The Roswell Bricks

The subject of this week’s blog, suburban apartments, provided me with the perfect opportunity to research and discuss the Bricks.

The Bricks owes its origin to industrialist and businessman, Roswell King. King settled the wooded area adjacent to Vickery Creek, where the Bricks are located. The area lies just above of the Chattahoochee River due north of Atlanta. Roswell King opened the Roswell Manufacturing Company in 1839, and began producing duck cloth, rope, and woolens. Roswell King constructed the Bricks in 1840 as apartments for his mill workers. The Roswell Bricks remain one of the oldest apartments in the United States.

The Bricks played a significant role the Civil War. Initially, the Mill provided much need materials for the Confederate Army. But in July 1864, the Union Army confiscated the Bricks to use as a hospital and the Mill was burned to the ground. The mill workers were charged with treason and were forced to be refugees in the North. The outcome of those exiled is still shrouded in mystery.

The second Mill, still present today in old historic Roswell, was rebuilt in 1882. The Roswell Manufacturing Company resumed control of the mill until 1945, when it was sold to Southern Mills. The Bricks were once again used as mill worker residences, and then later was used as a library, and then eventually became the home of the Founder’s Club until 2004. At this time, the Bricks were sold to the developer, the Macallan Group, who teamed up with designer and town planner Lew Oliver.

Under the direction of the Macallan Group and Lew Oliver the original, industrial apartments were transformed into nine graciously remolded row houses. I use the term graciously due to the fact the Oliver embraced the old and original elements of the Bricks while incorporating a modern, yet simple luxury. During the renovation, the floors were lowered to provide more headroom, tin roof shingles were refurbished from the original building, and layers of paint were stripped off to expose pristine brick walls. One-hundred and sixty-six year old pine floorboards were uncovered and proudly adorned wormholes, dents, and all other imperfections. While redoing the floorboards, musket balls, a pair of infantry boots, and other Civil War remnants were unearthed as further evidence of Roswell’s turbulent history.

Once given a raw and historic canvas to work on, Oliver applied subtle strokes of modernity. All of the homes include modern kitchens and bathroom facilities, walled in outdoor living areas, similar to courtyards, covered balconies, elevators, garages, etc. The three to four bedroom homes range form 2,500 to 3,500 square feet and are walking distance from the Mill, downtown historic Roswell, and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Oliver was quoted as saying that he was trying to “create a sense of place and destination” which is absent from new neighborhoods, where it is often is all about the house.

All information in this entry on the Bricks is found at http://www.thebricksroswell.com/.

On an unrelated note, Lew Oliver was the lead concept designer for the Mansion Hotel in Savannah’s Forsyth Park. I stayed at the Mansion for my wedding last April and was wowed. The Mansion is truly one of the most unique hotel experiences I have ever had. The website for the Mansion is http://www.mansiononforsythpark.com/