Cherokee Garden Library
The Cherokee Garden Library is a Georgia treasure. It was created in 1975 and has grown to a collection of 50,000 items that include architecture drawings, books, art and other significant cultural items. Staci Catron, the Senior Director of the library, has overseen the library for twenty-five years. She’s grown the collection from its modest beginnings into the tremendous resource it is today. Staci will be conducting our tour of the library and will join us at the Swan House.
PICTURED ABOVE: A few of the shelves in the Cherokee Garden Library with a collection of items curated for our group.
The items are examples of the collection dating from 1586 to present day.
The Cherokee Garden Library is open to the public by appointment Monday through Friday. Staci will open the library for us on Saturday and curate a collection of example items, dating from as early as 1586 – nearly 200 years before the Unites States was formally established.
The library serves thousands of scholars each year though it’s also a public resource. Many academic libraries are open only to students and scholars. The Cherokee Garden Library features a staff who can assist you with research on everything from gardens to architecture. For example, you could schedule an appointment with the library staff to research the age of your own home… and many other topics.
We’ll conclude our tour of the library with a review of drawings for the Swan House – an architecturally significant home on the Atlanta History Center grounds just behind the library. You’ll see plans, elevations and renderings of details drawn by hand from one of the most significant architecture firms in the southeastern United States. That will serve as an excellent segue to our tour of the house.
PICTURED ABOVE: A hand-drawn column capital detail for the Swan House now in the collection of the Cherokee Garden Library with the rest of the drawings from the office of Philip T. Shutze, architect of the Swan House and many other notable Atlanta buildings.
Swan House & Garden
The Swan House is one of the most significant homes in the southeastern Unites States. It’s been meticulously restored by the Atlanta History Center and has served as the backdrop for tours, weddings and movies. We’ll walk from the library to the house for a tour so we can see the details on paper in the library come to life in the house.
PICTURED ABOVE: The rear facade of the Swan House. We'll walk between the house and the top of the terraced fountain once we've finished a tour of the interior of the house.
We’ll tour the exterior of the house, the interior rooms and the gardens of the home. We’ll conclude by 2:30 so you may continue to tour the exterior of the home or visit the Atlanta History Center to see the exhibits such as the Cyclorama. The center closes at 4 PM so you’ll have plenty of time to explore.
PICTURED ABOVE: The central hall of the Swan House continues the tile floor from the foyer and includes a circular stair and ornate door casings with pediments.
Lunch Beforehand
We’re planning to have lunch at the Swan Coach House. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations so we plan to arrive early for the first seating at 11 AM. You’re welcome to join us though lunch is not part of the tour. Kecia and Ryan will be wearing name tags so they’ll be easier to find.
The Swan Coach House has its own parking and is not connected to the Atlanta History Center campus where we’ll visit the Cherokee Garden Library and the Swan House. That means we’ll have to move our vehicles from the parking at the restaurant around the corner to the parking at the Atlanta History Center.
You can find more details, including the lunch menu on the website for the Swan Coach House here: https://www.swancoachhouse.com/
