Spotswood Hall
Also known as: Smith, Shelby, House
Why it's listed
Spotswood Hall is a two-story wood-frame house on a two-acre hilltop lot in Atlanta's Buckhead area. Built in 1913 for county commissioner Shelby Smith, its design is attributed to architect A. Ten Eyck Brown. The facade is dominated by a monumental pedimented portico with Ionic columns, set above a rusticated granite foundation and beneath a slate hipped roof. In 1933 architect Philip Trammell Shutze enlarged the house from about 3,600 to nearly 6,200 square feet, keeping the original exterior character while adding a rear porte cochere and gutting and redesigning the interior. New features included a curving cantilevered staircase, a paneled library, and a round entrance rotunda whose walls carry an Oriental-themed mural by painter Athos Menaboni, signed and dated 1933. The house is valued as a strong example of Classical Revival design, as the work of two prominent Atlanta architects, and for the preserved Menaboni murals. It remains a single-family residence with few changes since 1933.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an excellent example of early 20th-century Classical Revival architecture and represents the work of two important Atlanta architects, A. Ten Eyck Brown and Philip Trammell Shutze. It is also significant in the area of art for the Oriental murals in the rotunda painted by Athos Menaboni in 1933. The 1933 remodeling kept Brown's exterior largely intact while Shutze redesigned the interior.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01001556, listed February 5, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 555 Argonne Dr., NW, Atlanta |
|---|---|
| County | Fulton County |
| Listed | February 5, 2002 |
| Reference number | 01001556 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1913; 1933 |
| Architect / builder | Brown, A. Ten Eyck--architect (attributed); Shutze, Philip Trammel--architect; Menaboni, Athos--artist |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Art |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a single dwelling; the interior and exterior have seen minimal changes since 1933, apart from a 1992 noncontributing garage. |
| Acreage | 2.1 |
| Coordinates | 33.83710, -84.40516 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01001556.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134314603
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.