Atlanta's Millenium Gate

Large egos build large monuments.  So it is with the Millenium Gate, the pretentious structure being dedicated this weekend in Atlantic Station with pomp and parades.  It's the project of Atlanta aesthete Rodney Cook, Jr., creator of the National Monuments Foundation, which is backing the $18M project, financed by private donations and foundation grants. Cook is also credited with saving the Fox Theatre.  He is not an architect, but architecture is his passion.

The Millenium Gate is, according to one report, the largest public monument built in the United States since the construction of the Jefferson Memorial.  The classical drawings above do have gravitas and the "look" is completely derivative of European monuments, just as the Washington Square Arch, designed by Stanford White in 1892, was modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  Here's the fact sheet

The notion that great moments in time should be marked by iconic and monumental architecture isn't a bad idea.  But is this classical arch really the "look" that defines Atlanta at the turn of the century?  Having watched the construction of the Millenium Gate, I know that it's all cinder block to the core, slathered with concrete, prettied up with pediments and architectual gew gaws, much like the cheaply built Atlantic Station apartments and shops that surround it.  What offends is the feeling that this is Instant history, instant permance.  Just add water and nuke for 30 seconds. 

But maybe that's who we are.  I mean, East Cobb has its iconic Big Chicken. What would Atlanta's icon be?  Perhaps something made of cinder block and covered in faux marble isn't so far fetched.  Should we build a monumental shotgun house and put it on a pedestal?  How about a kitschy Tara-style plantation house?   

Or do we just accept the fact that nothing is permanent in a City once called Terminus and once burned to the ground?  In the South, everything rises again.

The Arch boasts a museum inside with exhibits on the transformation of Atlanta's steel yard into Atlantic Station, an Atlanta Pioneer Gallery, an Interactive Philanthropy Gallery (huh?) and "Period" rooms that can be reserved for special events. 

Some are calling the Millenium Arch L'arc D'Ikea because it frames the IKEA store so perfectly.  Many call it "Disneyesque" and reminiscent of Las Vegas faux architecture.

I call it a fancy catering hall.  You can bet your bippy that the glass structure that sits at the top of the Arch will be the catering venue of choice for brides and others in the years to come.  There's a "Book and Event" tab on the website...I'm sure the view is amazing. 

Factoids about the Millenium Arch

COST: $18 million. Privately funded by Atlanta families, foundations and companies. The arch is owned by the National Monuments Foundation, a nonprofit started by Atlanta designer Rodney Cook Jr.
ARCHITECTURE: A competition produced 10 winners. Hugh Petter of Robert Adams Architects in London honed their ideas, along with Cook. The architects of record are Collins Cooper Carusi of Atlanta.
SCULPTURES: The eastern facade is flanked by two feminine forms —Peace and Justice — created by Alexander Stoddart, who recently did a series of works for the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace.
INSIDE: A museum dedicated to Georgia history and pioneer Atlanta families and philanthropists. One display re-creates a drawing room from the Rhodes-Robinson house, a Buckhead landmark designed by classical architect Philip Shutze and owned for many years by Cook's in-laws.

Comments

[David]

thanks-- nice commentary...

[HeatherErin]

About three weeks ago I dragged my husband to Ikea on the way back from the airport. We were driving along and suddenly were faced with this thing.

We stopped. We looked. My (very tired) British husband said "Who the hell put the Arc de Triomphe at Ikea? And was it flat pack?"

We were very confused, because we didn't remember Ikea having a close Napoleonic bond. But we did hear later that the Tomb of the Billy Bookcase is located underneath.

Thanks for clearing it up for us!

[will]

Triumphal arches are supposed to remind people of some event or triumph. They are also normally, I haven't found one that isn't, on an axis to ... something. The arc in Atlanta doesn't, as far as I can tell, signify anything and isn't on an axis to anything near by. This is Arc d'Ego more than anything.