86-526: The Georgian Terrace Hotel in Midtown Atlanta , part of the Fox Theatre Historic District , was designed by architect William Lee Stoddart in a Beaux-Arts style that was intended to evoke the architecture of Paris. Construction commenced on July 21, 1910, and ended on September 8, 1911, and the hotel opened on October 2, 1911. The George C. Fuller Construction Company was contractor, and
172-458: A Trader Joe's and a cinema multiplex. Atlantic Station a large regional mall and lifestyle center, and the community-size Ansley Mall are adjacent to Midtown's north end. Some retail shops are located along Peachtree Street but the area has not been a major shopping destination since the 1960s and a boulevard of upscale shops envisioned in 2006 never came to establish itself. burgeoning restaurant scene buoyed by lunch crowds from employees of
258-615: A church organ as well as a theater organ. It is noteworthy that the Mighty Mo is among the shrinking list of instruments which remain installed in the theaters for which they were designed. Larry Douglas Embury was the theater's permanent Organist in Residence from 2002 until his death in February 2016. In that capacity he presided over the Mighty Mo in performances during the Fox's summer film festival and
344-558: A concert celebrating his 70th birthday. On February 2, 2019, the Fox hosted the NFL Honors ahead of Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium . Elvis Presley played at the Fox Theatre in 1956, Bruce Springsteen played it in 1976, 1978 and 1996, Bob Marley and the Wailers performed there on December 12, 1979, in support of his Survival Tour and Pearl Jam played there in 1994, and
430-457: A curio booth, an "oak-mission" decorated Rathskeller , barber shops, a manicure parlor, and an ornate ballroom that was the setting for the 1939 Gone with the Wind Gala. All of the hotel's original furniture and interior furnishings were from M. Rich and Brothers Co., later Rich's . On October 2, 1911, thousands of guests from Atlanta and other cities attended the opening night ceremonies of
516-590: A gridded residential area and built his own home there on Peachtree at 4th Street. His son, Edward, built his home on the block bounded by North Avenue, Piedmont Avenue , Ponce de Leon Avenue, and Myrtle Street. The home, now called Ivy Hall , was restored by the Savannah College of Art & Design in 2008 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the Civil War , Peachtree between what
602-413: A movie house, the Fox has a shallow stage by theatrical standards and is unable—without extensive but temporary alterations—to accommodate some of the set pieces required by modern large scale shows such as The Lion King and Miss Saigon . In June 2006, the theater installed a $ 130,000 digital cinema video projection system, which debuted with a showing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion,
688-660: A one-day, two-stage music festival blending indie rock bands with electronic DJs. In the fall, the Atlanta Pride festival attracts the LGBT local and regional community while the week-long Out on Film gay film festival highlights films by, for, and about the LGBT community. Residents are zoned to schools in the Atlanta Public Schools . In addition, the campuses of Georgia Institute of Technology , John Marshall Law School , and
774-611: A parade, dance demonstrations, ethnic foods, and a live music stage featuring international performers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. Midtown is the home of Atlanta's major music festival, Music Midtown , which was revived in 2011 after a five-year hiatus. At the corner of 8th Street and Spring Street, near the Midtown MARTA station, Midtown hosts the Peachtree Music Festival,
860-422: A rebirth of the hotel. In 1991, the hotel was converted into a luxury apartment building, and a new 19-story wing complete with a rooftop pool was built to resemble the original 10-story Beaux-Arts-style hotel. In 1997, the apartments were vacated, and the property reopened as a luxury hotel. The first decade of the 21st century saw two major renovations done at the hotel, one in 2000 and one in 2009, which included
946-780: A resident population of 41,681 and a business population of 81,418. Midtown has the highest density of art and cultural institutions in the Southeast , notably including the Fox Theatre , Woodruff Arts Center , the High Museum of Art , the Center for Puppetry Arts , the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , and the Museum of Design Atlanta . Midtown attracts more than six million visitors annually, mostly in connection with large annual events such as
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#17328562122381032-502: A search from within the attic above the auditorium ceiling. The Egyptian Ballroom is designed after a temple for Ramses II at Karnak while the mezzanine Ladies Lounge features a replica of the throne chair of King Tut and makeup tables that feature tiny Sphinxes . The Islamic sections feature a number of ablution fountains, which are currently kept dry. Throughout the Fox there is extensive use of trompe-l'œil ; "wooden" beams are actually plaster, paint that appears gold leaf
1118-503: A six-foot (1.8m) grand piano (originally from the Kilgen organ in Chicago's Piccadilly Theatre); plus a large variety of silent movie sound effects (such as various car horns, thunder and rain effects, bird whistles, etc.). The organ is remarkable for a theater organ because it also includes 12 ranks of pipes for a church organ, known as the "Ethereal" division. Thus the organ can be played as
1204-475: A sizeable presence, such as Norfolk Southern , Wells Fargo , PriceWaterhouseCoopers , and AT&T Inc. Carter's, Inc. had its headquarters in Midtown but moved to Buckhead in 2013. Regional offices for companies such as Google , Arcapita , and Jason's Deli are located in Midtown. Major law firms such as King & Spalding and Kilpatrick & Stockton are also located in Midtown. In April 2019,
1290-455: Is a quasi-legal entity for zoning, law enforcement, and tax purposes. It is defined by the City of Atlanta to include the business district along Peachtree Street as well as Historic Midtown , the residential area east of Piedmont Avenue and to the south of Piedmont Park. The Midtown Alliance defines a larger, "Greater Midtown" area of approximately four square miles. This includes the area within
1376-546: Is heavily urbanized ( buildings , shops, skyscraper and hotels ). Midtown also serves cyclists and pedestrians with 5 miles of bike lanes. The restaurants established in Midtown are recycling and composting at least 95% . 50 recycling cans have been installed. Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia) The Fox Theatre (often marketed as the Fabulous Fox ), a former movie palace , is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta , Georgia , and
1462-408: Is largely unadorned until its cornice line, which is embellished by highly-decorative terracotta . The Peachtree Street façade is composed of a two-story-high window arcade set under a wide cornice supported on narrow pilasters and has a centered portico . The Ponce de Leon Avenue façade features a portico held up by four columns that rest on a rusticated , arcaded base. This portico was used as
1548-473: Is not, areas are painted and lit to appear to receive outside lighting, ornate fireplaces were never designed to have working chimneys , and what appears to be a giant Bedouin canopy in the auditorium is plaster and steel rods designed to help funnel sound to the farthest balcony. The Fox Theatre gives regular tours of the building's interior. Originally designed as the Yaarab Shrine Temple,
1634-546: Is noted for its bungalows and Queen Anne style houses. Midtown's focal point is the expansive greenspace of Piedmont Park , which underwent a major expansion in 2011. The park is surrounded by the Midtown business district to its west, Ansley Park to its northwest, the BeltLine , Morningside , and Virginia Highland to its east, and the Midtown Historic District to its south. The Atlanta Botanical Garden adjoins
1720-496: Is now 8th and 12th streets was still about a mile beyond the city limits, which ended at Pine Street. After the American Civil War a shantytown named Tight Squeeze developed at Peachtree at what is now 10th Street. It was infamous for vagrancy, desperation, and robberies of merchants transiting the settlement. As Atlanta grew ever further outwards from its historic center, mansions were constructed along Peachtree Street and
1806-646: Is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District . The theater was originally planned as part of a large Shrine Temple as evidenced by its Moorish design . The 4,665-seat auditorium was ultimately developed as a lavish movie theater in the Fox Theatres chain and opened in 1929. It hosts a variety of cultural and artistic events including the Atlanta Ballet , a summer film series, and performances by national touring companies of Broadway shows . The venue also hosts occasional concerts by popular artists. When
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#17328562122381892-618: Is the finish line of the Peachtree Road Race , held annually on Independence Day . As ground zero for the Atlanta arts community, Midtown is home to the annual Atlanta Arts Festival, which brings artists from across the country to Piedmont Park. Piedmont Park is the home of the Southeast's largest multicultural festival, Festival Peachtree Latino , which celebrates Hispanic-American culture with arts and crafts, family activities, sporting events,
1978-664: The Academy of Medicine . Historic districts include the Fox Theatre Historic District and Historic Midtown ; both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Fox Theatre Historic District comprises the Fox Theatre (Oliver Vinour et al., 1929), William Lee Stoddart 's Georgian Terrace Hotel (1911), Stoddart's Italianate Ponce de Leon Apartments (1913), and the Cox-Carlton Hotel (1925). Historic Midtown, which includes most of Midtown east of Piedmont Avenue ,
2064-418: The Atlanta Ballet 's annual production of The Nutcracker . In September 2002, he hosted "Fox at the Fox," a concert commemorating the twenty-second anniversary of the death of the great concert organist, Virgil Fox . Fox had played a famous series of "Fox at the Fox" concerts on the Mighty Mo at the Fox Theatre in the 1970s. The Fox also contains a 3,640-square-foot (338 m ) apartment that served as
2150-553: The Atlanta Dogwood Festival , Atlanta Pride , Music Midtown , and Georgia Tech athletic games . Since the 1990s, Midtown has also been a primary area for high-density development due to the area's mass transit options, urban street grid, and desirability. The definition and meaning of "Midtown" have varied over time, expanding from an original concept of a small neighborhood midway between Downtown and Buckhead. Boundary definitions vary by source. In many cases, Midtown
2236-434: The Fox Theatre opened across the street from the hotel in 1929, traffic on Peachtree Street would be stopped and a red carpet rolled from the door of the hotel to the theatre entrance, allowing the opera stars and other celebrities staying at the hotel to make a grand entrance into the theatre before their shows started. In the 1920s, Arthur Murray , who was then a student at Georgia Tech , started teaching dance classes in
2322-626: The Rolling Stones in 1981. Georgia musicians the Allman Brothers played at the Fox Theatre in 1980, Ray Charles in 1983, James Brown in 1985, R.E.M. in 1989, the B-52's in 1989 and 2022, the Black Crowes in 1992, Alan Jackson in 1992, Widespread Panic in 1993, Collective Soul in 1996, Jeff Foxworthy in '01, Outkast in 2001, Indigo Girls in '04, Zac Brown Band in 2009 (released on
2408-642: The Woodruff Arts Center and its campus were expanded. Future additions will include a new Atlanta Symphony Center . The High Museum of Art has collaborated with major art museums to house temporary collections of masterpieces, most notably the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Across the street from the High is Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) , the only museum in the Southeast devoted exclusively to
2494-509: The headquarters for a 5,000-member Shriners organization, the $ 2.75 million project exceeded the Shriners' budget, so they leased the auditorium to movie mogul William Fox , who was building theaters around the country at the time. The theater opened on December 25, 1929, just two months after the stock market crash and the start of the Great Depression . A week later, on New Year's Day,
2580-681: The 1940s. It had become a residential hotel in 1945 and had been modernized with air-conditioning, new plumbing, and some interior changes. In 1945, the prominent tile-buttressed, shed roof cornice was removed. During the 1970s, the Grand Ballroom was turned into the Electric Ballroom by concert promoters Alex Cooley and Mark Golob. Musical performers providing concerts at the hotel included Billy Joel , Fleetwood Mac , Patti Smith , and Bruce Springsteen . The 1974 film Cockfighter , starring Warren Oates , features some scenes that were shot at
2666-420: The 1950s and early 1960s refer to the area as "Uptown Atlanta," a moniker which would later be applied instead to Buckhead following its annexation. The southern half of Midtown between 8th Street and North Ave was originally purchased by Richard Peters in 1848 to use the pine forest there for fuel for his downtown flour mill. Over the next 40 years, Peters slowly subdivided sections of these land lots off for
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2752-477: The 1950s, and the blocks between Williams Street and Techwood Drive were demolished to make way for it. In 1959 Lenox Square and in 1964, Ansley Mall opened, and the Tenth Street shopping district went into decline. By the late 1960s, Peachtree Street between Eighth and Fourteenth Streets had become a center of hippie culture known as The Strip Large-scale commercial development began with Colony Square ,
2838-475: The Alliance include improving neighborhood safety, developing area arts and education programs, and building community leaders. The master plan from the Alliance, called Blueprint Midtown, is credited with fueling the economic resurgence that has helped the once downtrodden Midtown area transform over the past number of years into a popular neighborhood. A 2011 Creative Loafing article claimed that: No part of
2924-415: The Atlanta area for new writers and manuscripts. While in town, he met Peggy Mitchell Marsh , whom he was introduced to through a mutual acquaintance. This mutual acquaintance also had told Latham that Marsh had written a novel about Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction . After several failed attempts to obtain the manuscript from Marsh, Latham finally succeeded in getting it from her in
3010-547: The Atlanta division of the Savannah College of Art and Design are located in Midtown. Midtown Atlanta is served by Atlanta's rail rapid transit system, MARTA , at the North Avenue , Midtown , and Arts Center MARTA Stations . MARTA operates a significant bus service in the district. There is a free shuttle between the Arts Center MARTA Station and Atlantic Station, and a free-to-the-public daytime shuttle between
3096-466: The Egyptian Ballroom. Every year since Atlanta Landmarks assumed management in 1975, the Fox has generated an operating surplus. An estimated 750,000 people visit the Fox every year. The venue was the site of Prince 's final performance, held one week before his death on April 21, 2016. In May 2017, Aquarium Rescue Unit frontman Col. Bruce Hampton died after collapsing onstage at the Fox during
3182-667: The Fox Theatre first opened, the local newspaper described it as having, "a picturesque and almost disturbing grandeur beyond imagination". It remains a showplace that impresses theater-goers to this day. The principal architect of the project was Olivier Vinour of the firm Marye, Alger and Vinour. The original architecture and décor of the Fox can be roughly divided into two architectural styles: Islamic architecture (building exterior, auditorium, Grand Salon, mezzanine Gentlemen's Lounge and lower Ladies Lounge) and Egyptian architecture (Egyptian Ballroom, mezzanine Ladies Lounge and lower Gentlemen's Lounge). The 4,665-seat auditorium , which
3268-567: The Georgian Terrace Hotel's Grand Ballroom was the site of the Gone with the Wind Gala, whose attendees included Clark Gable , Carole Lombard , Vivien Leigh , Laurence Olivier , Olivia de Havilland , Claudette Colbert , Victor Fleming , Louis B. Mayer , David O. Selznick , Margaret Mitchell, and several other notable guests. The premiere of Gone with the Wind was in Atlanta in 1939. All of
3354-456: The Georgian Terrace Hotel, where they were entertained by a costumed-Spanish orchestra performing in the Grand Ballroom. Immediately, guests and the press dubbed the hotel as a "distinct step forward in Southern hoteldom" and a "Parisian hotel on a noted boulevard in a metropolitan city". Over subsequent decades, the hotel would be referred to as the "Grand Old Lady of Peachtree". Since its opening,
3440-520: The Georgian Terrace via a motorcade through a parade route on Peachtree Street. During the premiere of Song of the South , which did take place at the Fox Theatre, Walt Disney stayed at the hotel. He returned to his room before the film started; unexpected audience reactions of any kind upset him and he preferred not to watch it with the audience. The Georgian Terrace Hotel saw quite a few changes in
3526-406: The Georgian Terrace. By 1981, revenues were in steady decline and the hotel closed its doors for the first time in its 70-year history. By the middle of that decade, the hotel had been boarded up and condemned. In 1986, however, the hotel was listed as a part of the "Fox Theatre District" on the National Register of Historic Places, which successfully blocked plans for its demolition. The 1990s saw
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3612-582: The Ladies Carriage entrance and provided access to the main hotel; the café terrace, which held exotic plants, tables, and chairs to resemble cafes in Europe; and a lower level of the hotel, which at one time housed the WAKE 1340AM radio station. Originally, the hotel had a prominent, tile-buttressed, shed roof cornice that was supported by ornamented, paired brackets, but this element was removed in 1945. The inside of
3698-472: The Midtown MARTA station and Georgia Tech , called the "Tech Trolley". Ecodistricts are being implemented in leading cities around the world and Midtown has just completed a process to create Atlanta 's first ecodistrict. The Midtown Ecodistrict was created in 2012 as a platform for the community to collaborate on initiatives that results in improved environmental and economic performance. The program focuses on measurement on sustainability methods throughout
3784-562: The Park. The BeltLine is a 22-mile-long (35 km) trail circling the older neighborhoods of central Atlanta which will be developed in stages. The BeltLine Eastside Trail connects Piedmont Park (at the intersection of 10th and Monroe) to the Inman Park MARTA station at DeKalb Avenue. The "Art on the BeltLine" project has resulted in the installation of several contemporary art pieces on
3870-771: The Republic of China , is located in the Atlantic Center Plaza . The Consulate-General of Israel to the Southeast is also located in Midtown. From 1995 to 2002, the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta was in Colony Square before moving to Buckhead. Immediately adjacent to Midtown on the southeast side along the BeltLine are the large Ponce City Market lifestyle center in the former Sears building, Midtown Promenade power center with Home Depot and other big box stores, and Midtown Place community shopping center with
3956-568: The Roxy Theater, all once-famous Atlanta movie palaces, are gone, and others that opened in the 1960s have since been converted to multiplexes. The Fox Theatre, now run under the non-profit Atlanta Landmarks, Inc., hosts a multitude of cultural and artistic events, including the Atlanta Ballet's annual Nutcracker performances, a summer film series, and performances for various national touring companies of Broadway shows. Because of its origins as
4042-755: The Seventeenth Street Bridge over the Downtown Connector reconnected Midtown with the west side of the city and to the Atlantic Station mixed-use development, which was built on the former site of the Atlantic Steel company. The Midtown Alliance, a group of volunteers, employees, and business and community members, was formed in 1978 in order to work towards improving the overall quality of life in Midtown and transform it into an ideal place for people to actively live, work, and play. Activities of
4128-587: The Shriners inaugurated their new "mosque" in their part of the building, which contained executive offices, a large lounge, a ballroom/banquet hall, kitchen, practice hall, and locker-shower room. Under the terms of the lease, they remained as paying tenants until 1949. According to the National Park Service , "the Fox Theatre closed only 125 weeks after it opened. Members of the Yaarab Temple could not meet their [mortgage payments], and by 1932, William Fox
4214-478: The Shriners, who had built the Fox as a meeting hall. The apartment's walls are 2 to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, and a passageway leads from the bedroom to a former spotlight platform at the top of the auditorium. A separate entrance provides direct access to the street outside the theater. Patten's presence is credited with having saved the Fox from a fast-moving fire in April 1996. The pre-dawn blaze, which broke out in
4300-796: The Witch and the Wardrobe on June 26, part of the Summer Film Festival. The sing-alongs that precede each feature are still shown by the Brenograph Movie projector which was installed in 1929. The Egyptian Ballroom and the Grand Salon are rented regularly for corporate and private functions, including banquets, fundraisers, weddings, trade shows and conventions. They are also both popular spots for proms for many area high schools. Notably, Oxford College of Emory University hosts its annual Fall Formal in
4386-545: The area around 10th was known as Blooming Hill . Cross streets were built and residential development began around 1880. Piedmont Park was established with the Piedmont Exposition of 1887, followed by the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895, lending the area new prominence. Electric streetcar lines extended along Piedmont Avenue by 1895 and along Peachtree Street (to Brookwood ) by 1900. In 1904,
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#17328562122384472-530: The area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business groups. However, the commercial core of the area is anchored by a series of high-rise office buildings, condominiums, hotels, and high-end retail along Peachtree Street between North Avenue and 17th Street. Midtown, situated between Downtown to the south and Buckhead to the north, is the second-largest business district in Metro Atlanta . In 2011, Midtown had
4558-608: The attic wiring, caused $ 2 million in damage. Damage likely would have been greater if Patten had not been on site to call the fire department, said Alan Thomas, president of Atlanta Landmarks, the nonprofit agency that owns the Fox. Atlanta Landmarks had no definite plan on how the apartment will be used after Patten's death. "We could use it for dressing space, rehearsal halls," Thomas told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . "It's unlikely that we'd let anyone else live there." On August 30, 2010, local news outlets reported
4644-469: The city has evolved more dramatically over the past two decades ... Impersonal office buildings, imposing parking decks and cold asphalt arteries have given way to high-rise living and an explosion of street life ... Where once there was a wasteland, now there are great restaurants, groceries, specialty shops, townhouses, lofts, and ... people. In the early 1980s, Midtown Atlanta was a blighted area mainly consisting of parking lots. By 1987, One Atlantic Center
4730-547: The city's definition, but splitting it into the sub-areas Midtown Core and Midtown Garden District , i.e. Historic Midtown . It also includes the neighborhoods of Ansley Park , Sherwood Forest , Atlantic Station , Home Park , and Loring Heights . The area has gone by other names in the past. An 1897 source refers to the area as North Atlanta, which would later be the name of today's city of Brookhaven . The 1897 "North Atlanta" encompassed (roughly) most of today's Midtown, Georgia Tech , and English Avenue . Sources from
4816-404: The company. Green operational practices in the areas of energy, water, transportation and waste were implemented in an effort to make Midtown one of the most livable, vibrant and sustainable districts in the country. In 2014, Midtown Alliance (who created the ecodistrict) decided to highlight business and buildings in Midtown that have made a significant commitment to green practices. This district
4902-689: The corner of Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue . It was one of the first hotels built outside of the city's downtown business district in a then residential neighborhood, which had been land originally owned by Richard Peters . At a cost of $ 500,000, the hotel was built of butter-colored brick, marble, and limestone in the Beaux-Arts style as a Southern interpretation of the Parisian hotel. The hotel features classical architectural details, such as turreted corners, floor-to-ceiling Palladian-styled windows, and wide wrap-around columned terraces . The hotel
4988-504: The developer was Joseph F. Gatins, Jr. A 19-story wing, designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and Associates, was added in 1991. A major renovation was completed in 2009. The Georgian Terrace is a member of Historic Hotels of America , the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The original 10-story Georgian Terrace Hotel was designed to conform to Atlanta's early trolley rail lines that met at
5074-435: The development of Ansley Park began. By the 1920s, Tenth and Peachtree had become the nexus of a significant shopping district for the surrounding neighborhood. The 1910 Encyclopædia Britannica listed Peachtree Street in Midtown as one of the finest residential areas of the city, along with Ponce de Leon Circle (now Ponce de Leon Avenue), Washington Street , and Inman Park . The Downtown Connector freeway opened in
5160-565: The fall of 2010, the Georgian Terrace's Grand Ballroom was used as a filming location for the Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds film The Change-Up . In the film, the ballroom doubles as Plantation Oaks Country Club. 33°46′21″N 84°23′05″W / 33.7726°N 84.3846°W / 33.7726; -84.3846 Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta , or Midtown , is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta , Georgia . The exact geographical extent of
5246-456: The first mixed-use development in the Southeast, which was built between 1969 and 1973. The MARTA subway line opened in 1981. In the 1980s, many older properties were demolished, some remaining vacant for decades. High-density commercial and residential development took root in the north–south corridor along Peachtree and West Peachtree. The BellSouth Center (1982), now the AT&;T Midtown Center ,
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#17328562122385332-420: The help of old photographs . Today, the Fox appears much as it did when it opened, with some additions that were in the original plans but had to be scrapped in the 1920s due to financial constraints. Other changes have been made to bring the building up to current safety codes . The Fox is now the only remaining movie palace in Atlanta. The Loew's Grand, Martin Cinerama, Georgia Cinerama, Paramount Theater, and
5418-442: The hotel has been the place for numerous historical events and housed several prominent guests, including Clark Gable , Tallulah Bankhead , Calvin Coolidge , John J. Pershing , Walt Disney , and F. Scott Fitzgerald . Starting in 1913, famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso along with members of The Metropolitan Opera used the hotel as their Atlanta headquarters when they came yearly to the city to perform in spring concerts. Once
5504-411: The hotel was decorated with crystal and Italian-bronze chandeliers , white marble columns, ornate pilasters, paneled walls, elliptical staircases, and Italian-tiled floors. In addition to guest rooms, the hotel housed the Winter Garden, the Terrace Garden Lounging Room, which was almost entirely enclosed in glass, the Terrace Restaurant Grill Room, general management offices, an elevator, telephone booths,
5590-416: The hotel's Grand Ballroom. This enterprise eventually spawned his franchised-branded dance lesson business. In 1926, Georgia's chief investigator for the Solicitor General, Bert Donaldson, was murdered at the hotel. It was thought that this planned "hit" was evidence of Atlanta's underworld connections to organized crime . In 1935, Macmillan editor Harold Latham decided to stay at the hotel while scouting
5676-441: The largest Whole Foods Market in the southeastern United States opened in Midtown. Midtown is also home to a share of Atlanta's diplomatic missions . The Consulate-General of Canada is located at 100 Colony Square Building, as is the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency. The Consulate-General of Switzerland in Atlanta is located in the Two Midtown Plaza building. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office , representing
5762-430: The live album Pass the Jar ), Monica in 2010, Mastodon in 2017, Manchester Orchestra in 2018, Drivin' N' Cryin' with Drive-By Truckers in '19, Blackberry Smoke in '19, Travis Tritt in '19, and The Georgia Satellites in 2022. On September 17, 2024, the Fox Theatre hosted Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song , an event concert to celebrate the 100th birthday of former president Jimmy Carter . The event
5848-466: The lobby of the hotel as he was about to depart for New Orleans . Upon handing the manuscript to Latham, Marsh said, "If you really want it you may take it, but it is incomplete and unrevised." That unfinished novel was completed and published in 1936 as Gone with the Wind , winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. While she insisted on using her married name socially, the book was published under her maiden name of Margaret Mitchell . On December 15, 1939,
5934-404: The north end of the property at the corner of West Peachtree and 3rd streets. The U.S. Department of the Interior subsequently named the Fox a National Historic Landmark on May 26, 1976, citing its architectural uniqueness. After the Fox was saved from demolition , a lengthy and expensive restoration process began. Much of the original décor had survived and new pieces were created with
6020-416: The opening of Livingston's Restaurant and Bar and Mims Café, both named after early Atlanta Mayor Livingston Mims , who had built his house in 1879 on the corner where the hotel now stands. In April 2007, the hotel was used by Robert Rodriguez to film a Bacardi Global Brands commercial for the European market titled El Toro . This commercial starred George Clooney , Jamie King, and Leonor Varela . In
6106-446: The private residence of Joe Patten, who served as technical director from 1974 to 2004. Patten, who was born in 1927, and died on April 7, 2016, was granted a lifetime rent-free lease to the apartment. Patten first became involved with the Fox when he volunteered to restore the theater's Moller pipe organ. He later was instrumental in the movement to save the Fox from demolition. The apartment occupies space previously used as an office by
6192-578: The regional arm of AT&T , approached the owners of the theater with an offer to buy and with the intent of tearing it down and building the parking deck for a new headquarters on the site. A group was formed to save the theater and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1974. The ensuing public outcry and massive campaign, including such entertainers as Liberace and Lynyrd Skynyrd (recording their first live album there and debuting guitarist Ed King 's replacement, Steve Gaines , to
6278-421: The second dress seating still remains, and the "colored" box office window stands unused at the back entrance. These are left in place for educational and historical purposes. The theater was integrated in 1962. During the 1970s, several elements collided to bring about the Fox's decline – white flight , the rise of suburban multiplex theaters, and changes in how films were distributed. In 1974, Southern Bell ,
6364-476: The stars and the Director of the movie (with the exception of Vivien Leigh and her lover at the time, Laurence Olivier) stayed at the Georgian Terrace. The pre-premiere party was held at the hotel. Contrary to popular belief, the premier showing of Gone With the Wind was not held at the Fox Theatre, but rather at Loew's Grand Theatre in downtown Atlanta. After the movie was screened there, its stars were ushered to
6450-474: The study and celebration of all things design. Midtown is the home of the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design , which is located in historic buildings throughout the district. Midtown's Piedmont Park is a popular venue for cultural festivals in Atlanta. Every spring, when the native dogwoods are in bloom in Piedmont Park, is the Atlanta Dogwood Festival , an arts and crafts fair. Piedmont Park
6536-655: The surrounding businesses. Midtown is known by many residents as Atlanta's "Heart of the Arts". It is the home of the Ferst Center for Arts , Fox Theatre , the Woodruff Arts Center , the Atlanta Botanical Garden , the Richard Meier - and Renzo Piano -designed High Museum of Art , as well as the Atlanta Ballet , Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , Center for Puppetry Arts , and other arts and entertainment venues. Recently,
6622-529: The trail. Midtown Atlanta is a commercial district in its own right, containing 22 million square feet (2,000,000 m ) of office space, with 8.2 million square feet (760,000 m ) of office space added to the area since 1997, with up to 3.8 million square feet (350,000 m ) more planned. Furthermore, Midtown is home to many corporate headquarters, such as Equifax , EarthLink , Invesco , The Coca-Cola Company , NCR , and CNN / Warner Bros. Discovery , as well as other corporations with
6708-464: The world), among other celebrities, resulted in the city refusing to issue a demolition permit . Ultimately, a complicated deal was brokered that prevented the Fox's demolition. The Southern Bell Building (now Tower Square) was built on land adjacent to the theater on the building's west side in conjunction with the construction of the North Avenue MARTA station , with its parking deck built on
6794-406: Was also at this time that the Egyptian Ballroom became Atlanta's most popular public dance hall and hosted all the important big bands and country and western swing bands of the era. It was notable at that time for being the only theater in Atlanta allowing both white and black patrons. However, there was a separate black box office , entrance, and seating; the segregation wall in the middle of
6880-532: Was bankrupt." After the mortgage was foreclosed in December 1932, the entire complex was purchased jointly by Paramount Pictures and Lucas & Jenkins, a Georgia company that owned a hundred theatres. In 1939, the movie most associated with Atlanta and the South , Gone with the Wind , premiered at the now-demolished Loew's Grand Theatre rather than the Fox. Although GWTW was produced by Selznick International , it
6966-496: Was built on the corner of West Peachtree Street and 14th Street, which kick-started the redevelopment of the area. Some contemporary buildings of note are: In the area surrounding Peachtree Street , very little of the original architecture was preserved. Some of the notable exceptions listed on the National Register of Historic Places include the Margaret Mitchell House , Rhodes Hall , Edward C. Peters House , and
7052-456: Was designed for movies and live performances, replicates an Arabian courtyard , complete with 96 embedded crystal "stars" (a third of which flicker ) in its ceiling and a projection of clouds that slowly drift across this "night sky". A longstanding rumor that one of the stars was a piece of a Coca-Cola bottle was confirmed in June 2010 when two members of the theater's restoration staff conducted
7138-467: Was distributed by Loew's Incorporated as part of a deal with rival studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . The parade down Peachtree Street for the movie's premier coincidentally started just outside the Fox because the movie's cast was staying across the street at the Georgian Terrace Hotel . During the 1940s, the Fox acquired strong management and became one of the finest movie theaters in Atlanta. It
7224-500: Was long the landmark skyscraper in the area. However, commercial development escalated after 1987, when One Atlantic Center was completed. The 2000s decade saw the construction of numerous high-rise condo buildings in Midtown, such as the Spire , Viewpoint, and 1010 Midtown . In 2006, then-Mayor Shirley Franklin set in motion a plan to make the 14-block stretch of Peachtree Street a street-level shopping destination. The 2004 opening of
7310-639: Was produced by the Carter Center and featured appearances by musicians and celebrities. The Fox features a four manual (or keyboard) 42-rank pipe organ nicknamed the "Mighty Mo". It was custom built for the Fox by M. P. Möller, Inc. in 1929 in Hagerstown, Maryland . With 3,622 pipes, it is the second-largest theater organ in the country, behind the Wurlitzer at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and
7396-412: Was the largest theater instrument built by Möller. As a true theater organ , as opposed to a church organ , Mighty Mo boasts pipes that range in size from 32 feet (nearly 10 meters) tall to the size of a small ballpoint pen, and is designed to imitate the sounds of a full orchestra . Besides the pipes, it also contains a marimba , xylophone , glockenspiel , drums , sleigh bells , a gong , and even
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