157 Peachtree St NE
Atlanta, GA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Degive's Grand Opera House (Loew's Grand Theatre)

Statement of Significant:

The De Give's Grand Opera House, known today as the Loew's Grand is Atlanta's oldest extant theater, and for many years was the place for some of Atlanta's most prestigious social events, including the premier of "Gone with the Wind." As such, it is both architecturally and historically significant.

Its Romanesque facade is of interest in itself but the proximity of this building to the Beaux Art Carnegie Library and the Renaissance-inspired Davison-Paxton store, eboy lends to this area an architectural variety and excitement duplicated nowhere else 56 in Atlanta.

The building which contains not only an auditorium but also living and working space, was commissioned in 1893 by Laurent De Give, an enterprising businessman who also served as the Belgium Consul to the Southern States.

The Theatre was actually the second De Give was to operate in Atlanta. The first was opened in 1873 and became so successful that a move to larger quarters was necessary This building was to extend northward the commercial and cultural activity of the city into what was heretofore a primarily residential section. Upon its completion, De Give moved his family and offices to the new building which was also to house the offices of the architects, Nixon and Lindsey.

The theatre first opened its doors on February 10, 1893 under the name "De Give's Grand Opera House." Featuring the play, "Men and Women" written by Belascoe and De Mille, the opening of the new entertainment center was a grand social occasion for all Atlanta. Making some appropriate remarks before the curtain went up, Mayor John B. Goodwin and Clark Howell praised theatre entrepreneur Laurent De Give for his latest contribution to the city. De Give was too modest to even be present when the speeches congratulating him were being given.

A far cry from Atlanta's first substantial theatre, the old Masonic Hall which De Give had remodelled in 1870, the Grand was reported at the time of its opening, to be the third largest theatre of its day. The auditorium had a capacity of some 2,700 people and its elaborate interior was designed and coordinated by the New York firm of McEltrick and Sons. The auditorium, richly decorated, featured frescoed ceilings and a sound board above the proscenium arch by Paolo Fayesich. Entitled "Triump of Fantasy, Poetry, and Music," the dramatic composition by Fayes ich was taken from Rahl's curtain in the Royal Opera House in Vienna. The Austrian Fayesich was well- known for his work in the Czar's Palace in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and in the Sultan's Palace at Constantinople. The curtain which was woven in New Orleans depicted Shakespeare reading a play before Queen Elizabeth. The relief ornamentation throughout the building was done by Pratt of St. Louis.

The De Give continued as the center of Atlanta's social life, attracting many of the re- nouned performers of the day, including Sarah Bernhardt, Geraldine Farrae, Lillian Russell, Otis Skinner and Lillian Davenport. In addition, it was the site of one of Atlanta's most exclusive social happenings, the Semi-Annual Cotillian Club party.

Marking a change in entertainment toward the motion picture, in 1929, De Give leased the building to the Loew's Theatre Corporation. In 1931, the interior of the Grand was remodeled by Loew's in the popular Art Deco style. For this work, the well- known theatre architect Charles Lamb of New York was selected. The Loew's remodeling is a good example of the theatre decor of the era and is the only example in Atlanta by an architect of such renown.

Today, the Loew's Grand is perhaps best remembered as the site of the spectacular premier of "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. Selected by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as the place to hold the premier, thousands of visitors, dignitaries, and movie stars came to the Grand to be caught up in the aura and glamour that only Hollywood of the 30's could provide.
The De Give stands today as a repository of fond memories, an exponent of a glamorous page in Atlanta's history, and architecturally, as a vital part of the urban street scape with a remarkable and singular Art Deco interior.