clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Stately Atlanta manse with Coca-Cola ties sill languishes — but not for long?

New, 2 comments

Group keen on preservation of Briarcliff Mansion will hold a meeting with Emory officials

The appropriately named Briarcliff Mansion has stood on Briarcliff Road in northeast Atlanta for almost a century.

Once home to Coca-Cola heir Asa "Buddy" Candler Jr. — son of Coca-Cola company founder Asa Candler — the mansion has an interesting past, once housing a zoo and public swimming pool.

Since being sold out of the family in the 1950s, the house has served a range of duties, functioning as a hospital, rehab center, and storage facility. Since 1997, the mansion has belonged to Emory University, a historic institution in itself, known for its stately campus.

But as the building has sat neglected, boarded up, and seldom used — save for a pretty stellar place to capture creepy photos — the irony has not been lost on those trying to goad the university into taking care of the building.

Now, after almost a year of hardcore lobbying, it seems the dialogue is finally getting somewhere.

The Save Briarcliff / Candler Mansion Facebook group has announced that Emory officials will be hosting a community meeting to unveil "exciting plans for restoring the Candler Mansion." According to organizers, the presentation will be held at 6 p.m. next Wednesday (Sept. 28) at Emory’s 1599 Clifton Road Building, first floor conference room 1-C.

We've reached out to the organization to see if any preliminary information regarding restoration plans has been made available and will report back with any updates.