The Thomas-Carithers House is located at 530 South Milledge Avenue (Tax Parcel No. 12-2-D4-F-001), on the southwest corner of Baxter and Milledge.
 

This building, often called the "Wedding Cake House" due to the exuberance of its architectural detailing, is characteristic of the Beaux Arts style of architecture. The two-story frame house possesses an irregular plan, with large projections on the facade and wings on either side. Essentially symmetrical, the residence flaunts a full-width one-story portico supported by Ionic columns on stone piers, which extends to form a porte cochere. The recessed central entrance features flanking pilasters and a crown molding that replicates the plain entablature of the portico. Windows marked by pilasters appear on either side of the glazed doors of the main entrance.

The portico exhibits a central extension the width of the second-story balcony, marked by a balustrade. Decorative motifs include the floral pattern on the frieze of the two square bays that extend forward from the facade and out over the bay windows on the side elevations; a swag pattern that enhances the friezes of the portico extension and the balcony; and dentil molding utilized throughout the exterior design. A one-story addition built of cinder block adjoins the rear of the house.

William Winstead Thomas, son of Steven Thomas, acquired the property from Mrs. Emma H. Carlton in 1895. Built in 1896, the dwelling's design was most likely inspired by William Thomas's visit to the 1892 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Thomas, a civil engineer, architect, and businessman, also worked on several other buildings in Athens: the Fleming-Wilkins House, the Seney-Stovall Chapel on the Lucy Cobb Institute campus, the Welch-Thomas House, and Whitehall. As the first chairman of the Clarke County Commission, Thomas played an important role in local government and designed a map of Athens in 1874. ThomasÆs widow leased the house and eventually sold it to the George Henry Hulme family in 1909, from whom James Yancey Carithers acquired it in 1913. Carithers organized the Athens Electric Railway and served as a State Senator in 1905. In 1939 Alpha Gamma Sorority purchased the property from Carithers's widow. The organization later added a rear dormitory and refurbished the residence in 1981.

The Thomas-Carithers House was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (GA-1131), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (May 8, 1979), and has been locally designated as a Historic Landmark (January 8, 1991).