
with multiple modular double wide/ mobile home-like
structures. |
New-- Full
Page of Mansion Pictures!!
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In June of 2004, the board of trustees for The Atlanta
Unity Church announced their intention to demolish an architecturally
and historically significant Georgia landmark known as the
Fischer Mansion aka Flowerland, located on their property
at 4146 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd.Atlanta, Georgia and erect prefabricated
mobile-home-like structures and additional parking in its
place.
The Fischer Mansion, overlooks a beautifully landscaped property
and nature preserve on the banks of Nancy Creek.
Research into the history of the Fischer Mansion aka. Flowerland
has revealed that the owner, Dr. Luther Fischer employed one
of Georgia's most accomplished architects, Phillip
Shutze to design the home in 1926. Phillip Shutze
was the architect for many prominent Atlanta homes and commercial
buildings.His work includes The
Swan House, The Hurt
Building, Glenn
Memorial Church (1931), the Temple (1930-31), the Education
Building (1939) at Emory University, Calhoun House, Citizens,
and Southern National Bank, Rhodes House, and East
Lake Country Club all of which are well known
to Atlantans.
Other Shutze homes in Atlanta include:
3820 Northside Drive, Patterson-Carr House (1939)
541 West Paces Ferry Road, Joseph D. Rhodes House (1926)
320 West Paces Ferry Road, James Goodrum House (now the Southern
Center for International Studies) (1929)
426 West Paces Ferry Road, Harry English House (1929)
3351 Woodhaven Road, W.H. Kiser House, "Knollwood"
(1929)
for pictures of these homes, visit: http://www.buckhead.org/architecture/shutze.html
As a result of these discoveries, The Dekalb County Planning
Department has determined that the property may qualify for
historic status and has placed a moratorium on all building
permits for the property to protect it from destruction while
further study is conducted. Preliminary walk throughs
by preservation contractors, and architects has determined
that the mansion, itself, is structurally sound primarily
requiring cosmetic repairs, such as repairs of shutters,exterior
moldings, some doorways, two column, and painting on the interior
etc..( for more detail, see the FAQ
Section) A new roof was added only four years ago at a
cost of $40,000 and a fire escape was added in 2003.
Steps Down to Boat Landing
(part of Fischer Estate) on Nancy Creek
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HISTORY
Dr. Fischer, a prominent
Atlanta physician and a co-founder of Crawford Long hospital,
built the gardens and the mansion overlooking them for his
semi-invalid wife, Lucy Hurt
Fischer, the niece of Joel Hurt a prominent
Atlanta Developer whose projects included Inman Part, Piedmont
Part and other prestigious developments. Their estate was
named “Flowerland”, and many visitors came to
see the beautiful roses and restored water wheel from the
1800’s sawmill. The estate which sat on over one hundred
acres, drew thousands of visitors
during the spring and summer to see the acres of landscaped
gardens. It is reported that Dr. Fischer had over 470 varieties
and over 14,000 plant.
During the 60's, and early 70's the mansion served as the
home for D’Youville Academy, a private Atlanta girls’
high school run by the Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart. During
that period, the gardens were maintained by the nuns and retained
some of their original appearance. See aerial photograph below
which was taken in the 1970's.
On October 7, 1975, The Fischer Mansion was purchased by
Phoenix Academy, a private grade school, grades 1-8. In 1976,
Unity Church of Christianity aka Unity Center and later Atlanta
Unity Church purchased the property from the school for use
as a church. Services were held in the mansion.
In 1986 a new sanctuary building was constructed near the
mansion. In 1997 a new education building was completed next
to the sanctuary building to provide classroom facilities
for the church. Up until recently, the mansion has been used
for classrooms, dinners, wedding receptions, weddings and
other church related gatherings.
A carriage house originally
built to serve the needs of the Fischer family was converted
into a small chapel. See photo.
Today, the dam on Nancy Creek is the only indication
that a sawmill ever operated there. stone stairways, pathways,
and water features are emerging from the jungle. An old wooden
and stone gazebo is now the focal point and will probably
become the center of enjoyment in the garden. Some of the
azaleas, hydrangeas, and roses of the original gardens have
amazingly survived the ravages of time.
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