The one-story, red brick building on the edge of Atlanta's Whittier Mill Village doesn't look much like a residence. It's boxy design and oversized windows have a commercial appearance that doesn't fit with the historic neighborhood's tiny frame bungalows. And then there's that caduceus that forms part of the porch railing.

A closer look reveals a plaque by the front door identifying the building as a community health center, erected by Fulton County in 1949. Today, this is the 2,500-square-foot home of Chris and Jennifer Sizemore, who moved into the space more than a year ago.

Hyosub Shin / AJC (ENLARGE)

The caduceus, the symbol of medicine, remains on display at the home of Chris and Jennifer Sizemore, which used to be a health clinic.

Hyosub Shin / AJC (ENLARGE)

The red, yellow and black linoleum floor inspired the color scheme of the kitchen and dining area.

Hyosub Shin / AJC (ENLARGE)

Large windows span the front wall of the living room.

"It's one of a kind; we couldn't pass it up," said Chris Sizemore. "Not only is there nothing else like it around — it sits on a half acre inside the city limits."

Whittier Mill Village is located just inside I-285 in the northwest part of Atlanta near Vinings.

The couple were living in the nearby Riverside neighborhood when they found the former clinic on the market. "I had a vision for what I wanted to do with it," recalled Chris Sizemore, who has added two pergolas and a patio onto the rear and side of the house.

The house stopped being a health center years ago and had been a private residence when the Sizemores bought it. But it needed work. They redid the electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems and in the course of their renovations, came across the building's original blueprints.

"They were left in an old electrical closet off a back room," said Chris Sizemore. "We had them framed and put them up, because they show something very unique about this building: There were 'white' waiting rooms and a 'colored' waiting room marked on the plans, as there would have been in the 1950s. It's a weird piece of history that I would never have thought about."

From the front door, guests enter the living room with a tray ceiling and large windows spanning the front wall. The couple has modernized it with a flat-screen TV, bookcases and a sectional sofa. Hardwood floors stretch back to the three bedrooms and a hallway that holds a built-in fire extinguisher box.

The kitchen has a red-and-black block linoleum floor that inspired the couple to add red to their color scheme. A glass-topped table is surrounded by gray suede chairs, black counter tops and a black-topped island with three black, backless stools; the walls are red with black trim around wood cabinets and a stainless steel sink. The wall behind the stove is lined with black, red and yellow tiles. Four large windows line the breakfast area. Two industrial-looking white lamps over the eating area are believed to be original to the building.

The adjoining laundry and powder room area lead to the game room, a spacious back room where the couple installed a marble-topped bar, bead-board moldings and a comfortable seating area around a pool table.

The hallway, lined with the framed blueprints, leads to the master bedroom which the Sizemores faux-painted in cocoa colors. An old-fashioned half-glass door opens to a home office. The floor of the guest bath is tiled with tiny black and white squares; black tile trim lines the walls around a white pedestal sink. A second bedroom has two large windows and a picture ledge below the ceiling.

The couple was not only attracted to the building's past. It's a solidly built structure that measures up to the "they don't build them like they used to" saying.

"The walls are solid," said Jennifer Sizemore. "It's a bear to hang anything. But we've told people if they need someplace to go during a tornado, come here."

Have a cottage, condo, loft or mansion you want to brag about? Call MetroHome at 404-514-6162 or email hm_cauley@yahoo.com.