Raoul House, Peachtree at 6th Street

In the early 1960s, this was the view from Peachtree Street looking southwest toward Sixth Street. Google map

Below is the Raoul House, designed by New York architect Bradford L. Gilbert, which was located at the northwest corner of Peachtree & Sixth Streets on property now housing a CVS drugstore and a Gordon Biersch Brewery. The Raouls lived there from 1892, when the house was built, until 1914 when they relocated to Lullwater Road in Druid Hills.

According to the 1962 book Peachtree Street, Atlanta, written by William Bailey Williford, the house featured every imaginable accommodation for a wealthy homeowner of the era, such as a carpenter shop, a wine cellar, a cottage for servants, a stable, a small plot of land where the family cow grazed, and Atlanta's first tennis court.

In the 1940s, it was acquired by the Red Cross and used as a bandage rolling and blood donation center.

I was initially unsure of when the house was torn down, but thanks to David Henderson I now know that the AJC reported that the house was heavily damaged by fire on in June1991. It had been vacant for years and in 1988 the owner applied to have it demolished to make way for a parking lot.

UPDATE: Another correspondent reports that the building was housing a nightclub at the time of the 1991 fire.

Date: 1944 PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPT, PULLEN LIBRARY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY GSU FILE: LBGPF1-156a

Above: The Raoul House, Peachtree and Sixth Streets. Date: 10/21/1947

PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPT, PULLEN LIBRARY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY GSU FILE: LBCB005-080a

Raoul House, Peachtree and Sixth Streets. Date: 03/24/48

PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPT, PULLEN LIBRARY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY GSU FILE: LBT24-145a

The American Red Cross building seen on the right was erected at some point between 1948 and 1952. Scroll down for a better view of it. According to the previously mentioned book Peachtree Street, Atlanta, the Raoul House remained standing immediately behind the Red Cross building. It looks like you can see parts of it in this photograph. Date: 04/03/52

PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPT, PULLEN LIBRARY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY GSU FILE: LBGPNS09-155c

The American Red Cross building, located at 848 Peachtree Street NE, stood at the northwest corner of Peachtree and Sixth. Date: 12/17/55

PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPT, PULLEN LIBRARY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY GSU FILE: LBGPF1-009a