628 Boulevard

Built by 1909 at the latest, based on the Athens City Directory of that year, 628 Boulevard is a beautiful example of balancing renovation with the preservation of historic elements. The home was built in the Queen Anne style, with an unusual symmetry about its facade. 

628 Boulevard has undergone significant renovation over its long history, but has maintained its historic character, which earned a Preservation Award for Outstanding Rehabilitation from Historic Athens in 2009. This balance can be seen in the home’s interior, as it has renovated elements that reflect its original era in the form of reclaimed wood ceilings and refinished pine floors while retaining original features in the tile fireplace surrounds and mantles as well as its antique doors. In addition, the home possesses a kitchen modernized in the late 2000s by famed Athens chef, Hugh Acheson. The kitchen still retains much of its historic character, reflecting the home as a whole which embraces and emphasizes its history while being updated to maintain its quality.

The earliest recorded resident of 628 Boulevard is Marion Caskey, an employee at the R.L. Moss Manufacturing Company which produced doors, blinds, columns, and packing boxes, among other goods, at its Athens factory. Similarly, most of the residents of 628 Boulevard in its early period, until at least 1958, were in the working and middle classes, working as clerks, bookkeepers, teachers, and pastors. This reflects the general character of Boulevard in its early years, with the neighborhood being primarily the domain of the white working and middle classes in this era. 

A notable family of this era is the Storey family, members of which lived continuously in the house from 1920 to 1957. One member, James M. Storey Jr., served in World War II while his parents lived at 628 Boulevard before later owning the house himself with his wife, Annie. Joye Lewis Graham, who lived in the house from 1989 to 2002, contributed to the preservation of Athens by serving on the Historic Preservation Commission of Athens in 1996. In addition, Hugh Acheson, the famed chef behind local favorites The Five and Ten and The National, who also appeared on Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, lived in the house from 2006-2008. In its over a century-long history, the residents of 628 Boulevard have reflected a diversity in class and household makeup, reflecting the changing dynamics in the neighborhood as a whole.