Midtown Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel

Unparalleled in the South

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 11, 2023

1. The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel Marker

Inscription. 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

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

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

Erected by Atlanta History Center • Midtown Alliance.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is April 19, 1924.

Location. 33° 46.607′ N, 84° 23.317′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in Midtown Atlanta. It is at the intersection of 5th Street Northwest and Spring Street Northwest, on the right when traveling east on 5th Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 48 5th St NW, Atlanta GA 30332, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 11, 2023

2. The Atlanta Biltmore Hotel Marker

Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Georgia Tech Meets Midtown (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Biltmore (about 400 feet away); Academy of Medicine (about 700 feet away); Peachtree Manor (approx. ¼ mile away); The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (approx. ¼ mile away); David and Frances Cotting (approx. 0.3 miles away); Omega Chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Georgian Terrace Hotel (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Atlanta.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Capt. Grant's Vision for a Safe City (was approx. ¼ mile away but has been confirmed missing).

The Biltmore Hotel image. Click for full size.

John Phelan via WikiMedia Commons (CC BY 3.0), May 22, 2010

3. The Biltmore Hotel

The hotel as seen from a nearby hotel.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 549 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on December 1, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.