Loew's Grand Theater, originally DeGive's Grand Opera House, was a

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. It was most famous as the site of the 1939 premiere of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', which was attended by most of the stars of the film. It concentrated on showing films made or released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

(MGM), a Loews-owned studio, even boasting a sign under its marquee proclaiming it "The Home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures". Although the ''

United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'', 334 U.S. 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Case, or the Paramount Decision), was a landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case that decided the f ...

'' case

divest In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...

ed studios of ownership of theater chains in 1948, many MGM films made afterward still had their first showings in Atlanta at this theater, including '' Singin' in the Rain'', the 1959 '' Ben-Hur'' and '' Doctor Zhivago''. The theater was built as DeGive's Grand Opera House in 1893 by entrepreneur and Belgian consul Laurent DeGive, and hosted many concerts and touring opera productions. It is often confused with DeGive's first opera house, which opened in 1870 four blocks south, at the corner of Marietta and Forsyth streets. The confusion is understandable, as DeGive had his name carved prominently above the entrance of the Grand Theater. Loews Grand Atlanta after fire GA1

The Grand was bought by the Loews organization in 1927"Condensed Exclusive Items of Financial Interest from Metropolitan Newspapers", ''The Wall Street Journal'', Feb 5, 1927 and renovated into a movie theater by architect Thomas W. Lamb. The one-screen theater had 2,088 seats. It was extensively damaged as the result of a fire on January 30, 1978. Although the real estate where the theater had stood was of high value, the theater could not be demolished because of its historic status. This led many to speculate that the cause of the fire was arson, although this speculation has never been proven. The Georgia-Pacific Tower was built on the former site of the theater. Bricks from the building were recycled and used to build a popular Atlanta restaurant, Houston's which features a plaque of remembrance of the theater in the waiting area of its original location five miles north, at 2166 Peachtree. A

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

from the building now hangs prominently at the center of the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

, a church turned concert venue in Atlanta.

References

External links

Photos of the Loew's Grand, including several taken in the aftermath of the 1978 fire that led to its eventual demolitionBernard L. Solari color photographs of the damage after the January 30, 1978 fire
{{National Register of Historic Places Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Romanesque Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Romanesque Revival cinemas and movie theaters History of Atlanta Theatres in Atlanta Cinemas and movie theaters in Georgia (U.S. state) Burned buildings and structures in the United States Former cinemas in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Buildings and structures demolished in 1978 Loew's Theatres buildings and structures National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Thomas W. Lamb buildings