The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a resolution to begin the process of potentially designating a Virginia-Highland home connected to LGBTQ+ history as a city landmark.
City Councilmember Kelsea Bond introduced the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Alex Wan and Matt Westmoreland, during the Nov. 2 council meeting. The council also voted unanimously to send the resolution to Mayor Andre Dickens’ office posthaste.
The owners of 811 Ponce de Leon Place want to demolish the house to build a new single-family home and swimming pool. Last month, NPU-F deferred a vote on an application to demolish the home.
The home was the site of the 1982 arrest of Michael Hardwick, who was charged under Georgia’s anti-sodomy law after he was arrested for having sex with another man. He took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986.)
Hardwick challenged the law on privacy grounds, but the Supreme Court ruled in Georgia’s favor. That decision was overturned in 1998, seven years after Hardwick’s death.
The property is included in Atlanta’s 2023 LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement, which identifies historically significant sites for potential preservation.
Bond said the Virginia-Highland home has a “significant connection to LGBTQ+ history,” and the demolition would be a loss to the city, state, and nation.
The home would remain intact while it’s evaluated by the Department of City Planning Office of Design and the Atlanta Urban Design Commission for designation as a landmark building. Notices of intent to designate the house must be mailed to the owners and the community, and public hearings must be held before a decision is made.
“Hopefully, this is the start of a conversation about protecting a site that had a big impact on the LGBTQ+ community,” Bond said.
Westmoreland thanked local advocates and historians Fred O. Smith and Charlie Payne for bringing the house’s potential demolition to the council’s attention.
The city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment is slated to hold a public hearing on the demolition application at noon on Thursday, Nov. 5, in the Atlanta City Hall council chambers on the second floor. It’s unclear how the city council vote will impact the decision.
