The Olympia Building is a landmark at the absolute center 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 ...

, Five Points in

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 ...

History

The building was built between 1935 and 1936, architects Ivey and Crook. Since 2003, a flashing

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

sign has stood on top of the building, the space for which Coke pays $8,641 a month in rent (2012 data). As of September 2012 the building was owned by the State of

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 ...

(as a result of a $3.6 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation just before the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

) and was for sale, valued at $2.45 million. A complex rehabilitation of the building, beginning in 2015, includes the removal of all non-historic elements, of which there were many. This left only the building's terra cotta and marble facade and portions of its foundation. The iconic metal canopy will be reconstructed from historic images. The building currently houses a two-story

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...

References

{{Atlanta landmarks Ivey and Crook buildings Buildings and structures in Atlanta City of Atlanta-designated historic sites Buildings and structures completed in 1936