At the southwest exit of the Peachtree Center MARTA Station in Downtown Atlanta lies two granite stones, one saying “This is the house that Jack built.” But who’s Jack?
Jasper “Jack” Newton Smith, 1833-1918, was a brickyard owner, real estate developer and known around the city as “Atlanta’s quaintest character.” He is best known for constructing a commercial building at the intersection of Forsyth and Peachtree streets made out of cast-off blocks of granite and referred to as “the house that Jack built.”
Smith’s infamous granite mausoleum and statue can be found at the entrance of Oakland Cemetery.