The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel

The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel was built by William Candler, heir to the Asa Candler Coca-Cola fortune, who spent an estimated $6 million on its construction. The massive luxury hotel was designed to represent the “New South”, and provide guests with every possible modern convenience - including Atlanta's first indoor swimming pool. When it opened on April 19, 1924, it was said to have no parallel in the South. The opening night dance didn't just draw Northern hoteliers, but was broadcast live on national radio. In its primacy, the 11-story hotel and adjacent 10-story apartment building hosted galas, dances, debutante balls, opera recitals, and celebrities from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bette Davis. The Biltmore Hotel was also a broadcasting innovator, serving as the home for Atlanta's first radio station, the still-popular WSB. For more than 30 years, WSB broadcast from a studio in the hotel and the two radio towers that remain atop it. , Starting in the 60's, the Biltmore traded hands several times and eventually shuttered in 1982. After 16 years in disrepair, the historic property reopened in 1999 with the former hotel-room floors transformed into office space and two restored ballrooms as event space. , [Caption] Broadcasting at WSB studio, circa 1950s. Image courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library