Architect Carpenter,J.E.R. NRHP Reference # 77000431 Area 6,070 m² | Built 1913-1926 Architectural style Skyscraper Opened 1912 Added to NRHP 13 April 1977 | |
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Similar Flatiron Building, Candler Building, Olympia Building, Equitable Building, Healey Building | ||
The Hurt Building is an 18-story building at 50 Hurt Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. Built between 1913 and 1926, the bulk of the building was completed in 1913, with a courtyard, entry rotunda and a wing extending final completion to 1926. It was built by Joel Hurt, an Atlanta developer to a design by the New York architectural firm of J.E.R. Carpenter. The Hurt Building is a flatiron building, occupying a triangular site, with the rotunda at the apex. With restrained ornamentation, it occupies a middle ground between Beaux Arts classicism and the emerging modernist aesthetic.
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Map of Hurt Bldg, 50 Hurt Plaza SE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
One of the nation’s earliest skyscrapers, the first tenant occupied the Hurt Building in October 1913. Standing 18 floors in height and said to be the 17th largest office building in the world at the time of its construction, it is considered a good example of the skyscraper developed by Louis Sullivan and The Chicago School. World War I delayed construction of the building’s north and south wings and light well until 1924. Six decades later, beginning in 1983, The Hurt Building was completely renovated, inside and out, reopening in 1985.
The Hurt Building's lower four floors were designed to envelope the maximum allowable building site, except the western building apex, which was constructed 30-feet back in order to enhance window area and promote the majestic view of Atlanta’s burgeoning city. The upper 13-floors of the building, configured in a “V” are appointed by an open light well, accentuated by elevated garden areas. The building is constructed of steel frame and reinforced concrete. The building envelope is uninterrupted marble and glazed brick piers with ornamental terra cotta spandrels terminating in a heavy decorative cornice exemplifying the craftsmanship of the early 1900s.
The Hurt Building is notable for its three-story domed rotunda. The original 1913 chandelier underscores the artistically vibrant ceiling, decorated with brilliant gold leaf panels and dramatic sunbursts, reflected in the circular grand marble staircase leading to the Venetian Room, an event space.
The Hurt Building at 96 years old became the first commercial office building in the state of Georgia (and 6th oldest in the nation) to earn LEED-EBOM Gold Certification as well as the first in Georgia to be awarded the BOMA 360 designation, both in 2009.
In popular culture
The NBC legal drama Matlock, starring Andy Griffith, used exterior shots of the Hurt Building to represent the office of the fictional Ben Matlock. In the 2016 crime thriller Triple 9, the Hurt Building was the site of the bank robbery committed at the start of the film.