908 Edgewood Avenue

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Sara and Jay Doyle

This Jacobean Revival home was designed by architect W.T. Downing and built in 1899 for Ernest and Emily Woodruff.  While living in this home, Ernest led a group of investors in 1919 to buy the Coca-Cola Company for $25 million from Ernest’s neighbor and rival Asa Candler.  Candler lived in Callen Castle just around the corner at Euclid and Elizabeth.

Ernest’s son, Robert, who became Coca-Cola’s longtime president (and Atlanta’s “anonymous donor”), lived in this home as a young adult. The property was originally bordered by Waverly Way, Edgewood Avenue and Euclid Avenue, extending to where the two Avenues meet (at one time called The Mesa).

The house changed hands numerous times. Prior residents were the Aulds, the elderly, “deadheads,” and some wicked Halloween partygoers. When the Doyles bought the home in 2004, it had been rental property for the preceding 12 years.  Fortunately, the home had not been converted into multiple apartments.  Nevertheless, there was no functioning kitchen, the limestone front porch was crumbling, the basement and roof leaked, and the yard was overgrown with brush.

Jay and Sara have since renovated the kitchen and sunroom; added a bar, two baths and pantry; moved the laundry room to the second floor; and created a playroom for their 3-year-old daughter, Mary Donovan.

The Doyle’s 30-year renovation plan (!) includes finishing the basement to add a wine cellar, work-out room, guest bedroom and bathrooms; finishing the attic for a game room with dance floor, bar, and pool table; bringing the pool and backyard back to life with an outdoor entertainment area and covered parking; and continuing the interior renovation.

NOTE:  Copies of Images of America Inman Park by Christine Marr and Sharon Foster Jones are for sale for $20 at this home.