Spring Spruce-Up for Olympic Landmark

Something may seem a bit, uh, different to Connector dwellers who haven’t been past in a while.

The 12-story Olympic Tower that casts a shadow on the interstate near and the iconic restaurant is undergoing a spring spruce-up of sorts.

Erected in 1995, the Torch is transitioning from faded red to white as part of a painting project, a representative of Taz Anderson Realty told Midtown Patch recently.   

The company’s namesake developer built the 120-foot landmark prior to the Atlanta Olympics, and utilized its high visibility for advertising afterwards. The 16-foot flame at its apex is a replica of the Statue of Liberty flame, while the supporting structure resembles the Olympic Torch.

Replete with an observation deck at 105 feet, the tower welcomed tourists during the Olympics and operated a gift shop at its base, according the realty company.

Anderson, 72, a former Tech football star, Atlanta Falcon and Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inductee, is also known for building the huge – and controversial – advertising peaches atop buildings north and south of downtown. Critics once railed against the peach structures as unsightly.  

In recent days, the tower project appears to be addressing more than aesthetics, as the electronic, wrap-around marquee near the top has been removed. A company official with more information about the project could not be reached.

In 1996, Anderson told a writer with Georgia Tech’s newsletter he’d spent three years planning the tower, which he hoped would become a beacon for the city.

"My intent has been to have something in place that is memorable, something that will become part of Atlanta," Anderson told the newsletter staff.