Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum

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Cyclorama of the Battle of Atlanta
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Atlanta former Cyclorama building
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Location Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates 33°44′2.97″N84°22′15.83″W / 33.7341583°N 84.3710639°W / 33.7341583; -84.3710639
Built1885
ArchitectAmerican Cyclorama Co.; John Francis Downing
Visitation54,489 (2014) [1]
NRHP reference No. 71000274 [2]
Added to NRHPDecember 9, 1971

The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum was a Civil War museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. Its most noted attraction was the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cylindrical panoramic painting of the Battle of Atlanta. As of December 2021, the Cyclorama is located at the Atlanta History Center, while the building is now Zoo Atlanta's Savanna Hall. [3] [4]

Contents

History

The painting was created as a traveling attraction for Northerners; it portrayed celebrated Union officers, while the portrayals of Confederate officers were not individualized. [5] It was purchased and moved to Atlanta in 1891 by Paul Atkinson, who attempted to recast the Battle of Atlanta as a Confederate victory, repainting a group of Confederate prisoners of war so they became defeated Union soldiers. [5]

Paying visitors viewed the cylindrical painting from the inside, entering through an entrance in the floor. After being seated, the central cylinder rotates slowly, affording a view of the entire painting. The painting at one time was the largest oil painting in the world, and if unrolled would measure 49 feet (15 m) high by 358 feet (109 m) long, weighing 10,000 pounds. [3] It held this record until 1894, when it was surpassed in size by The Racławice Panorama (15 × 114 meter, 49 ft × 374 ft) a cycloramic painting depicting the Battle of Racławice.

The Cyclorama was narrated at one time by volunteers, some of whom were veterans or widows of veterans of the Civil War. In 1960, Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield accepted the donation of a recorded narration written by Junius Andrew Park Jr., in honor of his father, Junius Andrew Park Sr., who was born and raised in Atlanta. Research was done by Lurline Richardson Park, the writer's wife. The narration was musically scored by Atlanta musician Sam T. Wilhoit, and the narration was read by Hollywood actor Victor Jory, who appeared in the original motion picture Gone with the Wind . All parties donated their time and labor. In later years, a revised narration was produced and narrated by actor Shepperd Strudwick.

Civil War museum

The uniform of a Confederate general Confederate general uniform.jpg
The uniform of a Confederate general

The museum displayed pictures and artifacts from the Civil War, including the Texas, a steam locomotive that pursued the captured train the General in the Great Locomotive Chase during the war. This raid was depicted in the 1927 Buster Keaton film The General and the 1956 Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase .

A movie theater inside the museum showed a short film about the Atlanta Campaign, narrated by James Earl Jones, to visitors before they view the painting. The cyclorama painting itself is augmented by a three-dimensional diorama in front of the painting and a narration of the events of the battle and the history of the painting. A popular story concerning the diorama involves actor Clark Gable. During the celebrations surrounding the opening of the film Gone with the Wind, the film's actors visited the Atlanta Cyclorama. Gable allegedly claimed that the only way the painting could be any more magnificent was if he were in it, prompting the management to add Gable's features to one of the sculptures in the diorama, that of a dying soldier.

Relocation

In July 2014, Atlanta city officials announced plans to relocate the Cyclorama to the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead. [1] The possibility of a move started soon after the 2008 restoration of the only other panoramic painting in the United States, the Gettysburg Cyclorama. [1] In 2011, a panel of city leaders and historians was appointed to investigate options for restoring and possibly relocating the painting, which was estimated to cost at least $8 million to restore. [1] Three options were considered: relocate to Centennial Olympic Park area, near the Georgia Aquarium and other new tourist attractions; relocate to Atlanta History Center; or, remain in current location. [1] The Atlanta History Center was selected after a local couple offered $10 million towards the project, with the History Center noting in its announcement that it had already raised $32.2 million for the move. [1]

The Cyclorama's final day open to the public was June 30, 2015, after which it closed in preparation for the move. The History Center began construction in fall 2015 on a new 23,000-square-foot (2,100 m2) building to house the painting, the diorama and the Texas locomotive. [1] During the construction, restoration work was done on the painting, including the addition of areas of the painting that were removed prior to its installation in the current Grant Park facility. [1] After the History Center building was completed, the painting and diorama were to be moved to the new facility where restoration continued, at times in view of History Center visitors. [1] The building in Grant Park will be given to Zoo Atlanta, which will use it as office and event space, including a new private viewing area for a proposed expansion of the zoo's African elephant habitat. [1]

The cost of relocation, $35.78 million, was raised, a figure that includes a $10 million endowment. [5]

The restored cyclorama reopened in April 2019. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the United States, inciting opposition from some writers of Romantic poetry. A few have survived into the 21st century and are on public display. Typically shown in rotundas for viewing, panoramas were meant to be so lifelike they confused the spectator between what was real and what was image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panorama</span> Wide-angle view or representation of a physical space

A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was coined in the 18th century by the English painter Robert Barker to describe his panoramic paintings of Edinburgh and London. The motion-picture term panning is derived from panorama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Atlanta</span> 1864 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman overwhelmed and defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John Bell Hood. Union Major General James B. McPherson was killed during the battle, the second-highest-ranking Union officer killed in action during the war. Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred midway through the Atlanta campaign, and the city did not fall until September 2, 1864, after a Union siege and various attempts to seize railroads and supply lines leading to Atlanta. After taking the city, Sherman's troops headed south-southeastward toward Milledgeville, the state capital, and on to Savannah with the March to the Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diorama</span> Three-dimensional full-size or miniature model

A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle modeling, miniature figure modeling, or aircraft modeling.

A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make viewers, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of the place depicted in the image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Locomotive Chase</span> 1862 raid during the American Civil War

The Great Locomotive Chase was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. Andrews, commandeered a train, The General, and took it northward toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as possible to the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&A) line from Atlanta to Chattanooga as they went. They were pursued by Confederate forces at first on foot, and later on a succession of locomotives, including The Texas, for 87 miles (140 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago History Museum</span> Public museum operated by the Chicago Historical Society

Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the intersection of North Avenue in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood. Long known as the CHS, the society adopted the name, Chicago History Museum, in September 2006 for its public presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Park, Atlanta</span> Historic city park and neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta History Center</span> History museum and research center located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia, US

Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926 and currently consists of nine permanent, and several temporary, exhibitions. Atlanta History Center's campus is 33-acres and features historic gardens and houses located on the grounds, including Swan House, Smith Farm, and Wood Family Cabin. Atlanta History Center's Midtown Campus includes the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum. The History Center's research arm, Kenan Research Center, is open by appointment, and provides access to the archival collections. Atlanta History Center holds one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts in the United States. 

<i>The Great Locomotive Chase</i> 1956 film by Francis D. Lyon

The Great Locomotive Chase is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the film stars Fess Parker as James J. Andrews, the leader of a group of Union soldiers from various Ohio regiments who volunteered to go behind Confederate lines in civilian clothes, steal a Confederate train north of Atlanta, and drive it back to Union lines in Tennessee, tearing up railroad tracks and destroying bridges and telegraph lines along the way.

The Battle of Gettysburg, also known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, is a cyclorama painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett's Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

<i>The Texas</i> (locomotive) United States historic place

Western & Atlantic Railroad #49 "Texas" is a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built in 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad by Danforth, Cooke & Co., best known as the principal pursuit engine in the Great Locomotive Chase, chasing the General after the latter was stolen by Union saboteurs in an attempt to ruin the Confederate rail system during the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Atlanta History Center.

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The International Panorama Council (IPC) is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization, subject to Swiss law. It is a global network involving museum directors, managers, artists, restorers and historians who deal with the historical or the contemporary art and media forms of the panorama. The organization comprises members from all over the world who are either representatives of museums and research institutes or private researchers and enthusiasts. The organization was founded in 1992 as the European Panorama Conference in Szeged, Hungary, and renamed in 1998 in Altoetting, Germany, at the International Panorama Conference. Since 2003 the organization is called International Panorama Council. IPC has been a Membership Association since 2010. It is governed by a member-elected Executive Board whose Secretary-general acts as the operational center for the Board’s members.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Howard Pousner (July 23, 2014). "Cyclorama to make big move to Atlanta History Center". ajc.com. Cox Newspapers. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Cyclorama: The Big Picture | Exhibitions". Atlanta History Center. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  4. "Grand New View". Zoo Atlanta. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rothstein, Edward (April 17, 2019). "'Cyclorama: The Big Picture' Review: Standing at the Center of History". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2019.