House fire delays artist residency project the HeART House

• Debbie Michaud
• The home at 1474 Metropolitan Parkway before the fire that destroyed it the morning of Feb 8.

About a month ago, I had coffee with Neda Abghari, executive director of local arts organization the Creatives Project. She was ecstatic about TCP’s latest project - an artist residency program that she had just found the perfect location for. A 13-year resident of Capitol View, Abghari had driven by the vacant home at 1474 Metropolitan Parkway countless times and imagined the possibilities for the space, TCP’s artists, and the local community. She would call it the HeART House. Last fall, she noticed the house was for sale and jumped on it. Six months later, and only a week from the anticipated closing on the bank-owned home, Abghari’s having to put her plans on hold because the house burned down early Friday morning.

The day we had coffee, we drove down to Capitol View and walked through the house, a sprawling Second Empire style-home built in 1903 by one of the neighborhood’s first families, the Deckners, according to TCP’s website. The Deckners were German immigrants that ended up in Atlanta in the mid-1800s via Wisconsin. Family members owned lots of property throughout the neighborhood and this home’s owner, Charles Deckner, was a well-regarded agricultural expert and “well respected in the community as a public figure. He served as the vice president of the 5th Congressional District of the Georgia State Horticultural Society from 1908 to 1909. He also had a pivotal role in the “Last Man Club” of Atlanta. This group was made up of Civil War veterans and met in the Masonic Lodge (1310 Metropolitan Parkway) in Capitol View,” according to TCP’s website.

Charles’ home, which had been added on to over the years, had a huge kitchen, a wrap-around front porch, enough space to house four artists and their studios. Years of neglect had left the house somewhat a mess on the inside. Abghari estimates renovation costs would have run TCP $20,000-$40,000. Now, a quick renovation to get artists in by the end of summer is out of the question. But TCP is moving forward, considering its options for keeping the HeART House on the current property or moving it elsewhere in the city. I spoke with Neda yesterday about the fire, TCP, and the future of HeART House.

What is the vision for the HeART House?
The HeART House could happen on any property. As we look to move forward, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a house, but at this particular property we were going to provide four artists with subsidized housing and studio space. They would all live and work there and in exchange they would do outreach through our our outreach program, specifically in this neighborhood. The idea was to provide cultural and creative offerings to the community. Specifically working with youth, but also on a larger scale through lectures and studio visits and workshops with the community at large. So we really envisioned this property as a place where the community could gather for special creative occasions.

And our goal really was to honor the history of the house, and bring it back to life because it was a historic property in our neighborhood. So we were hoping that by having the artists there and by working with the youth, it would make the neighborhood aware that the property was there. At one point, it was a beautiful beautiful home. It was a landmark. Metropolitan Parkway used to be a highway, a state highway, where people would actually stop and view the gardens at this house. So we really wanted to bring the gardens back to life, to have the artists there, we wanted it to be a place that was a source of inspiration for the neighborhood.