The Medical Arts Building is a
Beaux-Arts style building located at the northern end of
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 ...
. The 12-story brick and limestone building by architect
G. Lloyd Preacher
Geoffrey Lloyd Preacher (May 11, 1882 – June 17, 1972) was an American architect. Based in Atlanta, Preacher and his firm specialized mostly in commercial offices, hotels, and apartment buildings in the Southeastern United States.
History ...
, also designer of
Atlanta City Hall
Atlanta City Hall is the headquarters of the City of Atlanta government. It was constructed in 1930, and is located in Downtown Atlanta. It is a high-rise office tower very similar to dozens of other city halls built in the United States durin ...
, was constructed in 1927. In addition to its medical facilities - deemed as some of the most modern and well-equipped when it opened, the building once featured a cafeteria, drugstore and telegraph office. It was also amongst the first to have a covered parking garage.
However, its nearly of space have been vacant since 1995.
Recent history
In 2001, the building was included on the Atlanta Preservation Center's List of Endangered Buildings.
In 2002, an ordinance was proposed before
Atlanta City Council
The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...
to designate the building as a Landmark Building. The ordinance was passed in October 2005.
In 2003, Crow Hospitality Investment Group had the building under contract with plans to convert it into a small hotel.
In 2004, a business owned by record producer
Dallas Austin was in negotiations to buy the building for possible conversion into a boutique hotel from then-owner Harold Gelber, a Miami businessman who had owned the property since the 1970s. Later that year, the building was purchased for $5.25 million by a group of local developers.
On the morning of July 2, 2005, the building suffered damage from a four-alarm fire.
In July 2009, large advertisements for
Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express were placed on two sides of the building although there was no intention of either hotel occupying the building. The advertisements were eventually removed and were replaced in January 2010 by signs for
MetroPCS. In May 2010, an advertisement was posted for Crown Royal Black whisky.
The building is the only one of 10 structures on Central Atlanta Progress's 2003 list of downtown "eyesores" that has not been renovated or repurposed. Therefore, the building remains on the updated list released in December 2009. The building is included on The Georgia Trust's list of 2011 Places in Peril. It was listed on 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 ...
in 2016.
See also
*
References
{{Coord, 33.7652, N, 84.3862, W, region:US-GA_type:landmark, display=title
1927 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
1995 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Office buildings completed in 1927
Beaux-Arts architecture in Georgia (U.S. state)
G. Lloyd Preacher buildings
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta