The Hyatt Regency Atlanta is a business hotel located on

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

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 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 ...

. Opened in 1967 as the Regency Hyatt House,

John C. Portman, Jr. John Calvin Portman Jr. (December 4, 1924 – December 29, 2017) was an American neofuturistic architect and real estate developer widely known for popularizing hotels and office buildings with multi-storied interior atria. Portman also had a pa ...

's revolutionary 22-story atrium design for the hotel has influenced hotel design enormously in the years since. The hotel instantly became one of the most recognized buildings in Atlanta. The building consists of the main "Atrium Tower" and two extensions, completed in 1971 and 1982, respectively, containing a total of 1,260 rooms. On top of the Hyatt Regency is a revolving restaurant called Polaris, located just beneath the blue dome-shaped structure which gives the hotel its distinctive profile. This was Portman's first designed revolving restaurant of many. When the hotel first opened, the restaurant gave diners an ever-changing panoramic view of the entire city; however, as taller buildings were erected on all sides of the hotel, the restaurant's view became increasingly constricted. The Polaris closed in August 2004 and remained empty until renovation plans were approved in 2013. Polaris reopened in June 2014. In 1971, the Ivy Tower (now called Radius Tower) was constructed, which was also designed by John Portman. It closely resembles his

Westin Peachtree Plaza The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, is a skyscraper hotel on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to the Peachtree Center complex and the former Davison's/Macy's flagship store with 1,073 rooms. At and 73 stories, a total ...

, which opened five years later. So similar are the two buildings that in 1981, the Tower doubled for the Peachtree Plaza in the film ''

Sharky's Machine ''Sharky's Machine'' is a 1981 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. It is an adaptation of William Diehl's first novel ''Sharky's Machine'' (1978) with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego. It ...

'' starring

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

. Stuntman

Dar Robinson Dar Allen Robinson (March 26, 1947 – November 21, 1986) was an American stunt performer and actor. Robinson broke 19 world records and set 21 "world's firsts." He invented the decelerator (use of dragline cables rather than airbags for a ...

dropped () from the Tower, setting a record for the highest freefall (unrestrained) jump from a building in a film. In 1969,

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, lead singer of

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

, stayed at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta while attending the

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

. At the awards ceremony, he gave his room key to the woman presenting him the plaque. In 1982, the International Tower was added, which is the same as the original design but has expanded rooms and suites. File:Hyatt regency atlanta atrium.JPG, View of the Atrium and glass elevators looking up from the lobby floor File:Hyatt-regency-atlanta-atrium.jpg, View of the Atrium from the 8th floor File:Hyatt-regency-atlanta-aerial.jpg, View of the Hyatt from the

References

External links

Hyatt Regency Atlanta official websiteWhen Jim Morrison of The Doors Stayed at The Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Skyscraper hotels in Atlanta John C. Portman Jr. buildings Hotel buildings completed in 1967 {{US-hotel-stub

See also

References

External links