 Exterior of the venue (c. 2009) | |
 Interactive map of The Tabernacle | |
| Former names | House of Blues(1996-97) |
|---|---|
| Address | 152 Luckie St NW Atlanta,GA 30303-2006 |
| Location | Downtown Atlanta |
| Owner | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 2,600 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 17, 1909 (1909-08-17) |
| Opened | September 3, 1911 (1911-09-03) |
| Renovated |
|
| Construction cost | $125,000 ($4.22 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Reuben Harrison Hunt |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
TheTabernacle[2][3] is a mid-sizeconcert hall located inDowntown Atlanta,Georgia. Opening in 1911 as achurch, the building was converted into a music venue in 1996. It is owned and managed byconcert promoterLive Nation Entertainment and has a capacity of 2,600 people.
Since its rebranding, many notable acts performed at the venue, including:Guns N' Roses,Tove Lo,The Black Crowes,Oasis,Adele,Eminem,Kendrick Lamar,Robbie Williams,Alice in Chains,Bob Dylan,Prince &The New Power Generation,Lana Del Rey,Babymetal,Blackberry Smoke, and Atlanta's ownMastodon.
Along with music concerts, the venue also holds many comedy tours annually includingBob Saget,Lisa Lampanelli,Cheech & Chong andStephen Lynch.Dave Chappelle recorded his award-winning specialSticks and Stones at the venue.
The building is over a century old and has a varied history.
Dr.Len G. Broughton was recruited fromVirginia to become pastor of Third Baptist Church in Atlanta in March 1898. Within a year he had founded a new Baptist Tabernacle church on the southwest corner of Luckie and Harris streets (now the middle ofCentennial Olympic Park).[4] Rev. Broughton was closely associated with the church in its early years, leading the local press to refer to it as "Broughton's Tabernacle", though this was never the official name of the church or any of its buildings.[5] The new church was quite successful and had to be expanded several times to accommodate growth.[6]
Seeing the need for further growth, Broughton sought another location closer to the center of town, which led to the current property on Luckie St. However his Board of Deacons found the price too high and declined to buy it. As a result, Broughton himself and a few of his deacons bought the property[4] on July 7, 1906, and gave it to the church.The Atlanta Constitution reported the $52,000 transaction on its front page, reporting it as "one of the most important real estate and church transactions ever made in Atlanta" and described an auditorium "eight or ten stories in height" and estimated construction cost at $250,000.[7]
The building was designed by notedChattanooga architectReuben Harrison Hunt,[8] along with three other buildings for the same site including a nurses dormitory and a hospital building. (None of these other buildings survive to the present day). The plans were revealed in November 1907 and depict a church building somewhat larger than what was finally constructed, extending all the way to the corner of Luckie and Spring Street (see photo).[9]
Ground-breaking ceremonies were held for the new building on August 17, 1909, at which time the construction cost had been revised to $125,000. At the time the membership of the church was 1,850 (up from 350 at its founding ten years before). Broughton, who was preaching atFifth Avenue Presbyterian Church at the time, was not present at the ground-breaking.[10]
The cornerstone for the building was laid at the end of the 1910 Bible Conference held at the church. Immediately after a sermon byF. B. Meyer on March 9, 1910, an "immense crowd" adjourned to the construction site. Meyer said at the ceremony, "I believe that this will be a historic occasion, not only in the history of the church but not unworthy to be chronicled in the history of this great and beautiful city."Paul Dwight Moody (son ofD. L. Moody) also spoke at the ceremony. Broughton placed some papers in the stone including that day's program, the membership roll of the church and a list of officers. He capped the stone and sealed it with mortar.[11]
The structure measures 147 by 130 feet with an exterior of red brick trimmed by granite. The style isneoclassical withIonic columns and arches on the facade.[8] The auditorium would seat 4,000 people (including the galleries) and theSunday school facilities below could seat 3,000. The rostrum could accommodate a chorus of 500 people and featured apipe organ that cost $15,000. The original planned opening was in May 1911,[12] but this was eventually delayed.
The first services in the new building were held on September 3, 1911, beginning with a Sunday school at 9:30 (attended by 2,000). The doors opened for the main service at 10:40 am, by which time some people had been waiting two hours to enter.[13] A week-long dedication for the church was held from September 10 to 17, 1911, during which as many as 8,000 people crowded into the auditorium and hundreds more were turned away.[8]
On the very first day in the new building, Broughton gave a sermon criticizing local politicians for standing in the way ofprohibition.[13] Aside from thetemperance movement, Broughton was outspoken on other political issues, and over the coming years he would have guest speakers appear at the Tabernacle toward this end. These included (then Vice President elect)Calvin Coolidge,[14]Frank Hanly[15] and others. Guest religious speakers appeared as well, includingRussell Conwell,[4]G. Campbell Morgan[16]Billy Sunday[17] andGeorge Washington Truett.[18]
The congregation reached its peak in the 1950s with a membership of over 3,000. However, the phenomenon ofwhite flight caused the church to go into decline in the decades afterward. By the 1980s, attendance at the church had dwindled to around 500, and it had trouble attracting a permanent pastor.[19]
An attempt by the city government to give the building historic status was resisted in 1989, the members citing a loan plan necessary to ensure the survival of the church.[20] The congregation's troubles continued after that, leading a later pastor to attempt afast to encourage donations to save the church. (At this time the church was making ends meet via revenue from the two adjacent parking lots which it owned).[21] These efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In December 1991 the congregation, then numbering about 100, voted to cease having services there and ordered the trustees to find a buyer for the building.[22]
The building's history as a church ended on Friday, October 14, 1994, when it was sold (along with the offices and the two parking lots) for $2.2 million to a group of investors led by James B. Cumming who intended to redevelop the area in conjunction with the1996 Summer Olympics. Its position just across from Centennial Olympic Park made it very attractive as a potential Olympic entertainment venue.[23]
At least two different teams attempted to develop the building as a venue for the Olympics with little success.[24] As the event approached, it looked for a time that no deal would come together. Then, in April 1996,Isaac Tigrett visited Atlanta with other investors and cut a deal to open aHouse of Blues in the building in time for the Olympics. Prior to this, Atlanta had not been a planned expansion location for House of Blues.[25] Tigrett gave his partner Lance Sterling the go-ahead for the project with only 45 days available, even after Sterling had told him even 60 days was too short a time. Despite this short lead time, the venue was ready when the Olympics opened in July 1996.[26]
The first act to perform (on July 19 and 20) wasThe Blues Brothers (withDan Aykroyd,James Belushi andJohn Goodman)'[27] along with featured performers such asJames Cotton,Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson,Booker T. & the M.G.'s,Eddie Floyd, Tommy "Pipes" McDonald,Billy Boy Arnold andPaul Shaffer.[28] Other well-known performers during the Olympic run includedJames Brown,Johnny Cash,Al Green andJerry Lee Lewis.[29] Lesser-known acts who appeared includedBurning Spear,Johnny Clegg andJuluka,Third World,Tito Puente and His Latin Jazz All-Stars, andCelia Cruz.[30] At the close of the Olympics,Bob Dylan performed two shows on August 3 and 4.[31]
Civic leaders in Atlanta had high hopes that House of Blues would continue as a permanent downtown attraction, especially when the lease was extended through January 1997. But immediately after the Olympics were finished, word came that it would shut down.[32] Efforts were launched to convince Tigrett to continue in Atlanta, but the local investment money he insisted upon ($4 million by some accounts[33]) could not be found.[25]
Some concerts were held at the venue under the House of Blues name beginning in 1997 through the efforts of Lance Sterling.[26] The trial run began on Wednesday, November 12, 1997, with a concert byHall & Oates.[33] House of Blues ended its relationship with Atlanta when its lease expired for the last time in January 1998. City leaders continued negotiations with Sterling, who said "This is the premier venue in the Southeast. I am personally committed to making downtown Atlanta a venue, and I'm calling everybody I know to make this happen."[34]
On March 11, 1998, Lance Sterling announced that he had entered into a 30-year lease agreement and was investing $2 million of his own money to develop the building. The venue was renamed Tabernacle at this time, affectionately called "The Tabby".[citation needed] The reopening was set for March 28, the same day that Centennial Olympic Park was set to reopen across the street.[35] The Tabernacle operated as a successful concert venue under Sterling's management for almost two years.
Eventually Sterling (whose home is in California) found the business was conflicting with his family life. "I would spend a week there and a week home. It was just too much", he said.[36] He sold his interest in the building to SFX Entertainment (now Live Nation) on December 17, 1999.
At the same time as the SFX sale, local music promoters Alex Cooley and Peter Conlon announced that they would move their Cotton Club to the basement of the building (the former Sunday school room) as an additional feature of the venue.[37] Cotton Club reopened Friday, February 11, 2000, with a show byStaind.[38] Cotton Club operated in the lower level of the Tabernacle until November 20, 2004. The last performer wasHelmet.[39]
The Tabernacle continues as a major concert venue in Atlanta.Conan O'Brien hosted a week ofConan shows at the Tabernacle from April 1 to 4, 2013.[40]
On March 14, 2008, the Tabernacle sustained extensive damage when atornado tore through downtown Atlanta. Windows were blown out and the roof was severely damaged. A broken water pipe caused additional damage.[41] It was the first tornado to hit the downtown area since weather record keeping began in late 1878, or unofficially at any time in the city's history.[42]
Major repairs andrestoration took less than two months, working around the clock. Because the ornate plasterwork on the ceiling could not be repaired, drywall andmolding were used to re-create the same designs. The original painter from the 1996 opening was found to repaint the repaired sections. Upgrades were also done to electrical and other systems.
Shortly after the beginning of aPanic! at the Disco concert, the building was evacuated due to possible cracking in the floor.[43]
The Tabernacle has been named one of the best concert venues in the nation byRolling Stone,[44]Paste magazine[45] andUSA Today.[3]
It has also won numerous "Best of Atlanta" awards over the years:
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33°45′31″N84°23′29″W / 33.75874°N 84.39139°W /33.75874; -84.39139