New reasons to love living in a Monte Hewett Homes community are coming to St. Andrews in the fall of 2018. Conveniently located steps from the front doors of St. Andrews residents, the Atlanta History Center will soon offer a rare piece of Atlanta history a block away.
In July 2014, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced the transfer of the famous Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting to the Atlanta History Center, its new home for the next 75 years. In addition to gaining a national treasure, the History Center will house the painting and oversee its restoration, preservation and maintenance.
The History Center’s brand-new Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker Cyclorama Building became the new home of the cyclorama in February 2017. Moving the two six-ton sections of a painting that is over 130 years old was no easy venture. A painstaking process that lasted several months, utilized the top minds in cyclorama conservation and required approximately 200 people to accomplish eventually resulted in the painting being cut in half, rolled onto two spools and lifted through seven-foot holes in the roof of its previous home in Grant Park. The painting was trucked from its location since 1921 to the History Center in the middle of a chilly night in February and successfully unfurled into its new dwelling for the next 75 years.
Before its move, the painting was tested for canvas strength and the state of its current layers of paint and fiberglass backing. Additionally, the painting endured evaluation for necessary conservation efforts. Currently, the History Center is working to fully restore the painting and the 128 plaster figures featured in the painting’s diorama, which will be open to the public in the fall of 2018.
At its new location, the cyclorama will be available to over 50,000 school children annually, including all Atlanta Public Schools fifth grade students, who receive free annual tours of the Battle of Atlanta painting. The History Center will also offer a new experience of the cyclorama that includes stories about art, entertainment, science, and memory as well as history for additional context to the painting.
Additionally, the 1856 Texas locomotive was fully restored in April and relocated to the History Center in May. Famous for its role in 1862’s Great Locomotive Chase and in Atlanta’s early railroad days, the Texas and improved exhibits about the Great Locomotive Chase and the history of Atlantan railroads are scheduled to open to the public this fall.
St. Andrews residents will be able to experience the new additions to the History Center and more. Located only a block away from one of Atlanta’s most famous national treasures, residents will be a short stroll away from History Center for a day of engaging tours, exhibits and more. St. Andrews is nestled in the heart of Buckhead and offers unbeatable interior and exterior home appointments that create a space for relaxing and making memories with access to Atlanta’s favorite venues and more.
Learn more about living at St. Andrews by contacting Paula Burr at Paula.Burr@MHHomes.com, Jim Peavy at Jim.Peavy@MHHomes.com or by calling 678-460-0706.