The Atlanta Civic Center was a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

located in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations and commencement ceremonies for

Atlanta's John Marshall Law School Atlanta's John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) is a private for-profit law school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1933 and named for John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. AJMLS is accredited by th ...

. In addition to performances, the

civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

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.

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 It was partly built as the city's convention center, but was quickly superseded in 1976 by the state-run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 The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the world's largest LEED certi ...

. 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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

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 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 The Atlanta Opera is an opera company located in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1979, it produces mainstage opera productions and arts education programs for Metropolitan Atlanta and the Southeast. In 2007, The Atlanta Opera moved into ...

, which moved to the

Cobb Energy Center Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is a performing arts venue located in the Cumberland/Galleria edge city, in northwest Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The $145 million facility celebrated its grand opening September 15, 2007, with a concert ...

in suburban

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, Georgia, Mar ...

in 2007. The back parking lot was where the 99x stage was located during the

Music Midtown Music Midtown is a large music festival that was held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, annually from 1994 to 2005, and—after a six-year hiatus—returned in 2011. During its original run, the festival ran for one weekend each year. The event ...

Festival. During the 2002 festival,

Turner South Turner South was an American cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. At its peak, Turner South reached approximately eight million subscribers across a six-state region com ...

hosted an indoor televised concert. On July 22, 2005, it hosted President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

when he spoke to an invitation-only crowd about changes in Medicare. He was introduced by Governor

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...

and also accompanied by his mother

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously w ...

and U.S. senators

Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from ...

and

Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019 as a member of the Republican Party. He represented in the United States ...

. 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 Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to: * A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. :The ...

. SciTrek did close but the Civic Center is still in operation. In 2008, the

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled because of the COVID pand ...

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 Atlanta Pride, also colloquially (and formerly) called the Atlanta Gay Pride Festival, is a week-long annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) pride festival held in Atlanta, Georgia (United States). Established in 1971, it is one of th ...

. On October 18, 2008, the center hosted the 2008

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...

. Soon the museum will be temporarily showing Egyptian treasures especially King

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

. 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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) performed in a youth cultural celebration entitled "Southern Lights". Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the re ...

enjoyed the performance along with other Church leaders, including Elder M. Russell Ballard, Walter F. González and William R. Walker. ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

'' taped at the Atlanta Civic Center from 2011 to 2015, before moving to the

. In March 2022, the

Atlanta Housing Authority The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) is an agency that provides affordable housing for low-income families in Atlanta. Today, the AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving approximately 50,000 ...

was seeking a developer to transform and repurpose the 19-acre site. However, the engagement and withdrawal of development companies has slowed down progress.

References

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''

External links

Atlanta Civic Center
{{Atlanta landmarks Theatres in Atlanta Convention centers in Georgia (U.S. state) Concert halls in the United States 1967 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Performing arts centers in Georgia (U.S. state) Old Fourth Ward