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The Fraser Building
Gets a New Life!

Exterior og the Fraser Building, Decatur, GA

On a three-acre tract on Clairemont Avenue just north of the Firestone building right in the heart of Decatur sits a two-room circa 1870s servant's quarters tenement structure in need of preservation.

The building is believed to have been part of the Rev. Donald Fraser's homestead.   Pastor of the Decatur Presbyterian Church from 1872 to 1887, Rev. Fraser purchased 12 acres just north of the original Decatur Presbyterian Church from Ezekiel Mason in 1877.

When the church moved to its present site on Church Street in 1893, the old church was donated to house the Donald Fraser School for Boys.  The remaining tenement structure is a double-pen saddlebag building that is heavy timber framed with mortise-and-tenon joinery.

This significant 19th century structure, a Preservation Alliance project, moved from a condominium development site on Clairemont, now has a permanent home just off Church St., on Decatur Cemetery property.  Mike Maschmeyer, developer of the Clairemont Condominiums, moved the building and donated a new roof.  Board members Stacie Monroe, a preservation architect, and Robert Soens, owner of Pinnacle Construction, have been working on the building.  Exterior siding has been repaired, windows are being made and a coat of paint will go on within the next month.  When renovation is completed, the building will be transferred to the City of Decatur and plans are to make the structure available as a community meeting space and educational tool. 

The building was moved on July 17, 2001 - look here for pictures.

Interior of the Fraser Building, Decatur, GA

If you believe in the goals of the Decatur Preservation Alliance, you can help with this and future projects.  Simply
go to this page and print the membership form, then send your tax-deductible contribution. Thanks very much for your help !


Comments or questions may be directed to
info@decaturpreservationalliance.org
or
P.O. Box 1764
Decatur, GA 30031

Return to the DPA Home Page

The Decatur Preservation Alliance is a 501c3 charitable organization.
Gifts are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law - see your tax advisor.

Copyright © 2001, 2002 Decatur Preservation Alliance, Inc.


Last updated July 14, 2002

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