Loew's Grand Theater, originally DeGive's Grand Opera House, 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.

Loew's Grand Theatre
Map
AddressPeachtree & Forsyth Streets
Atlanta
OwnerLoew's Theatres
Construction
Opened1893
Demolished1978
Years active1893-1978
Website
Degive's Grand Opera House
Loew's Grand Theater ca. 1920
Loew's Grand Theatre is located in Downtown Atlanta
Loew's Grand Theatre
Location in Downtown Atlanta
Location157 Peachtree St., NE, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°45′27″N 84°23′13″W / 33.75750°N 84.38694°W / 33.75750; -84.38694
Arealess than one acre
Built1931
ArchitectNixon & Lindsey, Thomas W. Lamb (1931 interior remodel)
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.77000427[1]
Added to NRHPJune 17, 1977

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".[2] Although 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 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 wreckage of the Loew's Grand being demolished after the fire in 1978

The Grand was bought by the Loews organization in 1927[3] and renovated into a movie theater by architect Thomas W. Lamb. The one-screen theater had 2,088 seats. It 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,[citation needed] although this speculation has never been proven. The Georgia-Pacific Tower was built on the former site of the theater.

Bricks from the building were recycled and used to build a popular Atlanta restaurant, Houston's which features a plaque of remembrance of the theater in the waiting area of its original location five miles north, at 2166 Peachtree.[citation needed] A chandelier from the building now hangs prominently at the center of The Tabernacle, a church turned concert venue in Atlanta.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Peachtree Street at Margaret Mitchell Square". Archived from the original on 2013-01-27.
  3. ^ "Condensed Exclusive Items of Financial Interest from Metropolitan Newspapers", The Wall Street Journal, Feb 5, 1927
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