A nearly century-old building on Edgewood Avenue set for demolition, and a Duluth railway museum struggling to stay afloat are two of 10 “Places in Peril” on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2025 list of endangered historic sites.
The 2025 list announced on Feb. 26 aims to push historic spots threatened by demolition, neglect, “inappropriate” development and public policy toward preservation.
2025 marks the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s twentieth annual list. In previous years, sites like the McConnell-Chadwick House in Milton or the Cuthbert Water Tower have made preservation strides after being placed on the list.
“We hope the list will continue to bring preservation solutions to Georgia’s imperiled historic resources by highlighting ten representative sites,” Trust President and CEO W. Wright Mitchell said.
The list spans jails, barns and opera houses, all in various stages of preservation. In Duluth, a Southeastern Railway Museum needs funding to help preserve its hefty collection of rolling stock. In Savannah, a historic Black Baptist Church has a small and aging congregation struggling to protect its historic buildings from the elements.
Some properties need more funding to continue ongoing preservation efforts, while others, like 148 Edgewood Avenue, are threatened by imminent demolition plans – even as part of a preservation district.
Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Y. Mitchell nominated the nearly one-hundred-year-old building to the list amidst an ongoing battle to preserve it from being turned into a surface parking lot.
It’s an uphill battle to preserve the building because Georgia State University already has demolition permits to destroy the building, which is part of the MLK Jr. Landmark District and Preservation District. Y. Mitchell said some people ask him why he bothers fighting for a situation with a seemingly “foregone conclusion.”
“For me, the biggest thing about it is that you don’t give up on something you love; you absolutely don’t,” Mitchell said. “You don’t turn your back on something that represents who and what you are.”
The city preservation director said everyone involved in preservation is doing “noble work” to protect something that represents people who can no longer defend themselves. He hopes the Edgewood building preservation effort will get more attention and weight with the Trust’s “Places in Peril” designation.
“The big thing is that this is another example of people that love the landscape of this city saying ‘we don’t want this gone,'” David Mitchell said.
The statewide list also puts the building in conversation with towns and cities all across Georgia. He said this year’s list is the “best one they have ever done.”
“This really shows that preservation unifies all of us,” David Mitchell said. “To see this included along with these other statewide issues really illustrates the value and importance of historic preservation.”
Below is the full list of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2025 “Places in Peril.”
148 Edgewood Avenue (Atlanta)
The Edgewood building was erected as a substation of the Georgia Railway and Power Company in 1926. In 1966, it was acquired by Georgia State University and repurposed as a workspace for the school’s photography department.
It was designated part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Landmark District in 1989 and as part of the Preservation District in 1992. But in recent years, Georgia State University has started a demolition process for the property. The school received a demolition permit from the Board of Regents and Governor Brian Kemp in June 2024 and plans to turn it into a surface parking lot.
The Trust said 148 Edgewood Ave. has a “self-evident connection to the locality,” and local preservation groups like the Atlanta Preservation Center have pushed to save the site from demolition.
Collier-Toomer House (Savannah)
Built in 1938 for esteemed African American dentist and civic leader Dr. Nathaniel H. Collier, the Savannah home served as a community gathering place. It was later purchased by the city’s first African American female real estate broker, Janie R. Toomer.
The home has been vacant and neglected since 2016, and in early 2024, a property owner kicked off plans to demolish and redevelop the building. The request was blocked, but the building “remains at risk” with no historic designation.
Crossroads Rosenwald School (Dixie)
The 1927 building is one of Georgia’s few remaining Rosenwald Schools, established in the early 20th century to provide education to African American children in the rural South. The Dixie school was a two-teacher facility that served students from first through eighth grade. It is now at risk of demolition due to neglect.
Gaissert Homeplace (Williamson)
Built in 1827 on ceded Creek Nation land, the historic home was built for Daniel Orr. It changed hands over the years before landing with George Colummbis Gaissert in 1906. The last family member recently passed, and the building was sold to a developer with plans to turn it into a commercial development.
Miami Valley Peach Packing Barn (Fort Valley)
The barn built around 1900 was once part of the thriving peach operation, the Miami Valley Fruit Farm, owned by the senator and “peach country” key figure J.E. Davidson. It remains one of the few relics of the early peach industry.
Today, the barn is deteriorated and out of use. It’s threatened by a surrounding major industrial development and future expansion that could further isolate the barn and impact its historic setting.
Historic Nicholsonboro Baptist Church (Savannah)
In 1850, this Baptist congregation was founded on St. Catherine’s Island on Jacob Waldburg’s plantation. Later, about 200 formerly enslaved people from that group settled in Nicholsonville and built a church in 1870. They built another church in 1890, which is still used by the congregation.
As the congregation ages and shrinks, the buildings have grown harder to maintain and are now at risk of ongoing damage from deterioration and exposure to the elements.
Powell Opera House (Blakely)
Today, the Powell Opera House building shows significant signs of deterioration from 90 years of neglect. But it was originally built by Arthur Powell as a three-story opera house in 1904. In 1907, it was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in 1910 as a two-story office building with an opera house on the second floor. It began showing “talkies” in 1930 but shuttered years later in 1936. It has been closed and shuttered since.
The community today is advocating for rehabilitation rather than redevelopment of the house in hopes of revitalizing the downtown area.
Historic Rock House (Thomson)
The Rock House, built in 1795, is one of Georgia’s few remaining structures linked to the 18th century Quaker community of Wrightsboro. It’s considered the oldest stone house in the state and was home to former President Jimmy Carter’s ancestors.
It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970, but the property faces damage from vandalism and the elements. Advocates have received some funding but are pushing for more support to ensure the structure’s preservation.
Southeastern Railway Museum (Duluth)
The 35-acre Duluth Railway Museum, founded in 1999, has a wide collection of rolling stock significant to statewide and national transportation history. The Trust said the museum “offers a unique perspective on America’s history through the lens of its railroads.”
It has several noteworthy rail cars on site, like former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Marco Polo,” but with over 90 pieces of rolling stock, the museum has insufficient funds and skill to care for the whole collection. Many pieces are exposed to nature and face deterioration.
Buckhead Town Hall and Jail (Town of Buckhead)
The Buckhead Town Hall and Jail was built in 1910 as a one-story brick jail, which was later turned into a town hall. It is owned by the town and is part of the Buckhead Historic District. Due to a lack of maintenance and ongoing neglect, the building has severe structural damage. A University of Georgia class will help rehabilitate the building, but it needs more momentum and funding to succeed.
Leave a comment