The Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant, also known as Baptist Student Center, or Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Georgia State University, is a historic building at 125 Edgewood Avenue in
Atlanta, Georgia
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 ...
. Built in 1891, it was the headquarters and bottling plant of the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and the place where the transition from
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
as a drink served at a
soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concent ...
to a mass-marketed bottled
soft drink
A soft drink (see ยง Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
took place. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1983, and is one of the only buildings in Atlanta dating to Coca-Cola's early history.
[ and ] Since 1966 the building has been the Baptist Student Ministry location for
Georgia State University
Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...
.
Description and history
The former Dixie Coca-Cola building is located in downtown Atlanta, at the southeast corner of Edgewood Avenue and Courtland Street. It is a relatively small two-story structure, mostly built out of brick, with a projecting wood-frame clapboarded square turret at the corner. The building is irregularly shaped, due in part to the unusual lot on which it stands. Its Edgewood Avenue facade has three large arched windows on the first floor, and Queen Anne-style variety of shapes defining its roof line at and above the second level.
The building was built in 1891, and was from 1900-01 home to the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company, established by
Benjamin Franklin Thomas and
Joseph Brown Whitehead in 1899 as the exclusive bottler of
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
for a large part of the United States. Of ten sites definitively established with the early history of Coca-Cola (which was first distributed as a
fountain drink
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
from facilities in the city in 1887), it is the only one still standing. Since 1966, it has served as Georgia State University's Baptist Student Center. It had deteriorated in condition by the 1970s, including some loss of its historic integrity, but has since undergone at least an exterior restoration.
Gallery
File:Atlanta Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant 2012 09 15 03 6267.JPG
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources acco ...
*
References
External links
Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary*
ttp://www.bcmgsu.org/ Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Georgia State
{{Atlanta landmarks
National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)
Buildings and structures in Atlanta
Headquarters in the United States
Manufacturing plants in the United States
Coca-Cola buildings and structures
Georgia State University
Coca-Cola bottlers
National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta
Industrial buildings completed in 1891
1891 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Drink companies of the United States