Lewis G. Holland Sr., a native Atlantan who helped light the downtown skyline for the 1994 Super Bowl and the 1996 Olympics and was known for giving personal attention to the issues that plagued the city’s children and homeless, died Wednesday. He was 75.
With experience as both a business and civic leader, Mr. Holland was in a unique position among corporate and city administrators, colleagues said.
“He had a quiet leadership style and he got a lot done,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Atlanta Central Progress, an organization Mr. Holland led from 1991 until 1994.
Mr. Holland’s fingerprints are all over the Atlanta skyline, literally and figuratively, said his brother Jack K. Holland. One of Lewis Holland's most visible contributions to the city can be seen best at night, his brother said.
“He helped light up Atlanta,” Jack Holland said of his brother. “And that was a big deal at the time.”
In 1993 Lewis Holland, as president of Atlanta Central Progress, was part of a group that supported the exterior lighting of downtown buildings. During the week of the 1994 Super Bowl, which was held in Atlanta, the exteriors of 52 buildings were to be lit. More buildings were to be added before the Olympics rolled into town. At the time Mr. Holland said lighting the buildings would add more drama to the night skyline.
“When you think of all the major buildings along the Peachtree corridor being illuminated, from Central City Park [now Woodruff Park] to Lenox, what a first impression that would be for visitors,” Mr. Holland said in 1993.
Mr. Holland’s ability to work with the business, government and civic communities made his opinions and input desirable, colleagues said.
“He was creative and cooperative when working on city issues with other jurisdictions,” said Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition and a former mayor of Atlanta. “And his integrity put everyone at ease.”
Mr. Holland always kept the interests of others before that of himself, said childhood friend George Johnson. An example, he said, was Mr. Holland’s stepping in at the Anneewakee school for adolescents in 1987 after its director was accused of abusing patients.
“It was a terrible scandal, and Lewis was on the board out there,” Mr. Johnson said. “And you can imagine everybody wanted to flee, but Lewis jumped in there and talked people into staying ... so the school could remain operational. That’s what Lewis would do.”
Jack Holland said his brother’s mission in life was to leave Atlanta better than he found it. He said from childhood, his older brother always had a caring spirit and he wanted to make a difference in someone’s life.
“I don’t think there’s any question,” Jack Holland said. “If you look around at all of the programs here that have his handwriting on it, there’s just no question.”
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at The Temple.
Mr. Lewis Holland is also survived by his wife, Kay Robinson Holland; sons, Richard L. Holland and Lewis G. Holland Jr.; a daughter, Lynn H. Goldman; stepdaughters Caroline S. Unzaga and Laura S. Zimmerman; a sister, Betsy H. Kann; six grandchildren; and two stepgrandchildren.
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