Atlanta Civic Center

The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations and commencement ceremonies for Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. In addition to performances, the civic center could host conferences and exhibits as well, with 5,800 square feet (540 m²) of meeting space. The civic center was owned and operated by the Atlanta city government's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, but brought in enough revenue to be self-supporting.^[2]

Atlanta Civic Center

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Full name	Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center
Former names	Atlanta Civic Center (1967-2001)
Coordinates	33°46′01″N 84°22′54″W / 33.76699°N 84.38157°W / 33.76699; -84.38157Coordinates: 33°46′01″N 84°22′54″W / 33.76699°N 84.38157°W / 33.76699; -84.38157
Owner	City of Atlanta
Operator	City of Atlanta's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs
Type	Civic Center/Theater
Seating type	Theater
Capacity	4,600 seats
Construction
Built	1967; 56 years ago (1967)
Renovated	2001 at a cost of $2 million ^[1]
Closed	October 21, 2014
Tenants
SciTrek (1988-2004) Family Feud (2011-2015)
Website

History

The Atlanta Civic Center was built in 1967 on the site of Ripley Street and part of Currier Street in the Buttermilk Bottom community. It was partly built as the city's convention center, but was quickly superseded in 1976 by the state-run Georgia World Congress Center ^[3]. It once hosted the annual Spring Tour of the Metropolitan Opera and served as the home of "Theatre of the Stars", a summer series of Broadway musicals featuring well-known stars of the entertainment industry. The Balanchine production of "The Nutcracker" was performed there annually for several years. The Civic Center also served as the site for the 1996 Summer Olympics cultural program.

In 2000, it hosted the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions with Georgian Robin Carroll winning.

The Atlanta Civic Center underwent a $2 million renovation in 2001 ^[4] and added "Boisfeuillet Jones" to its name in honor of Atlanta businessman and philanthropist Boisfeuillet Jones, Sr. In 2003, the Civic Center became the host for the Atlanta Opera, which moved to the Cobb Energy Center in suburban Cobb County in 2007.

The back parking lot was where the 99x stage was located during the Music Midtown Festival. During the 2002 festival, Turner South hosted an indoor televised concert.

On July 22, 2005, it hosted President George W. Bush when he spoke to an invitation-only crowd about changes in Medicare. He was introduced by Governor Sonny Perdue and also accompanied by his mother Barbara Bush and U.S. senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson.

In May 2007 it was revealed that the city was considering demolition of the facility, in addition to the neighboring SciTrek, replacing them with a new performing arts center. SciTrek did close but the Civic Center is still in operation.

In 2008, the Peachtree Road Race stage and finish festival were moved here when Piedmont Park was deemed off-limits because of drought conditions, as were other large events normally held in Piedmont Park such as Atlanta Pride. On October 18, 2008, the center hosted the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards. Soon the museum will be temporarily showing Egyptian treasures especially King Tutankhamun.

In April 2011, in honor of the Atlanta Georgia Temple rededication, over 2,000 youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) performed in a youth cultural celebration entitled "Southern Lights". Church president Thomas S. Monson enjoyed the performance along with other Church leaders, including Elder M. Russell Ballard, Walter F. González and William R. Walker.^[1]

Family Feud taped at the Atlanta Civic Center from 2011 to 2015, before moving to the Georgia World Congress Center.

In March 2022, the Atlanta Housing Authority was seeking a developer to transform and repurpose the 19-acre site.^[2] However, the engagement and withdrawal of development companies has slowed down progress.^[3]

References

1. "Church President Thomas S. Monson Rededicates Atlanta Georgia Temple After Renovation". May 1, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
2. Keenan, Sean (March 21, 2022). . Atlanta Civic Circle. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022. The Atlanta Housing (AH) board of commissioners expects to finally choose a master developer next month for the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, over four years after the housing authority bought the iconic Old Fourth Ward site, which has sat vacant for eight years. AH officials are now interviewing a shortlist of five candidates to develop the 19-acre site, AH’s CEO, Eugene Jones, told Atlanta Civic Circle on Friday.
3. Keenan, Sean (May 31, 2022). . Atlanta Civic Circle. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022. Tishman Speyer, the New York-based development firm recently tapped alongside local construction company H.J. Russell & Co. to overhaul Old Fourth Ward’s long-dormant Atlanta Civic Center site, blindsided Atlanta Housing (AH) officials last week by withdrawing from the project, housing authority CEO Eugene Jones announced on Tuesday.

^ Witt, Richard and Brendan Segar. March 3, 2006. "Bid farewell to that '70s show: Cobb's center's time has come and gone." Atlanta Journal-Constitution. [5]

External links