Peachtree Heights West is an early 20th century suburb designed on land that once belonged to pioneer Atlanta resident Wesley Gray Collier. Begun in 1910, Peachtree Heights West it is the only known suburb designed by the illustrious Carrere and Hastings architectural firm. Many nationally – and locally – noted landscape architects and architects designed its homes and gardens, and the suburb was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Peachtree Heights West evinces an enormous visual consistency due in part to the common palette used by the architects and landscape architects. Today, the demolition of the original houses – and their replacement by houses two and three times the size of the original structures – threatens to destroy the fabric of the community, the original setbacks of the residences, and the remaining original gardens. Public awareness, historic district preservation guidelines, conservation easements, and private agreements between neighbors could help to retain the design heritage of this historic suburb.
