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DeGive's Opera House was the main venue for opera in the U.S. city of
Palmer Building
which is in turn was replaced in 1976 by an office building at 41 Marietta Street. Earlier confusion about the location of the original DeGive's stems from two misunderstandings. First, the location was assumed to be the site of the Kimball opera house. However, this building was at the SW corner of Marietta and Forsyth; DeGive's was at the NE corner. Second, it had been assumed that the location may have been on at the corner of Marietta and Broad (not Forsyth) based on Reed's ''History of Atlanta''. However, this reference is only to Atlanta's antebellum Masonic Hall, later destroyed in a fire in May, 1866. In 1893, DeGive opened the new, larger DeGive's Grand Opera House, which would later become
"DeGive's Opera House", Atlanta History Center
{{Atlanta landmarks Theatres in Atlanta Concert halls in the United States 1871 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Max Corput buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Buildings and structures demolished in 1921
DeGive's Opera House was the main venue for opera in the U.S. city of 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 ...
from 1871 until 1893.
History and location
TheAtlanta History Center
Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926 and currently consists of nine permanent, and several temporary, exhibitions. Atlanta History Cen ...
describes how Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
consul Laurent DeGive
Laurent DeGive (January 1828 in Belgium – March 17, 1910 in Rockledge, FL) was the Belgian consul in Atlanta, Georgia in the late 19th century. He arrived in Atlanta in 1859. He built two opera houses in Atlanta, DeGive's Opera House (Bijou Thea ...
purchased an unfinished building at the corner of Marietta and Forsyth and hired architect and civil engineer Max Corput
Max Corput, fully documented as Maximilien van den Corput (died 1911) was a Belgian-American architect. He designed the Atlanta Union Station (1871), second Union Station of Atlanta, Georgia. Van den Corput also served as an officer in the Confe ...
to design the opera house.
The opera house opened on January 24, 1870, and was expanded in 1873–1874 to accommodate over 2,000 people. The opera house was later occupied by the Columbia Theater and later still by the Bijou Theater. The building was demolished in 1921 to make way for the construction of thPalmer Building
which is in turn was replaced in 1976 by an office building at 41 Marietta Street. Earlier confusion about the location of the original DeGive's stems from two misunderstandings. First, the location was assumed to be the site of the Kimball opera house. However, this building was at the SW corner of Marietta and Forsyth; DeGive's was at the NE corner. Second, it had been assumed that the location may have been on at the corner of Marietta and Broad (not Forsyth) based on Reed's ''History of Atlanta''. However, this reference is only to Atlanta's antebellum Masonic Hall, later destroyed in a fire in May, 1866. In 1893, DeGive opened the new, larger DeGive's Grand Opera House, which would later become
Loew's Grand Theatre
Loew's Grand Theater, originally DeGive's Grand Opera House, was a movie theater at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It was most famous as the site of the 1939 premiere of ''Gone wit ...
, at Peachtree and Forsyth.
Earlier opera house
DeGive's was not the first opera house in Atlanta. The first shows performed in Atlanta predate theAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and were primarily performed in makeshift facilities modified for the operatic arts. Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
saw the formation of the Atlanta Opera House and Building Association. The association obtained the southwest corner of Marietta Street and Forsythe Street to construct a five-story opera house. By 1868, they were out of money. Instead of hosting great performances, Atlanta's first opera house, the Kimball Opera House as it was later known, was sold at a loss. It served as Georgia's state capitol from January 1869 to July 1889.
See also
*Opera in Atlanta
Opera in Atlanta has a long and uneven history. The first shows performed in Atlanta predate the American Civil War and were primarily performed in makeshift facilities modified for the operatic arts. The main company for the region is the Atl ...
References
External links
"DeGive's Opera House", Atlanta History Center
{{Atlanta landmarks Theatres in Atlanta Concert halls in the United States 1871 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Max Corput buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Buildings and structures demolished in 1921