“Traditionally, the outcome is the juice ain’t worth the squeeze.”
David Y. Mitchell, the Executive Director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, has done this before. His signature is battles for historic preservation — the Atlanta Constitution Building, Gaines Hall, 148 Edgewood Ave. — trying to save the city’s oldest buildings before they get torn down.
He knows the patterns. Property owners will assess a historic building, decide it’s “not worth the squeeze” to renovate and tear it down. Now he can recognize when a historic space is under threat. Now Y. Mitchell sees it happening again at All Saints’ Episcopal Church as they consider a plan that could demolish the historic hall.
Egleston Hall was built in 1918 and is home to the clergy and program staff offices, music suite, parish library and archives. It’s also the weekday church entrance. It sits on West Peachtree Street on the “last intact block from the first decade of the 20th century,” according to preservation experts.
The hall is noted for its Neo-Gothic style and its status as one of the rare examples of the Akron Plan design scheme left in Atlanta. It has also been a highly visible part of the Atlanta landscape for over a century.
“This building has been a part of so many people’s lives for generations,” Y. Mitchell said. “In a house of worship, walls are far more than just the things holding up the roof.”
But a recently announced plan to create a new “Egleston Ministry Center” could threaten the long-standing structure.
In May 2025, All Saints’ Rector Rev. Dr. Simon Mainwaring released the official Campus Master Plan after months of work among the parishioners. It’s an all-encompassing plan to design the future of the church in an “increasingly secular world.”
According to “The Future Task Force” of parishioners and staff commissioned by All Saints’ to determine the most viable future for the church, statistical trends point to a long-term decline in church-going across all denominations, and particularly in the Episcopal Church.
Nationwide, the average Sunday attendance in Episcopal Churches dropped from 671,571 in 2011 to 372,924 in 2022 — a 44 percent drop. The same trends project an average attendance of about 150,000 by 2050. At All Saints’ attendance fell from 746 to 437 between 2011 and 2023.
In the master plan, the vestry presented a solution. “We believe that we will grow as a church by turning and expanding outwards.”
It begins with Egleston Hall. Currently, it is the least utilized part of the campus. Egleston Hall was once a bustling space for gatherings and classrooms, but those are now in Ellis Hall and Parish House. The building is also plagued by accessibility issues.
A proposed “Egleston Ministry Center” would create a new All Saints’ commons, and house the four core ministries: Midtown Assistance Center, Threads, Covenant Community non-residential programs and Refugee Ministries.
But how does the church plan to make it happen? According to the plan, there are two options: “Work with an architect to design and cost either an entirely new Egleston building, or a remodeled Egleston building consistent with desired uses and financial capacity.”
When the historic preservation community found out about the demolition option, it caused immediate concern.
“Egleston Hall is more than a building. It is a physical record of Atlanta’s civic, architectural and moral history and an integral part of the All Saints’ campus,” Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation President W. Wright Mitchell said. “Once it is gone, that history cannot be rebuilt.”
He continued, “Destroying Egleston Hall would be incredibly wasteful and short-sighted. Instead, it should be functionally adapted to meet the current needs of the church.”
As of Feb. 9, the church has selected architecture firm Perkins & Will to partner with for the “first phase of completion” of the master plan. The firm will undertake a comprehensive survey and assess the structural integrity to determine the future of Egleston Hall.
Most importantly, the firm will work to produce a costed design for “Egleston Ministry Center” that addresses “significant damage and poor accessibility.”
Mainwaring has emphasized that the church has not yet decided on the fate of the hall.
“Before All Saints’ makes any decisions regarding Egleson Hall, we are working with architects to carry out a thorough conditions assessment of the building that will be completed later in the spring, Mainwaring.
But preservationists are nervous. According to Y. Mitchell at the Atlanta Preservation Center, even considering demolition shows there is “momentum behind it.”
“Once people say ‘we want to make changes,’ if change is your fundamental goal, it’s hard,” Y. Mitchell said.
Even though Mainwaring made clear there is no decision yet, Y. Mitchell has seen the pattern before. Of course, that’s why he predicts the outcome will be “the juice ain’t worth the squeeze.” Part of his reasoning is the language in the plan. Repeatedly, the church points to structural damage and accessibility issues.
Y. Mitchell thinks it creates a “justification” to tear the building down, especially because preservation renovation costs can add up. It’s often easier to demolish than preserve.
“If you kill it in spirit first, you’re going to tear it down,” Y. Mitchell said. “If you continue to reemphasize the value of its contributions, it’s easier to see longevity.”
Mainwaring said the assessment work won’t be finished for several weeks; Y. Mitchell is sounding the alarm now, saying an “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Other preservationists are aligned.
“Preserving Egleston Hall is about stewardship, integrity of place, and honoring the generations who shaped this community and used this space to advance faith, civic leadership and social progress,” Wright Mitchell said.
