Buckhead Events

Buckhead Heritage sponsors a variety of events throughout the year that relate to the history of Buckhead. Active Members are given priority of attendance, but most events will be open to the public when space is available. Join our E-vent email list by clicking here, and be the first to know what’s coming.

Upcoming Events

Richard Waterhouse on Oakland Cemetery

August 7, 2019, Lenbrook

Richard Waterhouse, Oakland Cemetery’s Buckhead History. Richard, a longtime volunteer and lecturer, who has written a book about Oakland, will be speaking about Buckhead residents now living at Oakland. His talk will include such notables as Bobby Jones, Dr Robert Hope, and Margaret Mitchell. Please call Richard at 404-467-9447 for more information.

Register Here

August Book Club Meeting

August 22, 2019 7 pm

3180 Mathieson Dr

Author Grace Hawthorne will discuss her latest book, Crossing the Moss Line,  a “Gullah/Geechee tale of choices, consequences and wicked Southern humor”,

This is Hawthorne’s third book. She has written everything from ad copy for septic tanks to lyrics for Sesame Street and the libretto for an opera.

She is a Peachtree Hills resident.

The Buckhead Heritage bookclub meetings are free for members to attend, and usually offer a glass of wine and maybe a small snack. They are casual and generally last an hour to an hour and a half. 10 to 20 people usually attend, and the building concierge will direct you to our space once you enter the lobby.

Register Here

Speaker Series: Evolution of Peachtree Road Residences, Rudy Harrell

Thursday September 5, 2019, St. Philip’s Cathedral, Gould Rm. 7pm

Buckhead Heritage members $10, visitors $15

Rudy Harrell, with Dorsey Alston, will talk about the homes and buildings along Peachtreee Road in Buckhead, one of which he owns, and their history and changes in his lifetime.

Register Here

Saturday Tour to Barnsley Gardens

October 26, 2019

Saturday Tour to Barnsley Gardens, Lunch, Tour of ruins and gardens, and stories by historian and author Clint Coker

Speaker Series: The Real Story of how Wieuca Road got its Name, Ken Thomas

Thursday November 7, 2019, St. Philip’s Cathedral, Gould Rm. 7pm

Buckhead Heritage members $10, visitors $15

Wieuca Road – It’s not named for an Indian Princess, or three daughters of anyone. The story of how the road got its name in the early 1900s has long intrigued Atlantans. All previous stories are but myth. 

Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., genealogy columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has unraveled the truth. It involves a love story, a future governor, and shows how the truth can be buried so deep it was almost lost forever. Come hear the amazing unraveling of how this name came to be on the Atlanta map.

Register Here

Save the Date

December 12, 2019

Holiday Party at Historic Buckhead 100-year-old Burge and Stevens Tudor Revival Home

Past Events

Speaker Series: East Lake Where Bobby Learned to Play – Linton Hopkins

Thursday July 11, 2019, St. Philip’s Cathedral, Gould Rm. 7pm

Buckhead Heritage members $10, visitors $15

Linton Hopkins, now a retired Physician, began writing down the stories about legends like Bobby Jones he’d heard at East Lake Club over the past 30 years. Tom Cousins told him “If you write it, I’ll sell It”. That book sold out, and this is the sequel. Alexa Stirling, U.S. Women’s Amateur golf champion in 1916, ’19 and ’20,  also made a “ghost” appearance to tell her story. Alexa was born in the 1890s and would now be over 120 years young, but her standin was very entertaining.

June Book Club Meeting

June 13, 2019 7 pm

3180 Mathieson Dr

Author Hannah Palmer will discuss her path to writing a book about Atlanta Airport. Hannah, both a writer and urban designer, realized that all 3 of the houses she grew up in on the southside of Atlanta have been demolished to make way for airport expansion. She explores our airports impact on south Atlanta, and the region. Buckhead Heritage bookclub is free for members, but requires registration below.

Mansions, Gardens, and Ghosts: Buckhead History and Secrets Tour

April 28, 2019 3pm-7:30pm

Atlanta International School

Guests will gather for drinks before embarking on a history-themed bus tour that will lead them on an adventure-filled afternoon through Buckhead.
Buckhead Historians will emcee guests riding in comfortable 26 passenger busses on a tour through a Buckhead not typically seen or experienced. En route, guests will hear little known stories and fun facts about Buckhead, and notable Buckhead historical figures in period costume will entertain and inform participants at various spots along the way, while refreshments will be served en route. Mystery stops  included.
At the end of the tour, guests will return to the festivities at the historic Philp Shutze designed Atlanta International School for a casual dinner and a rousing closing celebration. Guests will compete for prizes in a Buckhead Secret History competition, cheered on by the Buckhead historical figures they met on their tour.

This event SOLD OUT.

Phoenix Flies New Hope Church Event

March 23, 2019

New Hope Church, 3012 Arden Road  11:30 – 4pm Short presentations and guided tours at 12 and 2pm

Buckhead Heritage participated in the citywide Phoenix Flies program organized by the Atlanta Preservation Center with tours of the history of New Hope Church dating back to the late 1800’s. The congregation hosted a BBQ and fish fry for visitors. There was no charge for this event, although donations to the church were welcomed. 

March Book Club Meeting

March 21, 2019 7:00 pm

For the Kingdom and the Power: The Big Money Swindle That Spread Hate Across America written by Dale W. Laackman. The author traveled to Atlanta to discuss the careers of Bessie Tyler and her business partner, Edward Y. Clarke, who are the focus of the book.  It is the story how two brilliant and talented Atlantans could change the face of America purely in the name of greed.  They were amoral con artists of the first degree.  We can learn from their actions to assure it cannot happen again.  Bessie Tyler became very wealthy and built a Buckhead home now on the National Register, where Buckhead Heritage held their Holiday Party. This book club gathering was free to members. The author graciously donated books for the first 15 members that registered for this event. 

Patron’s Event

February 28, 2019, 6 to 8:30 pm

Private residence on Andrews Drive

This is a Patrons level only cocktail buffet at a gorgeous Buckhead designers private home on Andrews Dr.  Enjoy music, drinks and a buffet catered by Soiree as you mingle with friends. A brief preservation talk will be included, and there is no charge for this event. 

Buckhead Historic Treasures

Garden Hills, Peachtree Heights East & Peachtree Hills

February 19, 2019 6:30pm

Buckhead Heritage will discuss their ongoing project to collect and archive Buckhead historic resources and their current entries for these three neighborhoods. We will talk about history of these areas, discuss what is and is not currently in our archives, and our plans for additions in 2019. Over 650 Historic Places throughout Buckhead, mapped by neighborhood and street, grouped into 24 themes like Architecture, Social, Military are currently on our website. Future updates will include expanded online features and additional survey entries. Persons interested in local history and learning more about Buckhead neighborhoods are invited to this free program at Garden Hills Elementary School, 285 Sheridan Drive, Atlanta, Ga 30305. There is limited disabled access. For further information about the gathering, please contact Executive Director Richard Waterhouse at (404) 467-9447 or rwaterhouse@buckheadheritage.com.

Mount Olive Cemetery Clean Up, January 21, 2019

On Martin Luther King. Jr. Day (1/21/19), Buckhead Heritage and over 60 Atlanta International School supporters will clean up Mount Olive Cemetery. 

January Book Club Meeting

January 24, 2019 7:00 pm

The next book club will review Prohibition in Atlanta: Temperance, Tiger Kings & White Lightning written by Ron Smith and Mary O. Boyle. The group will gather at the Mathieson Exchange Lofts in Buckhead. The authors will discuss Georgia’s protracted and intense battle, that changed the industrial and social landscape of Atlanta and unleashed a flood of Illegal liquor that continually flowed in the wettest city in the South. Book club events are free, please register below.

Buckhead Heritage book club events are hosted at our office (Mathieson Lofts, 3180 Mathieson Dr, Atlanta 30305) or at a Buckhead historical site related to the book. We read and discuss books relevant to our area history, and there is no charge for our members.

2018 Holiday Party

Thursday December 13th, 2018

A rare opportunity to see this historic Buckhead home while gathered with friends at the 2018 Buckhead Heritage Society Annual Holiday Party.  Guests will gather to celebrate the holidays with an evening of drinks, music and dining starting at 7 p.m.

The Eaton home on Howell Mill Road, built in 1921, was originally known as the Mary Elizabeth Tyler house. It is a Classical Revival-style residence that features a two-story pediment portico supported by massive Corinthian columns. The central entrance is bordered by sidelights and capped by a fanlight. A one-story porch stretches the length of the primary façade and wraps around both sides of the home. Rear additions were made to the residence in 1977 and 2000. The House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR SAM MASSELL

Thursday, November 1, 2018, 7:00 p.m.

Buckhead Historian Thornton Kennedy will interview Sam Massell on Thursday, November 1st, 7 p.m. at the Atlanta International School Early Education Center. Thornton will lead Sam  in discussing his rich life and how important Buckhead has been to him all these years Highlights from Mayor Massell’s career include:

While Mayor, he and his administration are credited  with establishing MARTA, with developing the city’s first enclosed arena, the Omni Coliseum, and with  the building of “Five Points” Woodruff Park, all with no call on ad valorem taxes

Spending twenty years as a Realtor, becoming Vice President of Allan-Grayson Realty Company, then one of the largest commercial brokerage firms in Atlanta

OCTOBER BOOK CLUB GATHERING FOR MEMBERS ONLY, October 4, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.

The third free book club gathering for members-only was held Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The book discussed was Play it Again, Sam: The Notable Life of Sam Massell, Atlanta’s First Minority Mayor, by Charles McNair.

Sam Massell, a great supporter of Buckhead Heritage and an Emeritus Board Member, has lived an extraordinary life. McNair notes Massell has “excelled in four careers, including twenty-two years in elected offices, thirteen years in the tourism industry, and is now in his thirtieth year of association management”.

He was Atlanta’s first Jewish mayor in 1970 and changed the landscape of the city by creating Atlanta’s Urban Design Commission, establishing MARTA, and appointing the first woman to the City Council.

Buckhead Heritage Society Patrons Tour of Governors Mansion

9.20.2018 | GA Governors Mansion

CIVIL WAR MONUMENTS LECTURE, September 9, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

Robert Price, longtime volunteer and Trustee at Oakland Cemetery, will talk about his many years of researching, documenting, and photographing Civil War monuments in the United States. He has over 110,000 digital images in his collection. Bob has a lifetime interest in the Civil War and feels that his photos will serve as resources for the public and for historians who study the meaning and the perception of these monuments in an ever changing society.  His talk will begin promptly in the Bobby Jones Room, Bell Tower, Oakland Cemetery at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 9 with a tour of the Civil War sites in Oakland after the presentation. Refreshments will be served between the presentation and the tour. Non-members: $20.00 & Members: $10.00.

Please note the stairs to the upstairs Bobby Jones Room in the Bell Tower, are very steep and not accessible for a wheel chair or walker.

THE LIMELIGHT-HOTLANTA-OH MY!

Sanctuary Night Club, Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 7 p.m.

Buckhead Heritage’s much-anticipated Limelight program is coming August 22nd.  We’ll welcome former Limelight staff members:

·  Duncan Black, Bouncer

·  Guy D’Alema, Public Relations and House Photographer

·  Brian Rouleau, General Manager

We’ll hear stories from this amazing club and era in Buckhead’s history, and Guy will be projecting photos from his recent book LIMELIGHT … in a sixtieth of a second. Rumor has it  that many of our Buckhead Heritage Board Members still have their Limelightoutfits, and everyone brave enough is encouraged to dress the part. If we show a picture of you during the program and you’re willing to claim it, you might even get a free drink. Of course, there’ll be a chance to show off your old disco moves, too. But no dancing on the speakers!

The Sanctuary is located at 3209 Paces Ferry Place, Atlanta, Georgia  30305.

JULY BOOK CLUB GATHERING FOR MEMBERS ONLY, July 19, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.

Buckhead Heritage Executive Director Richard Waterhouse will lead the second free book club series for members-only on Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. The book being discussed will be City on the Verge: Atlanta and the Fight for America’s Urban Future by Mark Pendergrast.

Pendergrast, a native Atlanta who now lives in Vermont, writes about the importance of the beltline and how “it will complete a twenty-two mile loop encircling downtown, transforming a massive ring of mostly defunct railways into a series of stunning parks connected by trails and streetcars.” The book was selected because Buckhead will be an important  part of the beltline.

Waterhouse, who lived on the beltline and walked many parts of it, will lead a discussion about whether the concept of the beltline has worked and whether the ambitious project can be completed by 2030.

Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movements

Buckhead Heritage is honored to have former Executive Director Erica Danylchak to talk about the book she co-authored with the late James R. Cothran called “Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movements”.

The lecture will be at St. Philips Cathedral, Gould Room,  2744 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA on Thursday, June 14th at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $10.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members.

Erica will discuss the inspiration for rural cemeteries, their physical evolution, the nature of the landscapes they inspired, and the value of these cemeteries in the 21st century.

Buckhead’s Hidden Secrets 3rd Annual Scavenger Hunt

5.5.2018 | Atlanta International School (aka North Fulton)

David Cruz Lecture on Native Americans
4.15.2018 | Lovett School Auditoreum

Book Club Meeting on Leo Frank
4.12.2018

Phoenix Flies Tour and Talk
3.27.2018 | Harmony Grove Cemetery

Menaboni Lecture
3.1.2018 | Goodrum House and Spotswood Hall

Click here for past years events