The modern design of the Atlanta Civic Center could be saved for a mixed-use project

However, the fact is that the civic center complex dating from the late 1960s still stands, even though officials were once considering demolishing it.

Designed by Harold Montagu, an architect with the Atlanta firm Robert & Associates, and the Civic Center Theater with a capacity of 4600 seats he An outstanding example of modern architecture, according to the conservation group Docomomo. The 1968 structure features a brown brick exterior with layers of intricate patterns. The interior features a collection of lobby chandeliers Designed by Rambusch Lighting Co. In Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Civic Center Theater hosted Broadway shows in the 1960s and 1970s, and a concert by Rapid eye movement in 1984 and the game show “Family Feud” was filmed there in the 2000s. The annex across the square from the theater once housed a science museum. But the entire complex has remained mostly vacant for the past decade. The city of Atlanta once considered demolishing it to make way for a new performing arts center, But those plans failed.

Atlanta Housing Authority acquired the property in 2017 for $31 million, and last year it hired Republic Properties, The Michaels Organization and Sophy Capital to develop a master plan. Proposed affordable housing anchored Mixed-use project The historic theater will be preserved. The project timeline has not been released.

The development that preserves this theater will contrast with other removed buildings in the city. They include the terminal, which was demolished in 1972; Kimball House Hotel, razed in 1959; Georgia State Archives, settled in 2017; the US Post Office and Customs House, which were demolished in 1930; The Nassau Street recording studio, which was destroyed in 2019; and Peachtree Arcade, which was removed in 1964.