The M. Rich Building, also known as the M. Rich and Brothers and Company Building and the W. T. Grant Building at 82

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 ...

SW (formerly 52-54-56 Whitehall),

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 ...

, is a landmark building significant for both architectural and commercial reasons. It housed

Rich's department store Rich's was a family-owned business that was established in 1962, grew out of Jerry's Army Navy Surplus in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Rich family once operated 29 stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, which offered disco ...

from the time it was completed in 1907 until it moved into its much larger premises at Broad and Alabama streets in 1924."M. Rich and Brothers and Company Building", City of Atlanta Urban Design Commission
/ref> In September 1882 Rich's moved to 54-56 Whitehall''Rich's: A Southern Institution'', Jeff Clemmons, pp. 26, 30-31
/ref> and in 1906, the adjacent M. Kutz & Co. building at 52 Whitehall was acquired. Both it and the Rich store at 54-56 Whitehall were torn down. Rich's closed its furniture annex and moved its dry goods to that building temporarily, while a new building was built on the site of 52-54-56 Whitehall designed by noted local architectural firm

Bruce & Morgan Bruce & Morgan was an American architectural firm based in Atlanta. It was established in 1882 as the partnership of architects Alexander Campbell Bruce (1835-1927) and Thomas Henry Morgan (1857-1940). History Bruce & Morgan were the successors ...

. In April 1907 the new emporium opened for business. In 1924, Rich's moved to new, much larger Palazzo-style quarters at Broad and Alabama streets. From 1925 to 1974 the

W. T. Grant W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns. History In 1906 the ...

discount department store operated here. Later owners and occupants of the building were: * 1978–1986 Patrick Swindall , Atlanta Furniture Company * 1986–1990 Trion-Winter-MLK Joint Venture * 1990–? Patrick Swindall, The Great Five Points Flea Market * 1998–present The Mall at 82 Peachtree occupies the bottom two floors of the building Today, most of the building operates as the M. Rich Center for Creative Arts, Media and Technology. In 2020, the building and surrounding area were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as part of the Whitehall Street Retail Historic District.

References

Further reading