National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Georgia 535 Auburn Avenue, NE Historic Structure Report August 2019 Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science Division Southeast Region 535 Auburn Avenue, NE Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Atlanta, Georgia Historic Structure Report August 2019 Prepared by: Panamerican Consultants, Inc. 2390 Clinton Street Buffalo, New York 14227-1735 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. 330 Pfingsten Road Northbrook, Illinois 60062 WFT Architects, PA 770 North State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39202 Prepared for: National Park Service Southeast Regional Office 100 Alabama Street SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science Division Southeast Regional Office National Park Service 100 Alabama Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (404) 507-5787 About the front cover: View of the 535 Auburn Avenue, NE, looking south, September 2016. This manuscript has been authored by Panamerican Consultants, Inc., with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., and WFT Architects, PA, under Contract Number P16PC00097 with the National Park Service. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. 535 Auburn Avenue, NE Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Atlanta, Georgia Historic Structure Report Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................ vii Project Team .......................................................................................................................................................... xviii Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................. xix Management Summary Historical Data ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Treatment and Use ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative Data ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Project Scope and Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 5 Developmental History Historical Background and Context ......................................................................................................................... 11 African Americans in Nineteenth-Century Atlanta ................................................................................................. 11 Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park ..................................................................................................... 15 History of 535 Auburn Avenue (LCS# 090020) ........................................................................................................ 16 Chronology of Development and Use ..................................................................................................................... 24 Physical Description and Condition Assessment Site ............................................................................................................................................................................. 25 House ........................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Exterior Description .................................................................................................................................................. 28 Condition Assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Interior Description .................................................................................................................................................. 45 Condition Assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 57 Structural System ...................................................................................................................................................... 63 Mechanical Systems .................................................................................................................................................. 64 Significance and Integrity National Register of Historic Places ......................................................................................................................... 67 Significance Criteria ........................................................................................................................................... 67 National Register Status of 535 Auburn Avenue, NE ............................................................................................. 68 Period of Significance ........................................................................................................................................ 70 Character-Defining Features .................................................................................................................................... 71 Assessment of Integrity ............................................................................................................................................ 71 Treatment and Use Requirements for Treatment and Use ..................................................................................................................... 73 Laws, Regulations, and Functional Requirements ........................................................................................... 73 Alternatives for Treatment and Use ........................................................................................................................ 75 Ultimate Treatment and Use .................................................................................................................................... 76 Guidelines for Treatment .................................................................................................................................. 76 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................... 77 Exterior ............................................................................................................................................................... 77 Interior ............................................................................................................................................................... 78 Building Systems ................................................................................................................................................. 80 Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................................................................. 80 Resilience to Natural Hazards ................................................................................................................................... 81 National Park Service v Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................. 83 Appendices Appendix A: Measured Drawings Appendix B: Hazardous Materials Reports vi Historic Structure Report: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park – 535 Auburn Avenue, NE List of Figures Management Summary 1 Map of Georgia showing location of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (black star) ................... 8 2 Aerial photograph of Atlanta showing location of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park ............... 8 3 Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park showing the location of 535 Auburn Avenue ........................ 9 Developmental History 4 535 Auburn Avenue (circa 1895), Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, ca. 1980; note the 1960s apartment complex next door ................................................................................................................... 17 5 One of the outstanding design elements of 535 Auburn Avenue is the large front window surrounded by a stained-glass border ...................................................................................................................................... 17 6 Front Elevation of535 Auburn Avenue ................................................................................................................ 17 7 Details of brackets, sawn decorative wood scroll-type applications, eaves, and window surrounds on 535 Auburn Avenue .............................................................................................................................................. 16 8 HABS recordation