Georgia-Pacific Center is a 212.45 m (697.0 ft), 1,567,011 sq.ft skyscraper in downtown Atlanta , Georgia , United States. It contains 52 stories of office space and was finished in 1982. Before the six-year era of tall skyscrapers to be built in Atlanta, it was Atlanta's second-tallest building (only surpassed by the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel ) from 1982 to 1987. It has a stair-like design that staggers down to the ground, and is clad in pink granite quarried from Marble Falls , Texas .
7-557: The tower is on the former site of the Loew's Grand Theatre , where the premiere for the 1939 film Gone with the Wind was held (133 Peachtree St. NE, near the intersection of Peachtree and Forsyth streets). The theatre could not be demolished because of its landmark status; it burned down in 1978, clearing the way for the tower. The architectural firm that designed it was Skidmore, Owings & Merrill . The general contractor who constructed
14-539: Is often confused with DeGive's first opera house , which opened in 1870 four blocks south, at the corner of Marietta and Forsyth streets. The confusion is understandable, as DeGive had his name carved prominently above the entrance of the Grand Theater. The Grand was bought by the Loews organization in 1927 and renovated into a movie theater by architect Thomas W. Lamb . The one-screen theater had 2,088 seats. It
21-623: The United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. case divested studios of ownership of theater chains in 1948, many MGM films made afterward still had their first showings in Atlanta at this theater, including Singin' in the Rain , the 1959 Ben-Hur and Doctor Zhivago . The theater was built as DeGive's Grand Opera House in 1893 by entrepreneur and Belgian consul Laurent DeGive , and hosted many concerts and touring opera productions. It
28-526: The project was a joint venture of J.A. Jones Construction Company's Atlanta office and the H.J. Russell Company, also of Atlanta. The tower is the world headquarters of Georgia-Pacific . Other tenants include consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the downtown branch of the High Museum of Art , which opened in 1986. On March 14, 2008, the tower sustained minor damage when a tornado tore through downtown Atlanta. A number of windows were blown out. It
35-538: Was a movie theater at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta , Georgia , in the United States. It was most famous as the site of the 1939 premiere of Gone with the Wind , which was attended by most of the stars of the film. It concentrated on showing films made or released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a Loews -owned studio, even boasting a sign under its marquee proclaiming it "The Home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures". Although
42-410: Was extensively damaged as the result of a fire on January 30, 1978. Although the real estate where the theater had stood was of high value, the theater could not be demolished because of its historic status. This led many to speculate that the cause of the fire was arson, although this speculation has never been proven. The Georgia-Pacific Tower was built on the former site of the theater. Bricks from
49-586: Was the first tornado to hit the downtown area since weather record keeping began in the 1880s. The Consulate-General of the United Kingdom is located in the building. The building served as a filming location for the 1985 action film Invasion U.S.A. starring Chuck Norris and Richard Lynch , in which it served as the setting for the final battle between the U.S. Army and the army of international terrorists. Loew%27s Grand Theatre Loew's Grand Theater , originally DeGive's Grand Opera House ,
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