| Millennium Gate Museum | |
|---|---|
 The Millennium Gate Museum | |
 Interactive map of Millennium Gate Museum | |
| General information | |
| Type | Triumphal arch Art museum |
| Architectural style | New Classical |
| Location | Atlanta,United States |
| Construction started | 2005 |
| Completed | 2008 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Hugh Petter Rodney Cook Jr. ADAM Architecture |
TheMillennium Gate Museum (also known asThe Gate) is atriumphal arch andGeorgia history museum located inAtlanta, on 17th Street in theAtlantic Station district ofMidtown. The monument celebrates peaceful accomplishment.[1] The design was a collaboration of Rodney Mims Cook Jr and Hugh Petter of ADAM Architecture to refine the 10 winning entries from a design in competition in 2000.[2][3]
The Millennium Gate Museum opened July 4, 2008, and cost approximately $20 million.[4] CollinsCooperCarusi, Atlanta were the architects of record.Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill was the curator of the period rooms. Tunnell and Tunnell were the landscape architects. The arch had originally been intended for a location in Washington, DC, but failed to gain sufficient official support.[5]
The design is embellished with sculptural allegory by Scottish sculptorAlexander Stoddart, telling the story of peaceful accomplishment of the last 2000 years. Stoddart's Peace and Justice Gates flanking the arch were given the 2006 Palladio Prize for best American design of a public space.[citation needed]
The arch inscription reads, in Latin: "This American monument was built to commemorate all peaceful accomplishment since the birth ofJesus Christ in the year of our Lord, MM."[5]
The response to the museum was mixed, with critics claiming that the design was inappropriate to the site, but the building is gaining acceptance over time.[6]
The names of the 10 winners of the 2000 Millennium Gate Design Competition are carved into the base of the monument:
The Museum houses 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) of gallery space. They are arranged in a series of Savannah double parlors by century, the enfilade created as a result ends at an exedra cloister with a monumental bronze bust of PresidentGeorge Washington.
Beginning withpre-ColumbianNative American history and 16th century Spanish settlement of the coast, the 18th Century Georgia Pioneer Gallery focuses onGeneral James Oglethorpe's creation of theColony of Georgia. The gallery contains documents and historical artifacts from the American Indian, Spanish, British Colonial, and American Revolutionary periods.
The 19th and 20th Century galleries narrate the story of Atlanta's and Georgia's early history. The exhibition features photographs and artifacts from twenty of Atlanta's pioneering families.
In partnership withGeorgia Tech's Interactive Media Technology Center, the museum has created the 21st Century Interactive Gallery, allows visitors to explore Atlanta and how philanthropy has changed the city over time.
The Millennium Gate features three period rooms: an 18th-century Colonial study from Georgia's Declaration of Independence signerLyman Hall'sMidway, Georgia, the 19th century office ofCoca-Cola magnate Thomas K. Glenn during his tenure as president ofAtlantic Steel and theTrust Company of Georgia simultaneously, and the 20th century drawing room of Pink House, the Rhodes-Robinson home designed byPhilip T. Shutze andEdward Vason Jones.
The museum property is also offered for rent for private events, photography, and film production.[8]
33°47′28″N84°23′59″W / 33.79107°N 84.39975°W /33.79107; -84.39975