Once a famous spot celebrating the world’s favorite soda, the original World of Coca-Cola building in Atlanta is being torn down by Georgia’s state government.
Crews are currently demolishing the former hub of soda pop near the state capitol in downtown Atlanta to make room for a parking lot.
Since 2007, visitors have flocked instead to a larger Coca-Cola Co. museum located in Centennial Olympic Park, downtown. This new museum showcases the marketing prowess of the Atlanta-based soda giant, inviting guests to pay a visit to learn about its history and sample its beverages.
Centennial Olympic Park has become the hub of Atlanta’s tourism industry, surrounded by hotels and attractions like the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, State Farm Arena, and the Georgia World Congress Center.
World of Coca-Cola Museum (Via Jeff Benson/Getty Images)
The Georgia Building Authority, responsible for managing state properties, purchased the original three-story museum from Coca-Cola in 2005 for $1 million, according to Gerald Pilgrim, the agency’s deputy executive director.
Once Atlanta’s most popular indoor attraction, the building has sat empty since Coca-Cola moved out in 2007, Pilgrim noted.
State officials decided to demolish it because construction for a new legislative office building will occupy some of the existing surface parking for the Georgia Capitol complex, Pilgrim explained.
The demolition will provide new parking adjacent to a former railroad freight depot owned by the state, which serves as an event space.
