Architect of Fischer Mansion – Philip Trammel Shutze

Fischer Mansion Gardens

Georgia’s Own Classicist – Architect Philip Trammel Shutze

Dr. Luther Fischer made two excellent decisions late in the 1920′s. First, he chose a stunning site for his new home, on a beautiful bluff overlooking bubbling Nancy Creek. Second, he chose one of the finest architects in the country to design his elegant estate – Atlanta’s own Phillip Trammel Shutze.

The result was Fischer Mansion, a stately Neoclassical residence surrounded by the acres of gardens, and enjoyed by thousands of Atlantans who visited the property at the height of rose season every year. “Flowerland,” as the estate was called, is just one example of Shutze’s architectural genius. He also designed other prominent Atlanta homes, including Swan House, Knollwood, and the Patterson-Carr House. In addition, Shutze designed noteworthy public buildings such as Glenn Memorial Church, The Temple and East Lake Country Club.

A Georgia Native

Shutze was born in 1890 in Columbus, Georgia, and won a scholarship to Georgia Tech to study architecture. He graduated with honors in 1912, earned a second degree from Columbia University in New York, and returned to Atlanta where he joined the firm of Hentz, Reid and Adler. In 1925, he won the Rome Prize, and studied at the American Academy in Rome.

For 40 years, Shutze was known as one of America’s finest classical architects. He died in 1982 at age 92.