The second floor of the main house at Georgia College & State University’s Andalusia Farm is undergoing renovation.
The main house at Andalusia Farm was where Flannery O’Connor lived after her diagnosis of lupus and where she wrote two novels and 32 short stories centered around the American Southern Gothic genre. O’Connor lived in the home until her death in 1964. While she lived on the first floor of the home, the second floor of the main house was reserved for guests.
“The upstairs has two guest rooms, and we are using photographic evidence to restore them to the time period Flannery lived there,” said Andalusia curator Cassie Munnell. “Flannery may have stayed in these rooms herself when she was much younger before she moved downstairs permanently.”
According to Munnell, the rooms are being restored with authentic furniture from the museum’s collection. Each room will be restored in a way depicted through photographs also in the collection.
“Renovations of the guest rooms are in their final stages,” said Munnell. “The rooms will become part of the guided tour and our tour guides are already preparing to discuss the historical context of the rooms.”
Munnell stated that the rooms will not include any augmented reality tour elements, as that recent upgrade to Andalusia is primarily to expand on the outdoor buildings.
“Our tour guides will be able to answer any questions and show off the room,” said Munnell.
The second floor of the main house has been closed until right before construction started due to it being used as office space. When Andalusia’s interpretive center was opened, offices and collection space moved into the center opening up the second floor for use.
“We briefly allowed visitors to view the empty rooms prior to construction but they will be closed until renovations are completed,” said Munnell. “The second floor will be open to the public by the end of the year, but we are hoping to open much sooner.”
Updates on the construction are being posted on Andalusia, the Home of Flannery O’Connor Facebook page. Opening dates for the second floor and upcoming celebrations for O’Connor’s 100th birthday will also be posted to the Facebook page.