Atlanta in the (imperial) house!

Beijing —- The grand and elegant Prince Jun’s Palace, a Qing Dynasty imperial residence, serves as an exclusive haven for Olympians during the Games. Tucked far off a busy road, the compound of buildings, walkways and waterfront pavilions is the temporary headquarters for the World Olympians Association’s reunion center, where athletes of past Games visit, relax and enjoy a magnificent view.

That view now includes a number of paintings by Atlanta artist Steve Allen.

The palace served as the spectacular backdrop Thursday for “Atlanta Legacy Night,” where a delegation from the Atlanta DeKalb International Training Center hosted a number of prominent Olympics officials, including IOC members Sir Craig Reedie of Great Britain and Mohamed Mzali of Tunisia.

“I think what it tells the world is they remember Atlanta,” said DITC founder Dr. Marc Daniel Gutekunst, an Emory epidemiologist.

As the crowd thinned out, we visited with three-time Olympian Willie Banks, who praised Allen’s work.

“It shows strength and a kind of balance,” Banks said. “He’s got power.”

Allen, a former copy machine repairman who always liked drawing but took up painting as an adult, serves as the DITC’s artist-in-residence. He’s traveled with delegations to a number of Games (Athens, Sydney, Turino and Salt Lake City) to present official paintings as a gift to the host city. This time, he brought not only a large mural to commemorate the Beijing Games, but several smaller ones, including a portrait of Bob Beamon, who broke the world long jump record at the 1968 Games in Mexico City.

He saluted Allen for capturing the passion he felt that day, then added, “I can still do that.”

And Olympics brand man George Hirthler of Atlanta, who I keep running into over here, toasted the DITC itself as “one of the great legacies of the ‘96 Games. It’s a wonderful asset in that it’s open to athletes from around the world to come take advantage of Southern hospitality.”

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta…

Plans are shaping up for the Atlanta Opera’s annual Fantasies of the Opera Ball. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 4 with cocktail reception and seated dinner, then the opening night performance of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” This year’s chair is Jody Weatherly, while honorary chairs are Greg and Candy Johnson. Joanne Chesler Gross is chair-elect. Heather Flint chairs the patron party, to be held Aug. 26 at Saks Fifth Avenue with cuisine from JOEL and Steel and a Saks Fifth Avenue formalwear fashion show. The ball benefits the Opera’s artistic and educational programming.

Committee members include Allison Adair, Boyce Ansley, Cyndae Arrendale, Helen Bush, Anne Colgin, Lynne Concha, Kathrine Dierdorff, Dorothy Edwards, Eleanor Burke Farris, Rebecca Grant, Becky Hanthorn, Lisa Hart, Fern Hartnig, Sara Hehir, Trudy Huger, Joanne Lyons, Maria Mixon, Deaver Neal, Mary Buckle Searle, Kathryn Spencer, Melissa Stang, Carolyn Wilson, Ellen Wolff, Margaret Wright and Mary Mitchell Yates. Patron tickets start at $2,000 per couple. Single tickets to the ball, tickets to the performance only, or tickets to the post-show reception also are available. Info: www.atlantaopera.org.

butterfly@ajc.com