Georgia-Pacific Tower

Georgia-Pacific Tower is a 212.45 m (697.0 ft) skyscraper in downtown Atlanta. It contains 52 stories of office space and was finished in 1982. Before the six-year era of tall skyscrapers to be built in Atlanta, it was Atlanta's second tallest building from 1982 to 1987, and during that time period, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel was the tallest building in Atlanta. Including the extra 6 years which were 1976-1982 before the Georgia Pacific tower opened. It has a stair-like design that staggers down to the ground, and is clad in pink marble quarried from Tate, Georgia.

The tower is on the former site of the Loew's Grand Theatre, where the premiere for the 1939 film Gone with the Wind was held. (133 Peachtree St. NE, near intersection of Peachtree and Forsyth streets) The theatre could not be demolished because of its landmark status; when it burned down in 1978, clearing the way for the tower, some locals found the circumstances to be mysterious and perhaps more than coincidental.

The architectural firm that built it was Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The tower is the world headquarters of Georgia-Pacific. Other tenants include consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the downtown branch of the High Museum of Art, which opened in 1986.

On March 14, 2008, the tower sustained minor damage when a tornado tore through downtown Atlanta. A number of windows were blown out. It was the first tornado to hit the downtown area since weather record keeping began in the 1880s.

The Consulate-General of the United Kingdom is located in the building. The building served as a filming location for the 1985 action film Invasion U.S.A. starring Chuck Norris and Richard Lynch, in which it served as the setting for the final battle between the U.S army and the army of international terrorists.

Famous quotes containing the word tower:

    The Church disowned, the tower overthrown, the bells upturned, what have we to do
    But stand with empty hands and palms turned upwards
    In an age which advances progressively backwards?
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)