14. The GRAND THEATER

(open), 157 Peachtree St., NE., is the oldest theater building now standing in Atlanta. Soon after the War between the States several theaters were opened and operated successfully, but they were all completely outmoded when Laurent DeGive opened his elaborate Grand Theater on February 10, 1893, with a presentation of Men and Women by DeMille and Belasco. Atlanta society in full dress attended the opening performance, applauded enthusiastically the laudatory speeches of prominent citizens, and praised the luxurious appointments of the new opera house, "one of the finest theaters in the world." The cost of the building, which was designed by McElfetrick & Sons of New York, was estimated at $250,000, and its seating capacity of 2,700 made it the third largest theater in the United States. Among the decorations particularly noted in the columns of the Constitution were the marble-tiled entrance, the stained-glass doors, the frescoes in pink, blue, and gold with many cupids and flowers, a picture in the dome of lassies dancing and twining floral chains, the curtain portraying Shakespeare reading a play to Queen Elizabeth, and the silver rails and rich golden-brown velour draperies of the 22 boxes. More practical equipment included electric lights, a central heating plant, a check room for coats, and lounges for men and women.

Laurent DeGive, a distinguished Belgian, came to Atlanta in 1860 as a young man and in 1870 opened a successful opera house on Marietta Street. When he began building the Grand, many people predicted that he would lose his fortune in so extravagant a venture, saying that it was too large for Atlanta and too far from the heart of town, which was then centered around Alabama Street. On the contrary, the Grand had an immediate success and retained its pre-eminence over a long period despite the competition offered by later theaters.

It was here that the illustrious Sir Henry Irving appeared as Shy-lock in the Merchant of Venice, with Ellen Terry as Portia and Ethel Barrymore as Jessica. Julia Marlowe, E.H. Sothern, and Robert Mantell also played Shakespeare here, and Maude Adams starred in Barrie's immortal story Peter Pan. Joe Jefferson in Rip Van Winkle brought tears and laughter across the footlights, and William Faversham pleased his audiences in the old melodrama, The Squaw Man. Other celebrities who appeared at the Grand included John Drew, Fanny Davenport, Anna Held, Lillian Russell, Otis Skinner, Emma Calve, and Maxine Elliott.

When the Erlanger Theater was built farther out on Peachtree Street in 1926, legitimate drama was booked there, and the Grand was leased for 60 years by Loew's, Inc., as a motion picture house. This severed the DeGives' long connection with the theater in Atlanta. During the summer of 1932 the entrance and auditorium of the old building were completely remodeled and redecorated in modern design by Thomas W. Lamb, Inc., New York architects. The first floor facade and the doors are made of aluminum, and the walls are lined with marble. The passage from the street to the foyer is laid in squares of rubber matting, made of brightly colored strips pressed into a geometrical design.

On December 15, I939, the Grand witnessed a brief return of its former glory when the premiere of Gone With the Wind was shown here. Again Atlanta society, in full dress, attended the old theater in company with cinema stars and other visiting celebrities to applaud the film production of the famous book and to pay honor to its Atlanta author, Margaret Mitchell.

The seven-story brick office building, through which the foyer of the theater runs, was erected in front of the auditorium building and opened for occupancy in 1894. Nixon and Lindsey were the architects. The name DEGIVE and the family coat-of-arms are carved across the front of the building, which shows Romanesque influence in its arched bay windows and the elaborate ornamentation of its stone trim. For many years the DeGive family lived in an apartment on the second floor.

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