Reeves Building

Built in 1946 on the site of a former frame hotel, this two-story commercial block fills the southwest side of Clarkesville's downtown square. Randolph Reeves was the original owner, and the design is credited to Norman Stanbaugh, an Atlanta architect who grew up in nearby Demorest. The building is stucco-covered masonry with plate glass, structural glass block and extruded aluminum. Banded windows, horizontal strip detailing and a second-story setback give it a streamlined, geometric look, and some original signage survives. The nomination calls it an extraordinary example of Art Moderne design in Georgia, a style usually found in larger cities rather than in remote north Georgia. It became a local landmark and reflected the town's post-war building boom. Commercially, its original tenants were Reeves Hardware, Lee 5&10 and Belk-Gallant, later joined by a furniture store added in the early 1950s. Together they anchored downtown commerce for about twenty years. A drug store later replaced Belk.