Atlanta History Center to Acquire the Wren’s Nest, Move it to Buckhead
My board let me know this morning.
Unfortunately, in my capacity as executive director, there’s nothing I can do. The board is my governing body and they made their decision without my input. Apparently they’ve been in talks with the History Center people for months now.
Nobody is more shocked than me.
Recently, the Atlanta History Center has sought to update its street presence in Buckhead. The Wren’s Nest, it seems, is their answer.
The plan is to carefully dismantle the Wren’s Nest. The museum will be shipped to its new address, 130 West Paces Ferry Road, where it will be reassembled and restored. It will be the new face of the Atlanta History Center, settled right up on the street, near the corner of Andrews and West Paces Ferry.
Julie Bookman, current program director at the Literary Center at the Margaret Mitchell House, is set to take over at the helm the “new” Wren’s Nest.
I guess I’m not exactly devastated.
Sure, I’m out of a job and turns out there was plenty betrayal along the way, but there could be worse fates for the organization. At least funding won’t be as much of a concern, and the Atlanta History Center already does a fantastic job with the Swan House and the Tullie Smith House. The Wren’s Nest would certainly greet more visitors, and more people would know about Joel Chandler Harris and Brer Rabbit. That’s what it’s about, right?
That’s about all I know.
Expect a formal announcement later this week. I was supposed to keep mum, but at this point, what do I care?
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Amber Suitt
Program Director
Lain Shakespeare
Executive Director
27 Comments to Atlanta History Center to Acquire the Wren’s Nest, Move it to Buckhead
Lain,
This prompted an emergency call to Amelia! I’m feeling better now.
This will happen after I am six feet tall – I gave up on the History Center when it gave up on anything south of
butthead
Lain, you may be bummed out now, but this is an excellent way to get the Wren’s Nest word out to a group of people who frankly weren’t ever going to trek to the West End. Bonus: now you can couple an outing to the Nest with a trip to Atlanta’s best restaurant – the Cheesecake Factory!!! I’m excited!!!
Sorry about your job though.
wow the headline gave me a real shock and I’m on the Board! Good job.
I don’t like this – not one bit.
Tim, I’ve never been to the Cheesecake Factory! Do they have anything other than cheesecake there? Because I don’t really like cheesecake, to be perfectly honest.
It amazes me that people read this and have comments like Tim’s “but this is an excellent way to get the Wren’s Nest word out to a group of people who frankly weren’t ever going to trek to the West End”. Harsh, especially given the unique “context” of this story.
Lain, this is an outrage and I, for one, and ready to lie down in front of any de-construction vehicles that appear. Just promise to give me a hand up when they are gone.
Also, just so y’all know, some people have been having trouble posting comments. I’m looking into this currently! If you’re looking for your comment, it may not be you, it may be us.
Greg wants to watch them move the concrete stage.
Well done Lain. The headline put a knot in my stomach.
OMG devastated
[...] Unfortunately, this one is not welcome. The Wren’s Nest Blog reports that the Atlanta History Center has bought the Joel Chandler Harris home and is moving it to Buckhead! Lain and Amelia, intern Eduardo, Miss Nanny, et al. are out of work. This will not stand! [...]
Lain: The Factory is awesome. It’s a totally unique dining experience (there’s one in most big cities where the convention people end up – Atlanta is lucky that ours is in Buckhead where the party is). The menu is a book. It’ll take 15 minutes just to skim through it. Better pack a lunch!
Deb: Did you see the part about the Cheesecake Factory?
Okay, I think, I hope, that this posting has something to do with today’s date? If so, you got me! If not, I will revert to my previously initiated, and on reflection, scrapped posting…
AHS evil knows no bounds, they must be stopped! From Today’s AJC
Vote OKs sale of land behind Mitchell House
Historic groups divided over development
By Kevin Duffy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/01/08
The Atlanta Historical Society voted Monday to move forward with selling land behind the Margaret Mitchell House to Jamestown Properties, but opponents of the deal say the tourist attraction will suffer.
The sale means the surface parking lot and a former bank building will be redeveloped, and possibly 650 parking spaces will be built underground.
Critics of the transaction contend selling the property will hinder growth of the Midtown attraction.
“If you sell that land you marginalize the Margaret Mitchell House,” Mary Rose Taylor, former executive director of the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum, told the Historical Society trustees.
But sale supporters said the deal will enliven the area and provide money for an endowment and a capital campaign to build a new visitors center.
Jamestown, which owns the 999 Peachtree office building across the street from the Margaret Mitchell House, will pay at least $7 million for the 0.82 acre of land.
Dewberry Capital provided an alternative $8 million proposal that would have given the Historical Society a three-year window to buy back the property.
“We analyzed both deals and just felt Jamestown is in the best interest of the organization,” said board Chairwoman Cathy Manning. The Historical Society and Jamestown will negotiate details, such as what will be built, before it is finalized, Manning said.
“Anything that would be done over there should be architecturally consistent and fit into the fabric of the neighborhood,” Matt Bronfman, Jamestown’s chief operations officer, recently said. “You want to do something that really activates the Margaret Mitchell House and embellishes it.”
The building at Peachtree and 10th streets, where Mitchell wrote most of the famous novel “Gone With the Wind” in apartment No. 1, won’t be changed.
The Historical Society took over the Margaret Mitchell property in 2004. At the time, the Margaret Mitchell board thought the Historical Society would preserve the property and try to raise money for an endowment, but that didn’t happen, sale opponents say. “Over a period of 3 1/2 years every [fund-raising] proposal has been thwarted,” Taylor told the trustees.
Barbara Howell, another opponent of the deal, said the issue has divided the Historical Society and the Board of Counselors of the Margaret Mitchell House.
“These two really great historical institutions are like this with each other,” Howell said, pushing two fists together.
april fool’s very funny you big jerk
Nothing like an April fool’s Joke to wake everybody up.
Wait a second… you dont like cheesecake? That is bordering on blasphemy. What else don’t you like, puppies and sunshine?
Kirk, it’s not so much that I don’t like cheesecake as it is that I’ve never had it.
I’ll admit it–I am actually afraid of cheesecake. Cake is supposed to be sweet, right? And cheese is supposed to be cheesy, right? Well, I like both of those tastes! But what happens when they are combined!?! I don’t know!
To date, I have been too frightened to find out. Maybe I’ll muster up some courage soon.
I like sunshine but I HATE puppies. I like the Wren’s Nest, but only as an abstract idea, in practice it’s pretty moldy.
Cheesecake is delicious, perhaps now that you’re an unemployed condo owner you could get a job at the factory. They probably wear ties which is a pretty nice look.
Heres the thing, its not like its Chocolate Cake covered in Cheddar cheese sauce, (which sounds intriguing, and I would definitely try some) its more like a Delcious baked sweet Cream cheese custard with crumbly graham cracker shell covered in mouth watering seasonal fruit or decadent chocolate tasty bits. Would you be inclined to try it if instead of “Cheese Cake” it was called “Delcious baked sweet Cream cheese custard with crumbly graham cracker shell covered in mouth watering seasonal fruit or decadent chocolate tasty bits”?
Take out the phrase “cream cheese,” Kirk, and yes, yes I would.
Rachel, you’re totally right. It’s about time I suited up. Enough of this executive director t-shirt and sandals business.
Lain, i’m willing to bet you’ve had sweet cheeses before… alls you have to do is take a cheese and add a truckload of sugar and butter to it. ice cream is milk, after all, but i don’t hear you saying, “ice cream is supposed to be sweet, but it’s made of milk so why isn’t it so milky.” Ever had a cannoli? Sweet cheese! And if not, you lead a sheltered life, away from wherever good Italian food is… come on back to visit Boston, and we go to the north end, paisan! Remember this… the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that cheese had to be savory. Broaden your dairy horizons my friend, but take a lactaid pill first (just a warning for Lain, and a heads-up for Amy).
As for April Fools Day jokes, my girlfriend told me she sold our Red Sox/Yankees tickets for two weeks from now. Needless to say, we almost broke up.
Benjy, I am sheltered and stubborn. I have never had cannoli, but I have seen the Godfather–does that count?
Anyway, it took me 17 years to try pie. Maybe for my 25th birthday I’ll have a cheesecake.
I am so sorry about that tickets debacle. Things could have gotten ugly quick.
If you need a replacement house, I know of at least one going into foreclosure.
[...] Atlanta History Center to Acquire the Wren’s Nest, Move It To Buckhead [...]
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I ‘m sure it will be very much at home with the possibly soon-to-be-moved Cyclorama…