Every spring, the Historic Druid Hills Home & Garden Tour welcomes as many as 1,500 visitors eager to step inside some of Atlanta’s most beautiful homes. Along the way, they discover architectural treasures, stroll through lush gardens, and hear remarkable stories about the houses and the people who have lived in them.
This year’s tour is set for April 17-19 and features nine homes in the neighborhood. Tickets and details are available at druidhillstour.org.
The tradition echoes from an earlier era. In the early 1900s, visitors traveled from across the South to see the spectacular dogwoods blooming along Lullwater Road. Residents lit the trees at night so admirers could stroll beneath the glowing blossoms and enjoy the trees long after sunset.
The first official Tour began in 1968 during a precarious period for the neighborhood, according to Druid Hills historian Jennifer Richardson.
Many of Druid Hills’ large homes — especially along famous streets such as Springdale, Oxford and Oakdale — had been divided into boarding houses or rented cheaply by absentee landlords. Years of neglect were starting to show. A major factor contributing to the decline was worries about a proposed expressway which threatened to cut directly through the heart of the neighborhood. The road would have split Druid Hills in two, destroying Olmsted Linear Park and crossing the Deepdene section on a bridge. Plans also called for the expressway to pass through Emory University’s Lullwater Preserve and near several schools.
Residents fought the proposed road project for more than two decades before it was ultimately defeated. With the threat lifted, the neighborhood began to recover.
Richardson noted the first Tour was created as both a garden tour and a home tour, and it was co-sponsored by the Lullwater Garden Club and the Druid Hills Civic Association. (The Lullwater Garden Club was the driving force, according to Richardson).
The idea grew out of the work of the Lullwater Garden Club, whose members had recently purchased the nearby Lullwater Conservation Garden from Emory University for $1,500. The roughly six-acre property is tucked between Lullwater Road and Lullwater Parkway and bisected by Lullwater Creek.
To help care for the garden, club members organized fundraisers — rummage sales, teas in private homes, and even a horse show.
During one of those gatherings, an idea emerged.
“They had these teas in people’s homes and they said, ‘You know, we could have a tour of homes and gardens,’” recalled Richardson.
The first Homes Tour, held in 1968, featured eight houses including the residence of Emory University’s president, and several gardens. Tickets cost $2.50.
The tour quickly became a way to celebrate the neighborhood’s architectural heritage while raising funds for several projects in the neighborhood. After the garden club dropped its sponsorship, the Druid Hills Civic Association carried the Tour forward to this day.
For Richardson, the appeal remains simple: “I think it’s the history of the neighborhood,” she said.
Druid Hills was designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and remains the only Olmsted-planned residential neighborhood in the Deep South. It was also his final commission before his death in 1903.
Visitors come not only for the architecture, Richardson said, but also for inspiration.
