Atlanta Biltmore Hotel and Biltmore Apartments facts for kids
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Atlanta Biltmore Hotel and Biltmore Apartments
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 Location in Atlanta
Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Location in the United States
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| Location | 817 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia |
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| Built | 1924 |
| Built by | Starrett Bros. |
| Architect | Leonard Schultze |
| Architectural style | Neo-Georgian, Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001071 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | January 20, 1980 |
The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel and Biltmore Apartments is a famous historic building in Atlanta, Georgia. It was first built as a hotel and apartments. The project was started by William Candler, whose father, Asa Candler, was a top executive at Coca-Cola. He worked with Holland Ball Judkins and John McEntee Bowman. The main hotel building was later changed into an office building in 1999. Today, the Georgia Institute of Technology owns the building. It is right next to Technology Square.
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Exploring the Biltmore's Past
The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel and Apartments opened on April 19, 1924. This large building, with its 11-story hotel and 10-story apartment section, was built a bit away from downtown Atlanta. This area later became known as Midtown. The famous New York firm of Schultze and Weaver designed the building. The hotel was managed by Bowman-Biltmore Hotels.
A Landmark with Radio Towers
The Atlanta Biltmore is easy to spot because of its tall radio masts. These masts are on each end of the building. They used to have bright letters that spelled out "BILTMORE." From 1925 to 1956, the radio station WSB-AM broadcasted from studios on the top floor. The big radio masts held the antenna for WSB-AM. This was from 1925 to 1929. After that, the station got more powerful, and a new transmitter was built outside the city.
Changes Over the Years
In 1967, the Atlanta Biltmore was sold to Sheraton Hotels. It then became known as the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel. Sheraton spent $5 million to update the building. They ran the hotel until 1979. Then, they sold it to Biltmore Hospitality Partners, who changed its name back to the Atlanta Biltmore. Both the hotel and apartment buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1980. This means they are important historic sites.
The hotel closed in 1982. In 1984, Renaissance Investment Corporation bought it. They planned to turn both the smaller apartment tower and the huge hotel tower into condominiums. They finished work on the apartment tower. However, they went bankrupt in 1986 and had to sell the whole property. The newly updated apartment tower opened as the Biltmore Suites Hotel. But the main hotel building stayed empty for many years.
New Life for the Biltmore
In January 1998, Novare Group bought the complex. They completely changed the main hotel building into office space. It reopened in 1999. Because of all the changes over the years, only two of the original historic public rooms were left. These were the two main floor ballrooms. They were fully restored and are now used for events. They are known as The Biltmore Ballrooms. The Biltmore Suites Hotel next door closed in 1998. It was then turned into condominiums called Biltmore House, which opened in 1999.
On June 13, 2016, the Georgia Institute of Technology bought The Biltmore from Novare.
Images for kids
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Portico on West Peachtree Street
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Biltmore House Condominiums
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View from the Renaissance Hotel
