Phinizy House, the 19th century home of a historic Augustan, reopened as event venue

One of Augusta's historic buildings has been saved, refreshed, and is now being put back into use.

The Phinizy House on Greene Street has been successfully redeveloped and, last week, was opened as a vintage venue for weddings, corporate events, and other functions.

The main house was built in the late 19th century as the home of Jacob Phinizy, who was the president of the Georgia Railroad Bank and served as mayor of Augusta twice. Phinizy lived there until his death in 1924, according to Augusta Chronicle archives. It went on to serve as a residential home and funeral home for the Poteet family, who built the next door chapel in 1958. The property was eventually sold to a Canadian company, which went out of business, leaving the house abandoned for several years.

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2KM Architects bought the property in 2010 with the intention of renovating it into the Augusta firm's offices. However, architect and co-owner of Phinizy House Brad King explained that this was way more space than they needed.

"We shot around a lot of ideas and we thought the best idea is making it an event center," he said. "It's highly flexible, add a commercial catering kitchen with all the bells and whistles, and people will find a use for it."

It has since gone through a thorough renovation of the main house, bathrooms, break rooms, conference rooms, and support spaces. The back porch has been restored, the attic has been insulated, and the exterior white paint has been removed to expose the red brick. While the chapel and kitchen are rather modern, much of the antique abode still holds its original charm.

"I don't think anyone could have imagined what it would turn into," King said. "It's really been better than we expected it to come out and we feel like it has a character, but it also serves as a great background for whoever wants to come in and apply their own finishing touches to events and whatnot."

Full space rentals vary in price and duration, starting at $1,050 for a six hour rental during a weekday. The Rose Room and Parlor are $400 on non-weekdays. Photography sessions of two hours cost $150. Private use of the kitchen outside of events is $100 per hour.

For more information, go to phinizyhouseeventscenter.com.