Q: I’m interested in the old Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. What happened to it? When it was built? Do you have any other information about it?
—Phil Castleberry, Cumming
A: If you wanted to dance to the music of your favorite musicians, scream at a masked wrestler, listen to presidential speeches or mind your manners during an opera, this was the place for you.
The Atlanta Municipal Auditorium was home to practically every kind of concert, ceremony, convention and competition — including the Georgia Fiddlers Championship from 1913-1935 – for about 70 years.
Muhammad Ali even fought there, defeating Jerry Quarry in 1970.
The Municipal Auditorium – some folks called it City Auditorium — included a National Guard armory when it opened in 1909. The facility soon begin to display its versatility.
There was the circus, the roller derby, graduations and balls, according to a 2008 Georgia State Magazine article.
The building even had a pipe organ.
I can’t list all the musicians and groups to play there through the decades, but a sampling includes Judy Garland, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Grateful Dead and the Jackson 5.
Georgia State bought Municipal Auditorium, which is at 30 Courtland Street, from the city in 1980 and renamed it Alumni Hall.
That building was renamed Dahlberg Hall in 2010, and houses the university’s International Center and office of International Initiatives.
More Zero Mile Post
Jeff Morrison has seen the Zero Mile Post, but it’s been a while.
Morrison is an architect who, when he’s not designing buildings above ground, explores Atlanta’s past underground.
He leads the Unseen Underground Walking Tour through grimy railroad tunnels, the Gulch and Underground Atlanta.
He still stops at the vacant downtown building that houses the Zero Mile Post, but it remains locked away.
The post, which I wrote about last week, was installed in 1837 to mark the end of the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
“The significance of the mile post to Atlanta cannot be understated,” Morrison said in an email. “It represents the original railroad ‘Terminus’ that was the reason for Atlanta’s existence. … In a city where so many monuments are moved around, if not lost altogether, it is amazing that this artifact has remained in place for over 170 years.”
About the Author
