PHOTOS: Dozens attend annual Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes

ATLANTA - The 41st annual Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes took place on Dec. 9 and 10 in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta. And despite the less than ideal weather, the tour was enjoyed by dozens of residents from across the metro Atlanta area. 

The annual event serves as a significant fundraiser for St. Paul United Methodist Church, the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool, and Grant Park Parent's Network. The church hosted an artists' market on both days before the evening tour, and on Sunday, the church's choir and musicians presented a Christmas concert.

This year's tour featured 9 homes in the Grant Park neighborhood. 

Grant Park, founded by Col. Lemuel P. Grant in 1885, is renowned for its Victorian, Queen Anne, and Craftsman homes constructed between 1885 and 1910.

The neighborhood faced a catastrophic decline after the construction of Interstate 20 during the early 1960s, leading to the destruction of more than 300 homes and businesses.

A restoration trend began in the 1970s, and in 1979, the National Register of Historic Places recognized a portion of the neighborhood. This designation was expanded in 1986, and in 2000, the neighborhood became Atlanta's largest nationally-recognized historic district.

The two most notable homes on the 2023 tour were the L.P. Grant Mansion and the Burns Mansion.

The L.P. Grant Mansion, the oldest house in Atlanta, belonged to Lemuel Pratt Grant and his first wife, Laura Loomis Williams Grant. It is the birthplace of golf legend Robert "Bobby" Tyre Jones Jr. and was saved from demolition by "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell.

The Burns Mansion was constructed in 1868 by Capt. James Austin Burns, a Union officer who settled in Atlanta after the Civil War and oversaw the re-establishment of railroads in the city. After his death, Colonel Scott, a close friend, purchased the home (Capt. Burns is buried on the property along with 2 soldiers).

Upon Scott's death in 1928, the mansion became a boarding house and faced a multi-decade decline until 1976 when a new owner initiated restoration.

Currently owned by the Miller family, the 8,450-square-foot home features 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms; 3 stairwells; a library with a hidden bathroom; a kitchen with a hand-dug well that reaches the Atlanta water table; a large dressing room; 63 windows; 11 fireplaces; and 7 porches. Remarkably, the original woodwork in the front of the house and most bedrooms, as well as the decades-old Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper, retain their original charm.

While undoubtedly a beautiful home filled with fine antique items, incredible artwork, and luxurious rugs and furniture, it also exudes a warm and welcoming family atmosphere.

The Millers have been active participants in the yearly candlelight home tour for many years, generously allowing visitors to explore almost every room in their 3-story home.

The other homes on this year's tour included a 1908 bungalow on St. Paul Avenue; a Folk Victorian on Oakland Avenue built in 1889 by W.L. Jones; the "Baker House" on Park Avenue built in 1906; a 1907 Victorian cottage on Boulevard Street; two Victorian bungalows on Augusta Avenue; and a Free Classic Queen Anne with Craftsman Influence on Cherokee Avenue that was built in the early 1900s.