Hurt Building

United States historic place

Hurt Building

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Atlanta Landmark Building

Hurt Building in 2020

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Location| Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates| 33°45′15″N 84°23′14″W﻿ / ﻿33.75417°N 84.38722°W﻿ / 33.75417; -84.38722
Built| 1913-1926[1]
Architect| Carpenter, J.E.R.
Architectural style| Skyscraper
NRHP reference No.| 77000431
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| April 13, 1977[2]
Designated ALB| October 23, 1989

The Hurt Building is an 18-story building located at 50 Hurt Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia with a unique triangular shape. One of the nation's earliest skyscrapers, the Hurt Building was built between 1913 and 1926, and was the initial home for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. It was renovated in 1985. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[3]

## History[edit]

### Concept[edit]

The eponymous building was conceived and developed by Joel Hurt, a prominent Atlanta businessman and prolific developer. Hurt had already built the city's first skyscraper, the original Equitable Building, nearly two decades before. He was part owner of Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railroad, the city's first electric streetcar, which connected the city center to the Inman Park residential area he developed. He also co-founded the Trust Company of Georgia (an early predecessor of what is now Suntrust) and was its president for nine years starting in 1895. Moreover, Hurt married into the Woodruff family, which would eventually control both the Trust Company of Georgia and The Coca-Cola Company.

Hurt made preliminary drawings for several years[4] before choosing well-known New York architect J.E.R. Carpenter to complete the design.[5] Though Carpenter was based in New York by then, he was born and raised outside of Nashville, Tennessee.[6]

It was the 17th largest office building in the world at the time of its construction,[7] it is considered a good example of the skyscraper developed by the famed Louis Sullivan and the Chicago School style.[4]

### Construction and design[edit]

The Hurt Building was constructed during a turbulent economic period between 1913 and 1926 that was marred by four recessions[8] as well as World War I, which delayed the construction of the wings and light court of the building until 1924.[4] Nonetheless, the bulk of the building was completed in 1913, with a courtyard and the entry rotunda pushing the final completion to 1926.

With restrained ornamentation, it occupies a middle ground between Beaux Arts classicism and the emerging modernist aesthetic. The 17-floor building is characterized by a unique triangular shape, most closely associated with the Flatiron Building in New York City, which was necessitated by its triangular site.

The building is constructed of steel frame and reinforced concrete. The building envelope is uninterrupted marble and glazed brick piers with ornamental terra cotta spandrels terminating in a heavy decorative cornice exemplifying the craftsmanship of the early 1900s. It is composed of straight fronts, a flat roof, level skyline, subordination of ornament, a regular pattern of fenestration, and cornices of moderate projection. The lower four floors were designed to fill the building's footprint with the exception of the apex of the building, which faces Five Points, and was cut back 30 feet to allow a greater window area and a more majestic view of the building. The upper 13 floors above lower base is arranged in a V-shape, with the two wings extend from the western apex of the property along both Exchange Place and Edgewood Avenue leaving an open light court between the wings opening toward Ivy Street.[4]

Another key feature is three-story domed rotunda. The original 1913 chandelier underscores the artistically vibrant ceiling, decorated with brilliant gold leaf panels and dramatic sunbursts, reflected in the circular grand marble staircase leading to the Venetian Room, an event space.

The first tenant occupied the Hurt Building in October 1913. Among the first tenants was the newly created Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta,[9] which paid rent of $6,500 for the first year, $8,000 for the second, and $9,000 for the third.[10] until its own building was completed in 1918 at 104 Marietta Street.

Six decades later, beginning in 1983, the Hurt Building was completely renovated, inside and out, reopening in 1985.

The Hurt Building at 96 years old became the first commercial office building in the state of Georgia (and 6th oldest in the nation) to earn LEED-EBOM Gold Certification as well as the first in Georgia to be awarded the BOMA 360 designation, both in 2009.

## In popular culture[edit]

The NBC legal drama Matlock, starring Andy Griffith, used exterior shots of the Hurt Building to represent the office of the fictional Ben Matlock. In the 2016 crime thriller Triple 9, the Hurt Building was the site of the bank robbery committed at the start of the film.

* Rear section of the building

* Side of the building

* In relation to buildings around it

* Back of building

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Historic Hurt Building sold". April 10, 2006.
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
3. ^ "NPGallery". NPGallery. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
4. ^ a b c d "Hurt Building". National Park Service. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
5. ^ "Hurt Building". Atlanta: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. National Park Service. October 10, 2008.
6. ^ John E. Wells and Robert E. Dalton: The Virginia Architects, 1835 - 1955, A Biographical Dictionary, New South Architectural Press, Richmond, Va., 1997, p. 75.
7. ^ "Historic Hurt Building sold". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
8. ^ "US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions". National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
9. ^ "Hurt Building History". The Hurt Building. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
10. ^ "Origins of the System". FRB Atlanta. Retrieved July 22, 2017.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hurt Building.

* The Hurt Building, The official website for the Hurt Building
* Hurt Building, National Park Service Atlanta
* Hurt Building, Atlanta Urban Design Commission

* v
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Atlanta landmarks

Current

| Cemeteries|

* Decatur
* Greenwood
* Oakland
* South Bend
* Utoy
* Westview

|

Commercial|

* 200 Peachtree
* Academy of Medicine
* Atlantic Station
* AmericasMart
* Biltmore
* B. Mifflin Hood Brick Company Building
* Clermont Lounge
* Crum & Forster Building
* Fire Station No. 11
* Five Points Coca-Cola sign
* Forsyth-Walton Building
* Georgia World Congress Center
* Kodak Building
* Lenox Square
* M.C. Kiser Company Building
* Magic City
* Manuel's Tavern
* Mary Mac's Tea Room
* Murder Kroger
* Phipps Plaza
* Ponce City Market
* Switchyards Building
* Underground Atlanta
* The Battery Atlanta
* The Varsity

Educational|

* Brittain Dining Hall
* Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons
* Food Processing Technology Building
* Georgia Tech Historic District
* Georgia Tech Library
* Klaus Advanced Computing Building
* Marcus Nanotechnology Building
* Omega Chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity
* Student Competition Center
* Tech Tower
* Technology Square

Governmental|

* Atlanta City Hall
* Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building
* Federal Penitentiary
* Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
* Georgia Governor's Mansion
* Georgia Railroad Freight Depot
* Georgia State Capitol
* Miss Freedom

Monuments|

* Statue of Ellis Arnall
* Atlanta from the Ashes (The Phoenix)
* Autoeater
* Carnegie Education Pavilion
* Confederate Obelisk
* Continuing the Conversation
* Albert Einstein Memorial
* Erskine Memorial Fountain
* Statue of Evander Holyfield
* Expelled Because of Color
* Five Points Monument
* The First Graduate
* Free Nelson Mandela
* Gateway of Dreams
* Statue of Henry W. Grady
* Homage to King
* Hope Moving Forward
* Statue of Jimmy Carter
* Statue of John Brown Gordon
* Statue of John Stith Pemberton
* Kessler Campanile
* Statue of Martin Luther King Jr.
* Sidney Lanier Monument
* Millennium Gate
* Peace Monument
* Pioneer Women
* Statue of Samuel Spencer
* Thomas W. Talbot Monument
* Statue of Eugene Talmadge
* The Three Pioneers
* Statue of Thomas E. Watson
* Statue of Dominique Wilkins
* World Athletes Monument

Museums|

* APEX Museum
* Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
* Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum
* Atlanta History Center
* Callanwolde Fine Arts Center
* Children's Museum of Atlanta
* College Football Hall of Fame
* Delta Flight Museum
* Fernbank Museum of Natural History
* Fernbank Science Center
* Fire Station No. 6
* Hammonds House Museum
* High Museum of Art
* Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
* Joel Chandler Harris House (Wren's Nest)
* King Plow Arts Center
* Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
* Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
* Michael C. Carlos Museum
* Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia
* Museum of Design Atlanta
* National Center for Civil and Human Rights
* Rhodes Memorial Hall House Museum
* Robert C. Williams Paper Museum
* William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum
* World of Coca-Cola

Parks and
wildlife|

* Atlanta Botanical Garden
* BeltLine
* Burger Bowl
* Centennial Olympic Park
* Chastain Park
* Chattahoochee River
* Fernbank Forest
* Georgia Aquarium
* Grant Park
* Historic Fourth Ward Park
* Liberty Plaza
* Piedmont Park
* Playscapes
* Stone Mountain
* Woodruff Park
* Zoo Atlanta

Performing
arts|

* Alliance Theatre
* Atlanta Symphony Hall
* Atlanta Civic Center
* Buckhead Theatre
* Center for Puppetry Arts
* Center Stage
* Coca-Cola Roxy
* Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
* Ferst Center for the Arts
* Fox Theatre
* Goat Farm Arts Center
* King Plow Arts Center
* Madison Theatre
* Plaza Theatre
* Rialto Center for the Arts
* Shakespeare Tavern
* Strand Theatre
* The Masquerade
* The Tabernacle
* Tara Theatre
* Variety Playhouse
* Woodruff Arts Center

Religious|

* Al-Farooq Masjid
* All Saints' Episcopal
* Annunciation Greek Orthodox
* Antioch Baptist Church North
* Big Bethel AME
* Buckhead
* Central Presbyterian
* The Church at Ponce & Highland (Druid Hills Baptist Church)
* Church of the Apostles
* Congregation Beth Jacob
* Druid Hills Presbyterian
* Ebenezer Baptist
* First Church of Christ, Scientist
* First Congregational
* First Presbyterian
* First United Methodist
* Grace United Methodist
* Immaculate Conception
* Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
* North Avenue Presbyterian
* Peachtree Presbyterian
* Rock Spring Presbyterian
* Sacred Heart of Jesus
* St. Bartholomew's Episcopal
* St. John's Lutheran
* St. Luke's Episcopal
* St. Mark United Methodist
* St. Paul United Methodist
* St. Philip AME
* St. Philip's Cathedral
* The Temple
* Wheat Street Baptist

Residential
(former)|

* Asa G. Candler Jr. (Callanwolde)
* Water T. Candler (Lullwater)
* Joel Chandler Harris (Wren's Nest)
* Alonzo F. Herndon (Herndon Home)
* Edward H. Inman (Swan House)
* Martin Luther King Jr.
* Ferdinand McMillan (The Castle)
* Margaret Mitchell
* Edward C. Peters (Ivy Hall)
* Amos Giles Rhodes (Rhodes Hall)
* Rufus M. Rose
* Craigie House

Skyscrapers|

| Historic
(pre-WWII)|

* Bona Allen (1923)
* Candler (1906)
* Carnegie (1925)
* Connally (1916)
* Cox-Carlton (1925)
* Flatiron (1897)
* Georgian Terrace (1911)
* Glenn (1923)
* Healey (1914)
* Hurt (1926)
* J. Mack Robinson (Empire) (1901)
* The Metropolitan (1911)
* Ponce de Leon Apartments (1913)
* Rhodes-Haverty (1929)
* Southern Bell (1929)
* William-Oliver (1930)
* Winecoff Hotel (1913)
* W. D. Grant (1898)

|

Downtown|

* 25 Park Place (Trust Company of Georgia)
* 55 Marietta Street (Fulton National Bank)
* 101 Marietta Street
* 191 Peachtree Tower
* Coastal States Building
* Equitable
* Five Points Plaza
* Fourth National Bank building
* Georgia Power
* Georgia-Pacific Tower
* Hyatt Regency Atlanta
* Marriott Marquis
* One Park Tower
* Peachtree Center
* Peachtree Summit
* State of Georgia Building
* Truist Plaza
* TWELVE Centennial Park
* Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel

Midtown|

* 999 Peachtree
* 12th & Midtown
* 1010 Midtown
* 10 Sixty Five Midtown
* 1075 Peachtree
* 1100 Peachtree
* 1180 Peachtree
* 1280 West
* Tower Square
* Regions Plaza
* Atlantic Station
* 171 17th Street
* The Atlantic
* Bank of America Plaza
* Coca-Cola
* Colony Square
* CNN Center
* Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta/GLG Grand
* Mayfair Condominiums
* One Atlantic Center (IBM Tower)
* One Georgia Center
* Promenade II
* Spire
* Ten Peachtree Place
* ViewPoint
* Yoo on the Park

Buckhead|

* 2828 Peachtree
* 3344 Peachtree
* 3630 Peachtree
* Atlanta Financial Center
* Atlanta Plaza
* Buckhead Grand
* Mandarin Oriental
* Paramount at Buckhead
* Park Avenue Condominiums
* Park Place
* The Pinnacle
* Realm
* Resurgens Plaza
* Terminus
* Tower Place

Perimeter Center|

* Concourse Corporate Center V & VI (King & Queen towers)
* Park Towers I & II
* Three Ravinia Drive

Former

* 688 Club
* Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom
* Atlanta Cabana Motel
* Atlanta Hotel
* Atlanta (Confederate) Rolling Mill
* Atlantic Steel Mill
* Church of Our Father
* Coca-Cola Olympic City
* Confederate Soldiers' Home
* DeGive's Opera House
* Equitable Building (1892)
* First Universalist
* Fourth National Bank
* 3rd Georgia Governor's Mansion (John H. James mansion)
* Henry Grady Hotel
* Hotel Ansley
* Hotel Aragon
* Judge William Wilson House
* Junior's Grill
* Kimball House
* Leyden House
* Loew's Grand Theatre
* Majestic Hotel
* Masonic Temple
* National Museum of Patriotism
* Neely Nuclear Research Center
* Pappenheimer Mansion
* Paramount Theatre
* Peachtree Arcade
* Piedmont Hotel
* Ponce de Leon amusement park
* Ponce de Leon Springs
* Republic Block
* Rich's
* Riverbend Apartments
* Roxy Theatre
* SciTrek
* State Square
* Terminal Station
* Trout House
* Turner Broadcasting tower
* Union Stations:
* 1853
* 1871
* 1930
* Post Office and Customs House/City Hall (1911-1930)
* Walton Spring
* Washington Hall

Planned

* 1105 West Peachtree
* Atlanta Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal
* Atlanta Symphony Center
* Midtown Union
* Opus Place
* The Stitch

See also: Atlanta sports venues

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