Peachtree Street Walking Tour
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There is no better way to celebrate Atlanta's past, present and future than to take a walk up Peachtree Street. This 3-mile tour was designed to help residents and visitors connect with Atlanta in those three dimensions. The tour begins at Underground Atlanta and ends at the High Museum. Along the way, you will experience (feel) Atlanta's history, its architecture, its current progress and its plans for the future.
This multi-media web page was designed to be used "in the field" while doing the tour. If you have an iPad or other tablet device, please take it with you along with your earbuds. This will enhance your experience significantly. The interactive map below (a companion tool to this web page) provides detailed information about the historic buildings and sites that are located along this stretch of Atlanta's most famous street. |
Peachtree Walk, 01.01.2020
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Objectives
- Encourage residents and visitors to come to Downtown Atlanta and WALK more often
- Help people connect with Atlanta's past, present and future
- Empower you to lead this tour with friends, family, clients, co-workers, etc. by using this page and the interactive map below
Story of Peachtree Street
Atlanta grew on a site previously occupied by the Creek Indians, which included a village called Standing Peachtree. There is some dispute over whether the Creek settlement was called Standing Peachtree or Standing Pitch Tree, adapted later to 'peach.' Pine trees common to the area were known as 'pitch' trees because of their sap. A trail known as the Peachtree Trail stretched from northeast Georgia to Standing Pitch Tree along the Chattahoochee River.
The original Peachtree Road began in 1812 at Fort Daniel located at Hog Mountain in present-day Gwinnett County and ran along the course of the trail to the Chattahoochee. Some portions of the present road trace this route. After the American Civil War a shantytown named "Tight Squeeze" developed at Peachtree at what is now 10th Street in Midtown Atlanta. It was infamous for vagrancy, desperation, robberies of merchants transiting the settlement.
It is often joked that half of the streets in Atlanta are named "Peachtree." While the name “Peachtree” (by itself) almost always refers to this street, some estimates put the number of streets in Atlanta (with a variant of “Peachtree” in their name) at 70+.
The original Peachtree Road began in 1812 at Fort Daniel located at Hog Mountain in present-day Gwinnett County and ran along the course of the trail to the Chattahoochee. Some portions of the present road trace this route. After the American Civil War a shantytown named "Tight Squeeze" developed at Peachtree at what is now 10th Street in Midtown Atlanta. It was infamous for vagrancy, desperation, robberies of merchants transiting the settlement.
It is often joked that half of the streets in Atlanta are named "Peachtree." While the name “Peachtree” (by itself) almost always refers to this street, some estimates put the number of streets in Atlanta (with a variant of “Peachtree” in their name) at 70+.
Zero Mile Post (Terminus)
James Oglethorpe (1696–1785)
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Oglethorpe Lands In Savannah
You can upload photos and post a review of our Peachtree Walking Tour on our Trip Advisor page. Thanks!
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Stephen Harriman Long (1784–1864)
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
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Early Atlanta
Atlanta started out as a railroad junction. There were rail lines converging in the city center from every direction. It was basically a giant train yard.
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This photo shows an early railroad depot and "round house" in background. Likely the site of today's "Gulch" (soon to be Centennial Yards).
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Viaducts (iron bridges) were constructed over the rail lines so people could get across easier. This gave rise to the a 'second level' which is where the city exists today. The original level (shown in this photo) would later become known as "Underground Atlanta." This photo was taken on Wall Street looking south down Central Ave. The Zero Mile Post can be seen just left of the wall in the right side of the photo, just left of what looks like a barrel.
The Eastern Continental Divide runs east and west directly under this area. This may explain why this location was chosen to build the rail lines. This plaque is located in Underground Atlanta.
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Zero Mile Post in the late 1950's
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Whitehall Street (South Downtown)
In 1867, the name of Whitehall Street, the original road to White Hall Tavern in today's West End neighborhood, was changed to Peachtree Street from Marietta Street south to the railroad crossing just north of Alabama Street. In the 1980s, the portion from Five Points south to Forsyth Street and Memorial Drive (a major shopping district from the Civil War through mid-20th century) was renamed Peachtree Street SE. Today, this area (referred to as "South Downtown Atlanta") is in the early stages of significant re-development thanks, in large part, to Newport, a German developer that has been acquiring properties since October 2016. As of January 2020, Newport's redevelopment project, was moving ahead in earnest. Newport's project includes several building's in Atlanta's Hotel Row Historic District, which is located along the western edge of South Downtown. This area represents the gateway to Atlanta's "Gulch" which is in the very early stages of being transformed into Centennial Yards.
South Downtown is also home to many city, county and state government buildings including Atlanta City Hall and the Georgia State Capital. This concentration of government offices influenced the city's decision to name the area [during Mayor Andrew Young's administration] the "Government Walk District."
Five Points
The name "Five Points" refers to the convergence of Marietta Street, Edgewood Avenue, Decatur Street, and two legs of Peachtree Street. As described above, the south-southwestern leg was originally Whitehall Street, before a section of Whitehall was renamed as an extension of Peachtree Street. This is, literally, where Atlanta began! Thrasherville, Atlanta's first settlement, was located a few thousand feet west of this intersection. The Zero Mile Post is located just a few thousand feet to the east. The monument in the middle of the intersection was erected to commemorate the location of an Artesian well and water storage tank that were located here. The well was drilled in 1884 and was utilized until 1893. Please refer to the Interactive Map for details on the buildings and historic markers located in this area.
Historic buildings at this intersection include the Olympia and William-Oliver. Former buildings that were located here include Jacob's Pharmacy, the Kimball House Hotel, Atlanta's first Post Office and Thomas Kile's Store. The latter, located on the NW corner of this intersection (Kile's Corner) was [according to this plaque on the William-Oliver Building] the site of the City's first election, which was held on January 29, 1848. On the southwest corner of the intersection (Marietta Street, between the curb and sidewalk) you will find a historical marker, entitled, "Birthplace of Coca Cola." Here, in Jacob's Pharmacy, the first glass of Coca Cola was poured on May 8, 1886. As of January 2020, the 33-foot Coca Cola sign on top of the Olympia Building (site of first post office) was undergoing an 'extreme makeover' of sorts. Speaking of the pause that refreshes, Coca Cola celebrated its 100th anniversary as a public company in 2019. Please see the Interactive Map for details on all of these historic buildings and markers. The video below features the unveiling ceremony of the "Birthplace" marker.
TIP: Stand on the NW corner of the Five Points intersection (corner of the William Oliver building) face the "Birthplace of Coca Cola" marker across the street and watch this 90-second video. BACK STORY: Coca-Cola celebrated its 130th birthday on May 16, 2016 at this location where its flagship beverage was first served in 1886. They made a $1.8 million grant to improve support improvements in and around downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park District. Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent announced that grant with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed at a celebration hosted at this location. Mayor Reed and Kent were joined by Georgia Historical Society President and CEO Todd Groce to dedicate a new historical marker at the original location of Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where the first Coca-Cola was poured.
Birth of a Salesman
Robert Winship Woodruff (1889-1995) was an entrepreneur who made possible the success of the Coca-Cola Company. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1889, he worked as a truck salesman for the White Motor Company, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and quickly rose to the position of general sales manager. Three years earlier in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. John Pemberton had invented a new carbonated soft drink flavored with malt syrup, dubbed Coca-Cola by his partner Frank M. Robinson. Sold for 5 cents a glass, "Coke" was first distributed in syrup form and sold only at soda fountains. When Pemberton died in 1888, Asa Candler purchased his secret formula and elevated Coca-Cola to a national brand. By 1895, just seven years after he bought the company, Coca-Cola was available in every U.S. state. Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company of Georgia, recognized the company's potential and persuaded his son to invest in the Coca-Cola Company. In 1923, Woodruff became president of the now publicly traded company.
Robert Winship Woodruff (1889-1995) was an entrepreneur who made possible the success of the Coca-Cola Company. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1889, he worked as a truck salesman for the White Motor Company, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and quickly rose to the position of general sales manager. Three years earlier in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. John Pemberton had invented a new carbonated soft drink flavored with malt syrup, dubbed Coca-Cola by his partner Frank M. Robinson. Sold for 5 cents a glass, "Coke" was first distributed in syrup form and sold only at soda fountains. When Pemberton died in 1888, Asa Candler purchased his secret formula and elevated Coca-Cola to a national brand. By 1895, just seven years after he bought the company, Coca-Cola was available in every U.S. state. Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company of Georgia, recognized the company's potential and persuaded his son to invest in the Coca-Cola Company. In 1923, Woodruff became president of the now publicly traded company.
Lower Peachtree
On this stretch of Peachtree Street (Marietta Street to Ellis Street) you will find some of Atlanta's beautiful and historic buildings. Walking northward, these include the Muse's Building, former location of the "Crystal Palace," the English-American (aka, Flatiron) Building, the Candler Building, the Carnegie Building and the Winecoff (now Ellis) Hotel and the Rhodes-Haverty Building. You will find details on these building on the Interactive Map.
Lower Peachtree Street looking north in early 1900s. You can see the Flatiron Building, Piedmont Hotel (now Equitable Bldg) and Candler Building.
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Lower Peachtree Street (looking north) in 1930s
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TIP: Watch this video while standing (on the sidewalk next to Woodruff Park) across street from the "Happy Hookah," located at 66 Peachtree Street. That building housed the "Crystal Palace," a barber shop owned by Alonso Herndon, a former slave who became Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. An entrepreneur at heart, Herndon learned barbering and eventually opened his own shop in Atlanta called the Crystal Palace. Herndon later founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
Historic buildings that are (unfortunately) no longer standing include the Carnegie Library (Atlanta Central Library), the Loew's Grand Theater (G-P Tower), the Piedmont Hotel (Equitable Bldg) and the Majestic Hotel (191 Tower).
Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist, and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away $350 million (conservatively $65 billion in 2019 dollars, based on percentage of GDP) to charities, foundations, and universities – almost 90 percent of his fortune. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and stimulated a wave of philanthropy.
Candler Building
Standing 17 stories high, the Candler Building, sheathed in snow-white Amicolola marble from north Georgia, is one of Atlanta's most luxurious high rise buildings. Its luxuriousness is well-exhibited on the exterior of the building, which in a manner typical of the era in which it was built, is divided into three distinct parts: a two-story base, a twelve-story shaft, and a three-story capital with large overhanging cornice.
The building was constructed between 1904 - 1906 by Coca Cola Magnate and former Atlanta Mayor Asa Griggs Candler. Built on property originally owned by the First Methodist Church, the site of the Candler Building was once the location of Atlanta's old Wesley Chapel, "a primitive structure of roughly hewn logs," the first public house of worship erected in the city. At the turn of the century, the lot was acquired by the Candler Investment Company. You will find more details about the Candler Building on the Interactive Map.
CANDLER HOTEL: In 2016, the building's owner entered into a licensing agreement with Hilton and in November of 2019 it re-opened as the Candler Hotel Atlanta. In the hotel's lobby, two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson has opened By George, a French-inspired restaurant named after the building's architects, George E. Murphy and George Stewart.
FUN FACT: On May 1, 1889, Asa Candler published a full-page ad in The Atlanta Journal, proclaiming his wholesale and retail drug business as "sole proprietors of Coca-Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating." Sole ownership (which Mr. Candler did not actually achieve until 1891) cost him a total of $2,300. [Source: Coca Cola Company]
The building was constructed between 1904 - 1906 by Coca Cola Magnate and former Atlanta Mayor Asa Griggs Candler. Built on property originally owned by the First Methodist Church, the site of the Candler Building was once the location of Atlanta's old Wesley Chapel, "a primitive structure of roughly hewn logs," the first public house of worship erected in the city. At the turn of the century, the lot was acquired by the Candler Investment Company. You will find more details about the Candler Building on the Interactive Map.
CANDLER HOTEL: In 2016, the building's owner entered into a licensing agreement with Hilton and in November of 2019 it re-opened as the Candler Hotel Atlanta. In the hotel's lobby, two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson has opened By George, a French-inspired restaurant named after the building's architects, George E. Murphy and George Stewart.
FUN FACT: On May 1, 1889, Asa Candler published a full-page ad in The Atlanta Journal, proclaiming his wholesale and retail drug business as "sole proprietors of Coca-Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating." Sole ownership (which Mr. Candler did not actually achieve until 1891) cost him a total of $2,300. [Source: Coca Cola Company]
Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon who purchased the Coca-Cola Company for $1,750 from chemist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia in 1892 and developed it as a major company. Prominent among civic leaders of Atlanta, Candler was elected and served as the 41st Mayor of the city, from 1916 to 1919. Candler Field, the site of the present-day Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was named after him, as is Candler Park in Atlanta. As head of Coca-Cola, he built the Candler Building in Atlanta, as well as one in Kansas City (which became known as the Western Auto Building), a Candler Building (New York City), and one at what is now known as the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland.
In 2017, the Candler Building was featured in the opening scene of Baby Driver, a film that was described as (producer Edgar's Wright's) "High Octane Love letter to Atlanta." The movie's trailer below offers some excellent views of the building's exterior and a breathtaking car chase which follow's the 'heist.'
TIP: The best place to watch this 6-minute video is on the NE corner of Peachtree Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue directly across from the main entrance to the Candler Building (in front of Georgia Pacific historic marker). Face the Candler Building, put your ear buds in and turn up the volume! This is the opening scene of "Baby Driver."
Winecoff (Ellis) Hotel
Site of the worst hotel fire in U. S. history. In the predawn hours of December 7, 1946 the Winecoff Hotel fire killed 119 people. Now the Ellis Hotel. [see also: Photos: Winecoff Hotel Fire, AJC]
TIP: Stand across Peachtree Street from the Ellis Hotel at 176 Peachtree Street and watch this 1-minute video. It tells the amazing and tragic story of the Winecoff Hotel, which was the site of the most devastating hotel fire in U.S. history on December 7, 1946.
The "Stitch"
Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (CAP/ADID) have developed an initial concept design study for a new ¾-mile platform that spans the I-75/I-85 Downtown Connector and ‘stitches’ Downtown back together. The concept, appropriately called “The Stitch,” proposes to reclaim approximately 14 acres of new urban greenspace atop a new platform structure spanning the Downtown Connector from the Civic Center MARTA Center at West Peachtree Street to Piedmont Avenue. [ see also: The Stitch Downtown ]
TIP: Watch this 2-minute video while standing in the middle of the Peachtree Street bridge (facing north) that goes over the I-75 / i-86 "connector." The video opens with a great aerial shot of the exact location where you are standing. After watching this video you will better understand that "The Stitch" is all about.
The Fox Theater
Designed in the Middle Eastern Revival style by the prominent local architectural firm of Marye, Alger and Vinour, the "Fabulous Fox" Theater has been an entertainment magnet for Atlantans since its opening on Christmas Day, 1929...
BRIEF HISTORY OF ATLANTA'S FOX THEATER
In 1928, the Fox was originally conceived as a home for Atlanta’s Shriners organization. To create a headquarters befitting the group’s prominent social status, the Shriners looked to the ancient temples of the Far East to inspire a mosque-style structure befitting their stature. Storied architectural gems like the Alhambra in Spain and Egypt’s Temple of Kharnak heavily influenced the building’s elaborate and intensely ornate design. Bursting with soaring domes, minarets and sweeping archways, the exterior of the building gave way to stunning gold leaf details, sumptuous textiles and exquisite "trompe l’oeil" art (a technique that uses realistic imagery to create optical illusions) inside.
Shortly before its completion, the Shriners leased their beautiful auditorium to William Fox, a movie mogul who had launched his empire by building theaters across the country to meet America’s insatiable affection for the new moving pictures that were sweeping the nation. By the end of the 1920's, these aptly-named “movie palaces” were an integral part of nearly every community in the country, each one more gilded and exquisite than the next. Developers like Fox spared no expense, understanding all too well that these movie palaces were the gateway to a brave new world, transporting eager audiences to exotic, elegant settings they could only imagine.
With Fox’s financial backing (the project cost more than $3 million, the equivalent of nearly $40 million today), the 250,000 square foot Fox Theater was completed, with the crowning addition of “Mighty Mo”, the 3,622-pipe Möller organ that remains the largest Möller theater organ in the world even today. The Fox opened on Christmas Day in 1929 to a sold-out crowd, premiering Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon starring Mickey Mouse.
By the late 1960's, beautiful landmark movie palaces like the Fox were falling out of favor, replaced by suburban movieplexes built for efficiency and multiple-screen showings. As customers began migrating to the suburbs, the Fox fell into disrepair, and in 1974, Mosque Inc. closed the Fox’s doors, seemingly forever. This stunning landmark, beloved for generations, was suddenly facing demolition. Confronted with the possibility of losing their beloved landmark, the residents of Atlanta sprang into action. They created a non-profit called Atlanta Landmarks and launched the now-legendary “Save The Fox” campaign, which raised funds through every possible means – collecting donations from both public and private organizations, organizing benefit concerts featuring everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Liberace, even collecting pennies at local businesses, all to save the Fox from what seemed a certain fate.
Saving the Fox truly was a community achievement, a journey of a thousand small steps. Of the $3 million raised, no single donation was over $400,000; the vast majority of the fund was made up of small personal donations from Atlanta residents intent on rescuing this stunning structure. In 1975, after months of painstaking restoration efforts, the Fox opened its doors once again, to the joy and celebration of the patrons and employees who had pulled it from the brink of disaster.
See also: The Fox Story + Fox Institute + Fox Theater Timeline
In 1928, the Fox was originally conceived as a home for Atlanta’s Shriners organization. To create a headquarters befitting the group’s prominent social status, the Shriners looked to the ancient temples of the Far East to inspire a mosque-style structure befitting their stature. Storied architectural gems like the Alhambra in Spain and Egypt’s Temple of Kharnak heavily influenced the building’s elaborate and intensely ornate design. Bursting with soaring domes, minarets and sweeping archways, the exterior of the building gave way to stunning gold leaf details, sumptuous textiles and exquisite "trompe l’oeil" art (a technique that uses realistic imagery to create optical illusions) inside.
Shortly before its completion, the Shriners leased their beautiful auditorium to William Fox, a movie mogul who had launched his empire by building theaters across the country to meet America’s insatiable affection for the new moving pictures that were sweeping the nation. By the end of the 1920's, these aptly-named “movie palaces” were an integral part of nearly every community in the country, each one more gilded and exquisite than the next. Developers like Fox spared no expense, understanding all too well that these movie palaces were the gateway to a brave new world, transporting eager audiences to exotic, elegant settings they could only imagine.
With Fox’s financial backing (the project cost more than $3 million, the equivalent of nearly $40 million today), the 250,000 square foot Fox Theater was completed, with the crowning addition of “Mighty Mo”, the 3,622-pipe Möller organ that remains the largest Möller theater organ in the world even today. The Fox opened on Christmas Day in 1929 to a sold-out crowd, premiering Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon starring Mickey Mouse.
By the late 1960's, beautiful landmark movie palaces like the Fox were falling out of favor, replaced by suburban movieplexes built for efficiency and multiple-screen showings. As customers began migrating to the suburbs, the Fox fell into disrepair, and in 1974, Mosque Inc. closed the Fox’s doors, seemingly forever. This stunning landmark, beloved for generations, was suddenly facing demolition. Confronted with the possibility of losing their beloved landmark, the residents of Atlanta sprang into action. They created a non-profit called Atlanta Landmarks and launched the now-legendary “Save The Fox” campaign, which raised funds through every possible means – collecting donations from both public and private organizations, organizing benefit concerts featuring everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Liberace, even collecting pennies at local businesses, all to save the Fox from what seemed a certain fate.
Saving the Fox truly was a community achievement, a journey of a thousand small steps. Of the $3 million raised, no single donation was over $400,000; the vast majority of the fund was made up of small personal donations from Atlanta residents intent on rescuing this stunning structure. In 1975, after months of painstaking restoration efforts, the Fox opened its doors once again, to the joy and celebration of the patrons and employees who had pulled it from the brink of disaster.
See also: The Fox Story + Fox Institute + Fox Theater Timeline
TIP: Stand across Peachtree Street from the Fox Theater and watch this 4-minute video. Better yet, watch it while enjoying a cup of coffee of your favorite beverage on the Livingston Restaurant & Bar's outdoor patio overlooking Peachtree Street!
Colony Square / Midtown
Mixed-use development and sub-district in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, located on Peachtree Street in between 14th and 15th Streets. The oldest high-rise development in Midtown, the sub-district was built between 1969 and 1975, with Henri Jova of Jova/Daniels/Busby serving as principal architect. It is believed to be the first mixed-use development in the Southeastern USA. [ see also: Colony Square ]
TIP: Stand on the SW corner of Peachtree Street and 14th Street (in front of the "Proscenium" building at 1170 Peachtree) and watch this 4-minute video. After that, treat yourself to a bite and beverage at The Establishment or 5 Church.
First Church of Christ, Scientist
First Church of Christ, Scientist is one of the most magnificent historic buildings in Midtown Atlanta. Built between 1913-26 in the classical revival style, it has been called, “the best example of neoclassical style in the city” (Atlanta Magazine, December 1982).
SOME INTERESTING HISTORY...
- Construction was started and at 5:45 A.M. June 13, 1913, and the cornerstone of our present “grand Cathedral” was laid. Our church edifice is one of Atlanta’s outstanding monumental buildings and notable for its design and perfection of detail and workmanship. Of particular excellence is the intricate brickwork and masonry of the exterior walls of the building. For many years after the completion of the edifice, brick-masons would claim to have worked on “that church on Peachtree and Fifteenth” as an example of their craftsmanship. In fact it has been said, humorously, that if every bricklayer actually worked on our church building who claimed to have done so, only a few dozen bricks could have been laid by any one of them.
- A committee of church members was appointed to investigate possible sites for another church edifice. Ansley Park was rapidly developing into a very desirable home section and a fan-shaped lot large enough for a church building was available on the northeast corner of Peachtree and Fifteenth Streets. At first, some members objected to the proposed location feeling that it was too far out from town. However, a member, J. T. Holleman, Sr., with loving foresight, purchased the lot personally for $16,000 and held it to forestall anyone else acquiring the site. After a further sixteen months search for a site, the membership decided that the Peachtree and Fifteenth Streets lot was the most suitable situation for the new edifice of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Atlanta, and title to the lot was transferred by the church member owner on January 5, 1910 to the Church corporation.
Woodruff Arts Center
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The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the High Museum of Art. The Center opened in 1968 as the Memorial Arts Center. The project was a milestone in Atlanta history, simultaneously remembering arts patrons who died in the 1962 Orly plane crash and continuing their legacy by assuring a central place for the arts in Atlanta’s future. Air France Flight 007 crashed on June 3, 1962 while on take-off from Orly Airport in Paris.
Air France had just opened its new office in downtown Atlanta, and this was the inaugural flight. Air France was doing its best to publicize the flight; hence, it was filled with Atlanta's elite. The only survivors of the disaster were two flight attendants seated in the back of the aircraft; the rest of the flight crew, and all 122 passengers on board the Boeing 707, were killed. The French government donated a Rodin sculpture The Shade to the High in memory of the victims of the crash. |
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Robert Winship Woodruff (December 6, 1889 – March 7, 1985) was the president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 until 1954. With a large net worth, he was also a major philanthropist, and many educational and cultural landmarks in the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia, bear his name. Included among these are the Woodruff Arts Center, Woodruff Park, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Woodruff was born in Columbus, Georgia, the son of Ernest Woodruff, an Atlanta businessman who, among other things, was leader of the group of investors who bought The Coca-Cola Company from Asa Griggs Candler in 1919. His grandfather was Atlanta manufacturing magnate Robert Winship.After graduating from the Georgia Military Academy he attended Georgia Tech, where he failed out, and then the Emory University campus at Oxford, Georgia, for one term, where he excelled at "cutting classes and spending money".
Woodruff was born in Columbus, Georgia, the son of Ernest Woodruff, an Atlanta businessman who, among other things, was leader of the group of investors who bought The Coca-Cola Company from Asa Griggs Candler in 1919. His grandfather was Atlanta manufacturing magnate Robert Winship.After graduating from the Georgia Military Academy he attended Georgia Tech, where he failed out, and then the Emory University campus at Oxford, Georgia, for one term, where he excelled at "cutting classes and spending money".
The High Museum of Art is one of the premier art institutions in the Southeast, but the buildings containing the collections are works of art in their own right. Set back atop a green sloping lawn on Peachtree Street in the heart of Midtown, the High, a gleaming white aggregation of geometric forms, stands out as a unique presence. The four buildings comprising the High Museum — one designed by Richard Meier in 1983 and three designed by Renzo Piano in 2005 — are each a product of their time and designers. Yet, the buildings work in harmony as a campus, arranged around a courtyard and unified by a monochromatic white color scheme. Source: Rediscovering Atlanta’s Architecture: The High Museum, Arts ATL
Richard Meier’s Building
For the High museum, Meier conceived a “total white” 135,000-square-foot building whose architectural structure is composed of four quadrants, one of which has been removed and replaced by a large curved atrium.
A long straight ramp connects, both functionally and symbolically, the museum’s entrance with the adjacent public realm, and the city.
Openly inspired by F.L. Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York, the atrium is an imposing daylight-filled space from which a large spiral ramp gives access to the museum’s art galleries, located on three levels.
Renzo Piano’s Expansion
Completed in 2005, the High Museum of Art 177-square-foot expansion designed by Renzo Piano more than doubled the museum’s surface area. Located south and west of Meier’s building, the extension comprises three buildings clad in white aluminum panels – the large Wieland Pavilion, the Anne Cox Chambers Wing special collections pavilion, and an administrative building – flanking a plaza in a campus-like configuration. The flat roofs of the two pavilions feature a special roof system composed of 1,000 circular light scoops that capture northern light and convey it into the galleries to provide natural lighting for the artworks on show there.
See also: High Museum Design, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP
Richard Meier’s Building
For the High museum, Meier conceived a “total white” 135,000-square-foot building whose architectural structure is composed of four quadrants, one of which has been removed and replaced by a large curved atrium.
A long straight ramp connects, both functionally and symbolically, the museum’s entrance with the adjacent public realm, and the city.
Openly inspired by F.L. Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York, the atrium is an imposing daylight-filled space from which a large spiral ramp gives access to the museum’s art galleries, located on three levels.
Renzo Piano’s Expansion
Completed in 2005, the High Museum of Art 177-square-foot expansion designed by Renzo Piano more than doubled the museum’s surface area. Located south and west of Meier’s building, the extension comprises three buildings clad in white aluminum panels – the large Wieland Pavilion, the Anne Cox Chambers Wing special collections pavilion, and an administrative building – flanking a plaza in a campus-like configuration. The flat roofs of the two pavilions feature a special roof system composed of 1,000 circular light scoops that capture northern light and convey it into the galleries to provide natural lighting for the artworks on show there.
See also: High Museum Design, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP
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Thank you for coming on today's tour, I hope you enjoyed it. Please encourage your friends to take the tour and share what you learned with them. You can upload photos and post a review on our Trip Advisor page. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you in any way. — Steve Saenz, Explore Atlanta
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