Life Story by Ken Denney Photos by Ricky Stilley
Alan Bell stands on the porch of his business, Alan Bell Archetict, Inc., which is housed in a Greek Revival that is more than 100 years old.
Home of Distinction
A Greek Revival
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t used to be called the White House in Carrollton, but not because any executive lived there. It had that name because it was once painted all in white, in imitation of a Greek temple. At 166 years, the house is quite possibly the oldest residence remaining in Carrollton, built in 1847 when the city, like the county itself, had barely been carved out of the wilderness. It is also one of the oldest and best examples of the Greek Revival style of architecture that dominated the American scene when the country itself was brand new. It’s no longer a home. Instead it is the hard-working office of Alan Bell, an architect who is uniquely suited to appreciate 28
West Georgia Living
Nov./Dec. 2013
its style and features – built of heavy hand-hewn timbers and 12-inch boards cut from the virgin forests surrounding what is now Maple Street. Before Bell bought it, it had served as a fraternity house, so it should certainly be able to withstand the rigors of office use. The house was built by Henry Pope Wooten (1808-1877). It was laid out in a very simple style, with four rooms of the same size in each corner of the house, separated by a central corridor, and another floor, exactly the same, stacked on top. Two chimneys pass through both floors, with a double-sided fireplace on each floor – for a total of eight. Despite the ornate 2 ½ foot diameter columns in front of the house, it is very