Located at 695
North Avenue 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 ...
, the Dupre Excelsior Mill (the actual name as of 1911 was "Du Pree Manufacturing Company Excelsior Factory")
[Insurance maps of Atlanta, Georgia, Volume 2, 1911, Sanborn-Perris Map Co. Limited, http://dlgcsm.galib.uga.edu/StyleServer/calcrgn?browser=ns&cat=sanb&wid=380&hei=400&style=sanborn/sanb.xsl&item=atlanta-fulton-ga-1911-s-250.sid ] may have been built as early as 1890 by DuPre (also spelled Du Pree) Manufacturing Company.
However, the mill fails to appear on Atlanta city maps in 1892 and 1899, which both show the property as vacant. The first possible reference to the mill exists in the report of the death of Hubert Neal on July 17, 1899. According to the report, his accident occurred at the Atlanta Excelsior Works,
which may or may not be the same facility since at the time there were three excelsior factories in Atlanta.
The earliest concrete confirmation of the mill seems to be three lawsuits filed against Dupre in 1907 for accidents that occurred at the facility. The mill does appear on the
Sanborn-Perris fire insurance map of 1911 (section 250). At that time, the only road connecting it was Angier Street. It was noted to have been heated by steam power, no lighting, and a private water supply from a well 10 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep. A watchman made hourly rounds to seven stations.
The Post-depression era saw an expansion of the mill in the late 1930s and early 1940s. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the demand for
excelsior
Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry
* "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
* ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...
was radically reduced. The introduction of foam rubber virtually eliminated the use of excelsior as stuffing material. Even so, the secondary packing material market continued for a short time. By the 1960s, the demand for excelsior was non-existent and the mill operated more as a storage facility than active production facility. By 1977, all the major mills in the Atlanta area had shut their doors.
In 1977–1978, the mill was converted over to a
pizzeria
A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta.
Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then t ...
and barrio. With a
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
Organ as part of the setting, the Excelsior Mill featured everything from movies to bands to Shakespearian plays over its decade-long run; the pizza and barrio house survived until 1989. The Excelsior Mill, in its later years, is fondly remembered by blues fans as the residence of blues legend Willie "Piano Red" Perryman and an in-house
pipe organ.
In September 1989, it closed for a time and subsequently re-opened as
The Masquerade, becoming a well-known
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
and
concert venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. T ...
.
After the owner sold the property for a
mixed-use
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to som ...
land development, now called
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
+
Line, locals and
preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...
s obtained
historic
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
protection for the original buildings, which were to be included in the
redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space.
Description
Variations on redevelopment include: ...
as a
restaurant. The Masquerade announced in late June 2016 that it would reopen in the
Blandtown section of
West Midtown
West Midtown, also known as Westside, is a colloquial area, comprising many historical neighborhoods located in Atlanta, Georgia. Once largely industrial, West Midtown is now the location of urban lofts, art galleries, live music venues, retail ...
at 1421 Fairmont Ave in late August, just a week after closing its historic mill location. However, this was thwarted by a
lawsuit filed by a
developer
Developer may refer to:
Computers
* Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications
* Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games
* Web d ...
planning to build
single-family home
A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelli ...
s across the street in the
industrial area. In mid-September, a deal was reached to temporarily house the club in Kenny's Alley, the bottom level of
Underground Atlanta
Underground Atlanta is a shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the Five Points MARTA station. It is currently undergoing renovations. First opened in 1969, it takes ...
, starting in late October, though the first concert wasn't held there until late November, just two days before
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
. The last show at the mill was on the 19th of that month.
On December 27, 2019, one wall of the building partially collapsed during construction. As of February 9, 2021, the collapsed wall was repaired and the new space almost ready for tenants.
References
TheStoryGroup.com article*Map:
Insurance maps of Atlanta, Georgia, Volume 2, 1911, Sanborn-Perris Map Co. Limited1892 bird's eye view map of AtlantaInsurance maps of Atlanta, Georgia, 1899, Sanborn-Perris Map Co. Limited
*''Atlanta Constitution'', 17 July 1899
External links
Official websiteThe Masquerade page on MySpace includes list of artists who have performed at the venue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupre Excelsior Mill
Manufacturing plants in the United States
Buildings and structures in Atlanta
Industrial buildings completed in 1890
Industrial landmarks in Atlanta
Adaptive reuse of industrial structures in Atlanta