Loew's Grand Theatre facts for kids
| Address | Peachtree & Forsyth Streets Atlanta |
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| Owner | Loew's Theatres |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1893 |
| Demolished | 1978 |
| Years active | 1893-1978 |
| Website | |
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Degive's Grand Opera House
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Loew's Grand Theater ca. 1920
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 Location in Downtown Atlanta
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| Location | 157 Peachtree St., NE, Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1931 |
| Architect | Nixon & Lindsey, Thomas W. Lamb (1931 interior remodel) |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000427 |
| Added to NRHP | June 17, 1977 |
The Loew's Grand Theater was a famous movie theater in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. It was originally called DeGive's Grand Opera House. This theater stood at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets.
It became very famous in 1939. This was because it hosted the exciting premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. Many of the movie's stars attended this special event.
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A Home for Big Movies
The Loew's Grand Theater often showed movies from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). This was a major movie studio. A sign under the theater's marquee even said, "The Home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures."
Even after 1948, when movie studios could no longer own theater chains, many new MGM films still premiered here. Some of these famous movies included Singin' in the Rain, the 1959 Ben-Hur, and Doctor Zhivago.
From Opera House to Movie Palace
The building first opened in 1893. It was built by a businessman named Laurent DeGive. He was also the Belgian consul. It was known as DeGive's Grand Opera House. This grand building hosted many concerts and traveling opera shows.
People sometimes confuse it with DeGive's first opera house. That one opened in 1870, a few blocks away. The confusion is easy to understand. Laurent DeGive had his name carved right above the entrance of the Grand Theater.
In 1927, the Loew's company bought the Grand Opera House. They changed it into a modern movie theater. Architect Thomas W. Lamb led this renovation. The theater had one large screen and could seat 2,088 people.
The Fire and What Came Next
On January 30, 1978, the theater was badly damaged by a fire. The land where the theater stood was very valuable. However, the theater could not be torn down easily because it was a historic building. This led some people to wonder if the fire was set on purpose. But this idea was never proven.
After the fire, the theater was demolished. Today, the Georgia-Pacific Tower stands on the site where the Loew's Grand Theater once was.
Some parts of the old theater were saved. Bricks from the building were used to help build a popular restaurant in Atlanta called Houston's. This restaurant even has a plaque remembering the theater. Also, a beautiful chandelier from the Loew's Grand now hangs in The Tabernacle. This building is a church that became a concert venue in Atlanta.
Images for kids
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The wreckage of the Loew's Grand being demolished after the fire in 1978
