New Life for Historic Midtown Venue

A historic Midtown building has been reborn for its 70th birthday.

soon will finish restoring the Historic Academy of Medicine at West Peachtree and 7th streets.

Designed by famed Atlanta architect Philip T. Shutze and completed in 1941, an upcoming open house will commemorate the 70th anniversary of its construction. Take a tour of the revamped building Dec. 15, from noon to 5 p.m.

"We're very excited to show the building off to the community," Shawn Stinson, event coordinator for the academy, said in a recent interview.

The elegant, white-columned structure -- which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- will host events for the institute and rent space to the community for parties and meetings when it reopens in December.

The academy features seven meetings rooms including a 230-seat theater, 80-seat dining room, library and parlor. Designed in the neoclassical style, it's a classy space with intricate carvings along the ceilings and Italian marble floors in a checkboard pattern.

"It's got a very regal feel to it," Stinson said.

Georgia Tech in July 2010, she said.

"It was in pretty poor condition," Stinson said. Work included repairing water-damaged dry wall and renovating the basement for meeting rooms and offices.

A certificate of occupancy was issued Nov. 3. Construction should be complete around Dec. 1.

"We're very pleased with the way it turned out," Stinson said.

The Fulton County Medical Society dedicated the Academy of Medicine as its headquarters on Dec. 15, 1941, according to a historical placard on the property.

Stinson said the society used the building for medical training and social gatherings. Its "primary purpose was to house the medical library."

The academy almost was torn down when it fell into disrepair in the 70s, Stinson said. But the nonprofit organization Atlanta Medical Heritage raised $1 million to restore the building in the early 80s. The structure was transformed into meeting and office space.

The building was donated to the Georgia Tech Foundation in 2008.