The preservation of this architectural monument is both a testament to the area’s history, but also a visual example of saving this community's identity. This building has struggled with the challenges of disrepair and the complexity of "Black and White Flight," also the pressures of being a Black neighborhood that is now threatened with sustaining its culture. Today, the four stone walls made of granite from Stone Mountain symbolize the resiliency of the Beloved Community — and a group of leaders who are working to restore St. Mark into its traditional role — as a sustainable cultural center for the neighborhood.
The Building started its life as a book binding factory, designed by A. Ten Eyck Brown and his associate Alfredo Barili Jr. This would be the same team that would designed the US Post Office (now the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building) and the Fulton County Courthouse. A. Ten Eyck Brown would go on to be one of the most prolific architects in Atlanta in the 20th century, designing primarly public structures like the Sweet Auburn Curb Market and many other civic buildings.
While the focus of APS is on building and rehabilitating schools for educational purposes, school buildings are important to the history of their community and Atlanta. Schools are often the center of activity in communities and play a prominent role in the daily life and history of a community. Many were designed by the top architects of their time.
