Tower Square (Atlanta) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tower Square |
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Tower Square, when it was AT&T Midtown Center (2016)
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| Former names | BellSouth Building Southern Bell Telephone Building AT&T Midtown Center I |
| General information | |
| Location | 675 W Peachtree St NW Atlanta, GA 30308 |
| Coordinates | 33°46′22″N 84°23′13″W / 33.77268°N 84.38692°W |
| Completed | 1980 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 206.4 m (677 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 47 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill FABRAP |
| Engineer | Weidlinger Associates |
Tower Square is a very tall building, also known as a skyscraper, located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. It stands 206.4 m (677 ft) (about 677 feet) tall and has 47 floors. This building was finished in 1982.
It used to be called BellSouth Center, Southern Bell Center, and AT&T Midtown Center I. For many years, it was the main office for BellSouth Telecommunications in the region. This company is now known as AT&T Southeast. By 2020, AT&T had moved out of its offices in the building. In 2019, the building got a big makeover and was renamed "Tower Square" in October 2020.
How the Building Came to Be
The company that built Tower Square was first called Southern Bell. They originally planned to build a parking garage for the tower in a different spot. This spot was very important because it would have meant tearing down the historic Fox Theatre.
Saving the Fox Theatre
The Fox Theatre is a beautiful old building. It was very special to the city, especially after another big theater, Loew's Grand Theatre, was destroyed by fire in 1978. People really did not want to lose the Fox Theatre.
Many people in the community joined together to save it. They held protests, raised money, and signed petitions. Even famous entertainer Liberace spoke up to help save the "Fabulous Fox." Because of all this effort, a special agreement was made. The parking garage was built in a different place, north of the main tower on West Peachtree Street. This saved the Fox Theatre!
Building Features
Tower Square has a direct entrance to the North Avenue MARTA Station. This is a train station that was built at the same time as the skyscraper. In 2002, BellSouth added two more buildings next to the tower. This created the BellSouth Midtown Center campus. They did this to bring more offices close to public transportation.
The main architects who designed Tower Square were Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Rosser International, Inc. The company that built it was Beers Skanska, Inc.
The building was also used in a movie! It appeared in the 1993 science fiction action film RoboCop 3. In the movie, it was shown as the headquarters for the evil company O.C.P.
See also
- Architecture of Atlanta
- List of tallest buildings in Atlanta
