Egleston Hall

Dear All Saints Friends,

A group of parishioners have come together, through our love for All Saints, to help ensure that what is best for the parish, our neighborhood and our community informs the decision that is made about Egleston Hall. We are concerned that the possibility of repairing, restoring and improving Egleston was at first dismissed in favor of demolishing Egleston to build a new structure to house offices and missions together. The base assumption of needing to move missions into Egleston is, many agree, flawed. We believe that the existing structure and the integrity of our campus can be saved, at a lower price tag, in a shorter time frame, and with a more exceptional finished product than the alternative. With the help of the Georgia Trust and its consultant Houser Walker Architecture, we have together produced a proof of concept. For the full report and summary, please see below. This solution is, to our minds, elegant and joyful. Our focus was proving that Egleston can be repaired and made accessible and more suitable for 21st century needs, not on pushing a particular renovation plan. Our case for preservation follows:

Aesthetics and History

• The view of the All Saints’ campus from West Peachtree includes our iconic Sanctuary on one corner, the architecturally compatible Egleston Hall on the other, and a cloistered walkway and garden oasis in between. This lovely cloister effect and cohesion will be lost if the corner is redeveloped. Understanding what West Peachtree looked like as our city was being formed, since so little of Atlanta’s early building stock is left, is meaningful.
• Spaces with character, a history of embedded memories, and appropriate scale and materials, are generally more compelling than something new.
• Civil Rights progress emanated from Egleston under the leadership of Frank Ross, Elbert Tuttle and Ralph McGill. Harry Pritchett and Geoffrey Hoare dealt with equality for women in the church and with LGBTQ+ issues and AIDS. All Saints’ evolved to stand at the forefront of these issues, and the brave and impactful decisions made in this space give Egleston its heart and soul.

Missions

• Neither Threads nor MAC needs to move now. Their current spaces function well; housing them in Egleston would present operational challenges. Redeveloping Tate Hall and the southwest corner will likely not pencil out any time soon. The development would probably need to be a high-rise to generate enough money to justify the loss of space, meaning impacts like loss of sunlight. We would lose control of the property if the lease had to be subordinated.
• Since MAC is an independent organization, investing All Saints’ capital to house it is not an equitable distribution of MAC’s overhead between the entities that operate it, and so not wise stewardship of our resources. In addition, MAC and All Saints’ have recently made significant investments in the building now occupied by MAC.
• Spending money on missions directly, and raising endowment to fund operations, can have a bigger impact than spending on a new building.

Improving Egleston: Accessibility, Connection, Entrance, and Office Space

• Knowing that accessibility issues must be resolved before we could continue to push for saving Egleston, the Georgia Trust hired Houser Walker, who had been involved in creating our Master Plan, to study the issue. According to them, accessibility within Egleston and ease of movement between Egleston and the Parish House can be accomplished with a new “connector” which would house a two-way elevator, an attractive stairwell, accessible restrooms, and a welcoming entrance.
• This plan can include a beautifully landscaped plaza at the corner of W. Peachtree and Ponce, which would give All Saints’ a gathering space and would align perfectly with the Midtown Alliance’s vision for that corner.
• Egleston would be completely renovated, and the Horseshoe Room can be transformed into an open layout that would provide more office space per square foot.

Environmental Concerns

• According to the World Green Building Council, the greenest building is almost always the one already built. No amount of energy savings can make up for the embodied energy and resources that would be tossed into a landfill if Egleston is demolished. Environmental stewardship is an argument against a new building, not for it.
• As the Episcopal Church affirms in its Creation Care Covenant, “…we will adopt practical ways of reducing our climate impact and living more humbly and gently…”

Fiscal Restraint

• The Resolution passed by the Vestry in April, 2025, included considering the option of preserving Egleston Hall. The delay in looking at this option, which we understand is being undertaken now, has used up precious time, allowed for the delay of roof repairs, and likely incurred unnecessary costs.
• Demolishing Egleston Hall must be done slowly and carefully to reduce damage to the Parish House, which adds time and cost to the construction process. A new building would also mean fees for disposal of Egleston’s materials. The cost of asbestos abatement is the same whether the building is demolished or renovated.
• All the damage to Egleston caused by the construction next door can be fixed, and we have that money in hand.
• Per the architects, the cost for the repairs (including water damage), complete renovation of Egleston, and the new connector would be $4–5 million less than a new 22,000-square-foot building. This could allow more funds to go toward the campus-wide repairs needed, especially to the brownstone on the Sanctuary.
• We ask that cost comparisons be transparent, noting that a professional cost estimator or a contractor familiar with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and with ample experience with historic renovation would be needed to get a reasonable estimate for the renovation option. Consideration of prices escalating each year is also needed.
• Keeping only the facade or front rectangle would not be cost effective and would still mean a loss of the building.

Thank you for your serious consideration of this preservation-minded, environmentally conscious, and fiscally responsible alternative which considers the integrity and beauty of our campus and the experience of the community, neighborhood and parish we serve.

Respectfully, Friends of Egleston

Elizabeth and Sheffield Hale

Tom and Karen Weyandt

Mose and Teri Bond

Bob Miller and Mary Helen

Frank Briscoe and Melissa Fontaine

Nancy and Charlie Rigby

Martie and Dennis Zakas

Sally and Walter George

Susan and Ed Croft

Amanda Brown Olmstead

Tamara and Ken Bazzle

Fay and Ann Pearce

Oscar and Virginia Persons

David Ross

Paul and Sandy Thim

David Smith

Jane and Kevin Kell

Chet Tisdale and Martha Eskew

Frank Thomas

Porter Hutto

Margaret Witten

Penny and Mike Pope

Pat and Bud Brown

The Houser Walker proof of concept (June 2026) (and concept summary) was put together by Houser Walker Architecture with the support of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and the Friends of Egleston Hall.

Egleston Hall is a physical expression of the All Saints' Episcopal Church's historic commitment to education, dialogue, and moral leadership and a rare architectural and cultural resource in the city of Atlanta. Egleston Hall offers a tangible chapter of All Saints' identity and provides architectural and historical integrity for one of Atlanta's most significant religious campuses.

Historic and Architectural Significance

Constructed as an Akron Plan building, Egleston Hall represents a form once central to progressive religious education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, it stands as one of Atlanta's only remaining Akron Plan buildings, a vanishing architectural type defined by its centralized assembly space, radiating classrooms, and emphasis on shared learning and community formation. Few such buildings survive anywhere in the region; fewer still remain in active ecclesiastical settings.

Architecturally, Egleston Hall was intentionally designed to harmonize with the surrounding campus, reinforcing a sense of continuity and place. Its materials, scale, and form are integral to the visual and spatial coherence of All Saints'. Removal would leave a permanent void—one that no contemporary construction, however well-intentioned, could replicate.

Integrity of the Campus

All Saints' is not simply a collection of buildings; it is a carefully layered campus that reflects generations of faith, leadership, and evolving mission. Egleston Hall contributes to that continuity. Demolition would fundamentally alter the historic campus plan and weaken the sense of enclosure, procession, and place that defines the All Saints' experience.

Preservation is not about freezing a campus in time—it is about stewarding change responsibly. Adaptive reuse allows Egleston Hall to continue serving contemporary needs while retaining the architectural and historical framework that gives All Saints' its unique identity.

A Place of Moral Leadership and Civil Rights Dialogue

Egleston Hall has long been a space where difficult, necessary conversations were not avoided—but embraced. Under the leadership of figures such as Frank Ross and parishioners Ralph McGill and Elbert Tuttle, Egleston Hall played a central role in facilitating the Church's work that advanced racial understanding and civil rights in Atlanta during moments of profound social change.

In later decades, the tradition continued. Leaders including Harry Pritchett and Geoffrey Hoare guided the parish through equally consequential conversations—on the full inclusion of women in the life of the Church, on LGBTQ+ equality, and on compassionate, faith-based responses to the AIDS epidemic. These moments were not abstract ideals; they occurred in real rooms, among real people, within Egleston Hall.

To preserve Egleston Hall is to honor that legacy of courage, openness, and moral leadership.

Stewardship and Economics: Adaptive Reuse vs. Demolition

From a financial perspective, preservation is also a prudent choice. New construction carries escalating costs—design, materials, labor, and long-term maintenance—often far exceeding initial projections. Demolition itself is expensive and irreversible.

Adaptive reuse, by contrast, leverages the embodied energy and existing infrastructure of Egleston Hall. Rehabilitation can be phased, targeted, and aligned with fundraising goals, while allowing the building to serve new functions that support All Saints' mission today and into the future. Across the country, faith communities are discovering that preservation-minded reuse is not only more environmentally sustainable—it is more fiscally responsible.

A Choice About Identity

The decision facing All Saints' is not merely about a building. It is about identity, continuity, and witness.

Egleston Hall embodies the parish's long-standing commitment to education, inclusion, and courageous engagement with the moral questions of its time. Saving it affirms that All Saints' values its past not as nostalgia, but as a foundation for future ministry.

By choosing preservation and adaptive reuse, All Saints' can demonstrate leadership once again—honoring history, maintaining campus integrity, stewarding resources wisely, and ensuring that Egleston Hall continues to serve as a place where faith and justice meet.