__NOTOC__ The William Perrin Nicolson House is a historic house built in 1891, located on Piedmont Ave. in Midtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, northeast of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

. The building was designated in 1989 as a historic building by the City of Atlanta, as William Perrin Nicolson House. The building was also listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the William P. Nicolson House. with

History

The house was built in 1891 by William Perrin Nicolson as a wedding present for his bride, Carolyn Crane. The building was designed by regionally renowned master architect

Walter T. Downing Walter T. Downing (1865-1918) was an American architect in Atlanta, Georgia. Several of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Walter T. Downing was father of John F. Downing, who was also an architect and who continue ...

in the Eclectic Colonial Revival style. Downing designed many public buildings and churches, such as Sacred Heart Church (1877–98) but his most unusual and impressive works were his residential designs where his eclectic and individualistic style shines through. The house was listed on the

in 1977, and is a City of Atlanta Landmark Building and Site (1989). One reason for its listing is that it is now a relatively rare surviving example of W.T. Downing's residential work, being one of only five of his houses in Atlanta still extant, and it is the only one reflecting the distinctive style that he developed in his designs commissioned in the 1890s. The listing included two

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. The property is documented by several interior and exterior photos in Downing's book titled ''Domestic Architecture''. William Perrin Nicolson died in 1928 and the house remained in the Nicolson family until in 1982.

Inn

The Nicolson House received the "Atlanta Urban Design Commission Award of Excellence for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Re-Use" from Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young in 1987. It is one of the featured properties in the 1991 book ''Classic Atlanta: Landmarks of the Atlanta Spirit''. The property was operated as the Shellmont Inn Bed and Breakfast until 2016.

In modern culture

It was featured in the 2015 movie in

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

's "Vacation" series, ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

'', as Clark and Ellen Griswold's personal bed and breakfast business.

References

{{Reflist Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Neoclassical architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Houses completed in 1891 Houses in Atlanta Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) City of Atlanta-designated historic sites Bed and breakfasts in Georgia (U.S. state) Hotels in Atlanta National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta