The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turrets distinguish old homes and new ones
Feature is striking to some but a ‘pet peeve’ for others.
Some of Atlanta’s oldest and newest homes feature turrets, which can turn heads when people pass by the properties.
The turret stretches three stories of Erin Miller’s Queen Annestyle home in Grant Park. The home, known as the Burns Mansion and built circa 1864, was renovated by previous owners. The cylindrical turret is believed to be an original feature of the home, designed by Capt. James A. Burns after the Battle of Atlanta.
“It is a unique aspect to owning a home,” said Miller, who moved into the home with her husband, Matt, in January 2011. “The turret adds so much to the exterior character of the house.”
A turret is defined as a “small tower that pierces a roof line,” according to the Trust for Architectural Easements, based in Washington, D.C. A few other homes in the intown communities of Grant Park and neighboring Inman Park, which have an abundance of Queen Anne-style and Victorian-era homes, boast this distinctive detail.
Turrets also protrude from the front or back of residences showcasing European and Colonial design in suburban Atlanta. In Sandy Springs, A P Homes placed two turrets on the front of a new, European-style home. The five-bedroom home is listed for $979,900 with Marilyn Weitzel of Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage.
“We try to make every house look different,” said A P Homes owner Alan Parvinian, who also has built homes with turrets in a neighborhood in east Cobb County.
A turret envelops the front door of a white brick Colonial-style home on Buckhead’s West Wesley Road, which sold in April 2015 for $1.45 million. The five-bedroom home was built in the 1930s by Atlanta architecture firm Frazier and Bodin.
Real estate agents admit that while turreted homes are striking, they can present a challenge in attracting buyers who put turrets on their “pet peeves” list. Often the word “turret” is not included in the real estate listing, because of the connotation that the home would look like a Medieval-era castle.
“Today sometimes just that word can kind of bring up bad thoughts of over-the-top houses that are too ornate,” said Ben Hirsh, owner of Hirsh Real Estate Specialists in Atlanta.
Some builders are blending turrets into the back exterior. A $2.875 million mansion on Riverview Road, built in 2001 and listed by Hirsh, features a brick and stone turret. But the turret on the 10,014-square-foot home looks out onto the infinity pool, instead of placed on the front of the home.
Inside a turret, furniture and items from dining tables to free-standing tubs to Christmas trees can be showcased in the round, compared to having flat walls.
“On the interior, it’s just a beautiful, circular breakfast room. Every- body loves that,” Hirsh said.
The turret on the Millers’ Victorian-era home in Grant Park provides rounded walls for special touches, such as ornate Bradbury & Bradbury art wallpaper in a formal room on the first floor. During the holidays, their Christmas tree fills the turret on that floor. The second-floor turret has at different times served as a reading nook and an exercise space. The third floor turret, in a bedroom, offers bird’s-eye views of the historic neighborhood.
“Turrets have so many windows. It allows more light to come in,” Erin Miller said. “It’s just a real beautiful space.”
Parvinian adds: “It actually creates more space.”