Loew's Grand Theater, originally DeGive's Grand Opera House, was a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...

, 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 the stars of the film, except for the African Americans who appeared in it, who were also excluded from the

souvenir program A programme or program (see spelling differences) is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled t ...

. (They were to be segregated and be in the "colored-only" regions if they were to be present in the theaters at all.) It concentrated on showing films made or released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

(MGM), a Loews-owned studio, even boasting a sign under its marquee proclaiming it "The Home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures". 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 ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charis ...

'', the 1959 ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' and ''

Doctor Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

''. 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 Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

and Forsyth streets. The confusion is understandable, as DeGive had his name carved prominently above the entrance of the Grand Theater. Loews Grand Atlanta after fire GA1

The Grand was bought by the Loews organization in 1927"Condensed Exclusive Items of Financial Interest from Metropolitan Newspapers", ''The Wall Street Journal'', Feb 5, 1927 and renovated into a movie theater by architect

Thomas W. Lamb Thomas White Lamb (May 5th, 1870 – February 26th, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century. Career Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. La ...

. 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, 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. A

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

from the building now hangs prominently at the center of

The Tabernacle The Tabernacle is a mid-size concert hall located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Opening in 1911 as a church, the building was converted into a music venue in 1996. It is owned and managed by concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment and has a c ...

, a church turned concert venue in Atlanta.

References

External links

Photos of the Loew's Grand, including several taken in the aftermath of the 1978 fire that led to its eventual demolitionBernard L. Solari color photographs of the damage after the January 30, 1978 fire
{{National Register of Historic Places Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Romanesque Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) History of Atlanta Theatres in Atlanta Cinemas and movie theaters in Georgia (U.S. state) Burned buildings and structures in the United States Former cinemas in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Buildings and structures demolished in 1978 Loew's Theatres buildings and structures National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Thomas W. Lamb buildings