The architecture of Atlanta is marked by a confluence of classical, modernist, post-modernist, and contemporary architectural styles. Due to the Battle of Atlanta and the subsequent fire in 1864, the city's architecture retains almost no traces of its Antebellum past. Instead, Atlanta's status as a largely post-modern American city is reflected in its architecture, as the city has often been the earliest, if not the first, to showcase new architectural concepts. However, Atlanta's embrace of modernism has translated into an ambivalence toward architectural preservation, resulting in the destruction of architectural masterpieces, including the Commercial-style Equitable Building, the Beaux-Arts style Terminal Station, and the Classical Carnegie Library. The city's cultural icon, the Neo-Moorish Fox Theatre, would have met the same fate had it not been for a grassroots effort to save it in the mid-1970s.
The Kimball House was the name of two historical hotels in Atlanta, Georgia. United States. Both were constructed on an entire city block at the south-southeast corner of Five Points, bounded by Whitehall Street, Decatur Street, Pryor Street, and Wall Street, a block now occupied by a multi-story parking garage.
Peachtree Center is a district located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Most of the structures that make up the district were designed by Atlanta architect John C. Portman Jr. A defining feature of the Peachtree Center is a network of enclosed pedestrian sky bridges suspended above the street-level, which have garnered criticism for discouraging pedestrian street life. The district is served by the Peachtree Center MARTA station, providing access to rapid transit.
The Hotel District is a neighborhood in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The district's name is derived from it being the home to many hotels, one of them being the famous Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. The Hotel District is generally considered to be bounded by the Downtown Connector to the east, Five Points to the south, Centennial Olympic Park to the west, and Midtown to the north. The district's primary thoroughfare is Peachtree Street, which contains most of the restaurants, hotels, and office buildings. The intersection of Andrew Young International Boulevard and Peachtree Street forms the heart of the district.
William Lee Stoddart (1868–1940) was an architect who designed urban hotels in the Eastern United States. Although he was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, most of his commissions were in the South. He maintained offices in Atlanta and New York City.
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 the developer was Joseph F. Gatins, Jr.
The Piedmont Hotel was a hotel in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Construction on the building, which was designed by architect Willis F. Denny, began in 1901, and the building was opened to the public in January 1903. Considered one of the finest hotels in the city at the time, numerous famous guests stayed at the hotel while visiting Atlanta, including three presidents of the United States. Unlike other Atlanta hotels, the Piedmont sought to emulate the style of hotels in the northeastern United States and was commonly referred to by locals as "our New York City hotel". In 1929, the building went through an extensive renovation overseen by the architectural firm of Pringle & Smith. In 1965, the owners of the hotel agreed to sell the property to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, who planned to build a new office building on the site. The hotel was demolished that year and in 1968, the Equitable Building was completed.
Walter T. Downing (1865-1918) was an American architect in Atlanta, Georgia. Several of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Walter T. Downing was father of John F. Downing, who was also an architect and who continued his father's firm.
The Peachtree Arcade was a shopping arcade in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building, modeled after the Arcade in Cleveland, was designed by Atlanta-based architect A. Ten Eyck Brown and was located between Peachtree Street and Broad Street near Five Points. Construction began in 1917 and was completed the following year. Located in the city's central business district, it was very popular with citizens, functioning as an unofficial "civic center" for the city. However, by the 1960s, the arcade was facing increased competition from shopping malls located in Atlanta's suburbs, and in 1964, the building was demolished to make way for the First National Bank Building, a skyscraper that, at the time of its construction, was the tallest building in both Atlanta and the southeastern United States. In 1993, the American Institute of Architects named the building as one of Atlanta's most notable landmarks to have been destroyed.
The Norcross Building occupied the southwest corner of Peachtree Street and Marietta Street at Five Points in downtown Atlanta. Today the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies is located on the site. The building was owned by Jonathan Norcross, "father of Atlanta."
The Atlanta Cabana Motel was a 200-room motor hotel located at the southwest corner of Peachtree Street and 7th Street in Midtown Atlanta. It opened in 1958 and was razed in 2002; the site is now occupied by the 28-floor Spire residential tower. The Cabana was Atlanta's first major new hotel in 30 years as well as a pioneer in the concept of motor hotels, that is, motel-like facilities in cities, as opposed to alongside highways between cities. It was recognized as a prime example of modern motor hotel architecture.
The Majestic Hotel was built in 1898 and located at 195 Peachtree Street NW in Atlanta, between Ellis St. and Cain St.. It was a major addition to the city's hotel capacity at its completion in the 1890s. It cost between $80,000 and $100,000 to build, and was the first brick and steel fireproof construction in the city. A 1902 guidebook describes the Majestic as one of three chief first-class hotels in the city, together with the Kimball House and the Hotel Aragon. In 1927 the hotel was razed to make way for a two-story commercial structure. The site is part of the location of today's 191 Peachtree Tower.
Francis Palmer Smith was an architect active in Atlanta and elsewhere in the Southeastern United States. He was the director of the Georgia Tech College of Architecture from 1909–1922.
The W. W. Orr Building is an 11-story landmark building at 478 Peachtree Street NE in SoNo, Atlanta.
The William–Oliver Building is a 1930 Art Deco landmark building at 32 Peachtree Street NW at Five Points, Downtown Atlanta. It currently consists of 115 apartments. Its architect was Francis Palmer Smith of Pringle and Smith and was Atlanta's first completed Art Deco skyscraper. It was named after developer Thomas G. Healey's grandsons William and Oliver.
The Paramount Theatre was a movie palace in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building was designed by Philip T. Shutze and was completed in 1920 as the Howard Theatre, a name it kept until 1929. It was located at 169 Peachtree Street, in an area that soon became the location of several other major theaters, earning it the nickname "Broadway of the South". With a seating capacity of 2,700, it was at the time the second largest movie theater in the world, behind only the Capitol Theatre in New York City. In addition to functioning as a movie theater, the building hosted live performances, with several nationally renowned orchestras playing at the venue through the 1940s and Elvis Presley playing at the theater in 1956. By the 1950s, however, movie palaces faced increased competition from smaller movie theaters and the rise in popularity of television, and the Paramount was demolished in 1960.
The Connally Building is located at 54 Peachtree Street in Downtown Atlanta, adjacent to the Underground Atlanta retail center. It is a work of architect William Lee Stoddart, completed in 1916. The building has been so extensively renovated that it bears little resemblance to the original design, other than the terra cotta façade on the lower stories. This was originally a six-story office building with a terracotta facade, which replaced an earlier Connally Building on the site. In 1990, eleven stories were added and it was converted into a hotel. It has operated under the names Howard Johnson Plaza Suites, University Place at Underground, The Suite Hotel at the Underground, and most recently it became a Fairfield Inn & Suites.
Hotel Indigo Atlanta Midtown is a historic building in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Designed by Atlanta-based architectural firm Pringle and Smith in 1925, the brick building is located on Peachtree Street, across from the Fox Theatre. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006, and, in 2022, is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
Alexander F. N. Everett, also known as A. F. N. Everett, was an American architect who designed many buildings in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, including some listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Founded in the 1830s as a railroad terminus, Atlanta experienced rapid growth in its early years to become a major economic center of Georgia, with several hotels built to accommodate for this growth. Following its destruction during the Civil War, Atlanta experienced a resurgence and another hotel boom commenced in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. In the later half of the 20th century, hotel skyscrapers began to appear on the skyline, including what was at the time the tallest hotel in the United States. Later, a trend emerged of converting old office buildings into boutique hotels.
