The new luxury accommodation with 11 rooms named after Greek gods and goddesses is open in the downtown Athens area, within walking distance of restaurants, entertainment and even big-time football games.
The Athenians opened in the historic Steven Stormouth House a few months ago. This is a Greek column house built in 1846-49 by a man who became a prominent Athenian banker in the 19th century. Downtown’s Thomas Street was named after him.
The home at 347 W. Hancock Ave. was acquired and restocked for the inn by new owners, Lauren and Chad Brown, and Reign and Monica Streiter.
The original historic home has seven rooms, with an added room at the back of the house.
According to Lauren Brown, the old section of the house was in good condition considering his age.
“We really wished for good luck because we had such a close attention in our previous lives,” Brown took a tour of the inn.
Even the new additions utilized several architectural styles from the original home, creating smooth eye surfaces, from old to new.
“I tried to copy crown molding when I moved from the old to the new ones and give them a bit of character,” Brown said. “But it has a completely different feeling, it’s interesting. They have a big shower and custom wallpaper in the bathroom,” Brown said as he entered the new room.
The house is in Athens and is a Greek revival architecture, so the owner baptized the room with metal plaques marked with the names of Greek gods and the goddesses from Hercules to Apollo.
They hired local architect David Matheny to help restore the old home and designed a way to integrate it with new construction. And to make each room look different with its own charm, they hired Dorothy Shane, a designer and artist from Greenville, South Carolina.
One unique touch is that the two rooms in the original home have a small room with twin beds. Brown said it is perfect for families with children.
On the first floor, there are rooms dedicated to guests as a gathering place to relax with a TV, cushioned furniture and snacks.
Brown, a Charleston University graduate from Spartanburg, South Carolina, said she studied the history behind the house.
According to Brown, the original owner, Stephen Stomus, graduated from Uga in 1832 and became president of the Bank of Athens before the civil war. The Thomas couple raised seven children in a two-storey home decorated with six giant pillars in the front, like the original Zeus temple.
A funeral notice for Oconee Hills Cemetery shows that he died in 1891 at the age of 77, three months after suffering a stroke. His wife, Isabella, passed away two months later.
After Thomas’ death, the house became Evereira therapist, owned and operated by Dr. IH Goss, whose weekly flag was purchased from Thomas Estate in June 1901.
In 1912 the house was purchased by the YWCA.
Brown’s investigation showed that the house originally faced Pulaski Street turned towards Hancock Avenue, giving YWCA an area to build an adjacent gymnasium with an indoor swimming pool. That brick building is still there and is commercially used. The house was originally a neighboring house, a similar large, pillared residence, headed downtown, and was now owned by the Fraternity of Sigma Alphaipsilon.
In the early 1980s, the house was purchased by lawyers, who used it for law firms and commercial spaces.
The home now has a new owner and has opened doors to many visitors. Some may have heard something awful while walking on a floor created in the distant era of a classic city 175 years ago.
