Architect Andrew Amor hopes to bring back Flowerland, a garden so grand it once drew tourists to an area that now is part of the city of Brookhaven.
Amor presented his ideas for ways to “restore Flowerland to its glory” during a Brookhaven City Council work session meeting on Nov. 17.
Flowerland was part of the estate of Dr. Luther Fischer, whose mansion still stands off Chamblee-Dunwoody Road behind a condo development on Fischer Way.
In its time, Flowerland had 487 varieties of flowers and 16,000 different plants, Amor said. “It became a regional attraction at the height of the blooming season,” he said.
He proposed the city revive the gardens as a park and tourist attraction.
Amor’s plans for Flowerland include restoring the original gardens, constructing a sawmill to serve as a visitors’ center, having a covered bridge near the sawmill, and also creating a pioneers’ homestead and a Native American village.
The developments would pay homage to the history of the land, he said. No costs were mentioned for the proposal,
The proposal was greeted warmly by some council members.
“I’m excited because this brings together everything from parkland to preserving our history to gardens and providing a chance to learn from Indian settlers and pioneer settlers,” said Mayor Rebecca Chase Williams. “The city is looking at the idea. It is just a concept at this point. Stay tuned.”
Councilwoman Linley Jones agreed that preserving the city’s history is important. “We have not done enough in the Atlanta area to preserve our history and we need to start. Flowerland would be a great place to start right here in Brookhaven,” she said.
The area is now on private land and part of the D’Youville condos. Any revival and development of the property would likely include a land deal between the Homeowners Association and the city. Amor said he will meet with the HOA soon.
Fischer, who made money selling Coca-Cola, eventually went to medical school and in 1908 opened the Davis-Fischer Sanatorium in downtown Atlanta with his friend Edward Davis. This hospital later became Crawford Long, which is now Emory University Hospital Midtown.
In 1926, Fischer purchased more than 100 acres of land on both sides of Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and built a house overlooking Nancy Creek.
