The Taylor-Grady House is located at 634 Prince Avenue (Tax Parcel No. 11-4-D4-D-015).
 
 

Representing the Greek Revival style, this two-story residence was built on a central hall plan with a four-over-four room arrangement and a raised basement. A low hipped roof and heavy entablature create the impression of a flat roof. Of frame construction, the dwelling displays clapboard and flush siding. Thirteen monumental and fluted Greek Doric columns wrap the facade and front rooms of the house. Twisted wire railings appear between the stuccoed-brick columns, which are believed to represent the original colonies. Pilasters ornament the corners and appear between bays. Triple-sash windows framed by louvered wooden shutters accent the front entrance, which consists of a paneled wooden door topped by a transom and flanked by sidelights and fluted pilasters.

Interior features include doorways with pilasters and wooden transom panels, original plaster ceiling medallions, and marble fireplaces with carved and gilded overpanels. Several historic outbuildings survive, such as a pigeon cote, shed, and wellhouse.

General Robert Taylor, who acquired his military rank in the Georgia Militia, moved from Savannah to Athens in order that his sons might attend the University of Georgia and became permanent residents. A planter and cotton merchant, Taylor built the house in 1843. In 1863 Major William S. Grady, father of Henry Woodfin Grady, bought the home from the Taylor estate while on furlough from the Confederate Army. Henry W. Grady, an Athens native destined for editorial fame in the post-reconstruction era, lived here from 1865 until 1868, when he graduated from the University of Georgia. In 1966, the city of Athens purchased the deteriorating house, the only known extant residence associated with Henry W. Grady, and leased it in 1968 to the Athens Junior Assembly. The Junior Assembly raised funds to restore the house, furnished it with period pieces, and generated revenue to maintain the building and grounds through rental fees.

The Taylor-Grady House was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (GA-1114), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (May 11, 1976) as the only National Historic Landmark in Athens-Clarke County, was locally designated as a Historic Landmark (February 2, 1988), and has been recognized by the Georgia Historical Marker Program (029-13).