The Georgia Theatre, a venerable venue which has hosted musical luminaries such as B.B. King, The Police, R.E.M. and Phish, was engulfed in flames Friday morning, losing its roof and suffering massive internal damage.
The fire broke out a little after 7 a.m. and continued to burn for several hours, sending plumes of smoke high over downtown. Athens-Clarke County Fire Chief Chuck Gulley said the fire was contained, but expected firefighters to be dealing with it most of the day. He said it would be quite a while before officials knew the true cause of the blaze.
"We are in a defensive mode where we're not sending personnel in at this time, this is gonna be an all day affair," he said. "It was a pretty intense fire for the first hour."
At the request of the fire department, the power was cut to the downtown area, and was expected to be off until the mid-afternoon. Smoke filled downtown, making breathing difficult, as more than 50 firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
Wade Koch was walking past the Theatre a little after 7 when he saw smoke coming from under the theater's front door. He immediately placed the 911 call.
"I was on my way home from a party at 7 a.m. and I was walking home and I noticed that smoke smell and as I'm walking by Georgia Theatre I saw the smoke coming out from under the doors," Koch said. "When I got there there was maybe a little bit of smoke, and I called 911 and said 'I think Georgia Theatre's on fire.' Within 10 to 15 minutes humongous flames were coming out of the building."
Scott Orvold, the Theatre's booking manager, told the Athens-Banner Herald that employees left the air-conditioner on Thursday night because of the 100-degree weather expected Friday. Theatre owner Wilmot Greene told the Banner the AC had been acting up.
Since taking over the Georgia Theatre in 2004, Greene has spent more than $700,000 on renovations, both inside and out.
A list of the renovations included painting and installing new seats in the balcony, painting ceiling tiles and the building front, rewiring the power supply to the stage, revamping the sound system, adding a secondary lighting truss, and revamping the bar area with new registers, a new walk-in cooler, new ceiling fans and new serving lines for beer and Coke. There was also bathroom and carpet overhauls.
"I hope that karma is on my side," Greene told The Red & Black in 2007. "My pocketbook tells me I'm doing the wrong thing, but my brain tells me I'm doing the right thing."
Greene, who had building insurance, said Friday the outside walls seem to be in tact and he plans to rebuild.
"It was going when I went to get my wife from 10 minutes to 6. When I walked out the door, I could smell something was burning," said Ricky Vaughn, owner of The Mayflower restaurant downtown near corner of Lumpkin and Broad streets. The Mayflower had no power, but the gas stoves were working so they were open.
With AthFest slated to begin next week, the Theatre had a full schedule of bands set for next Friday and Saturday night, not to mention a two-night stint with Perpetual Grove tonight and Saturday. The Classic Center will host one Perpetual Groove show on Saturday instead, and all Georgia Theatre tickets from both nights will be honored. Officials at AthFest said the Theatre shows will most likely be moved to the Morton Theatre.
Several people gathered cat-corner from the burning building Friday, taking pictures and talking about their memories of the place.
"Last summer we spent a week recording an album in the Theatre, so it kind of became near and dear to our hearts," said James Sewell, keyboardist in Athens' band Venice is Sinking. "We spent about two months practicing up here on weekends. [Wilmot] installed this huge fan called the big ass fan - I think that was the name of the company. I got a text from our bass player. As soon as I got the text, I jumped in my truck and came down here to see what was going on."
"It's sad," said Lucas Jensen, drummer of Venice is Sinking. "It's a great venue, so that's a real blow to the town."
The band Rockinwood played the Theatre Thursday night, and some who went said it was a fantastic night,
"We were there to see the Rockinwood concert, and it was fantastic. It was a lot of fun," said University student Amanda Williams, a fourth-year from Columbus who said she went to the Theatre for her first time Thursday. "It definitely went out with a bang, though. I'm saddened, it hurts my heart. It's crazy, I can't believe it happened."
It was once a tired old movie house in the late 1970s, home to schlocky Bruce Lee films. But in 1977, the Theatre was kicked into shape.
Lanny Wier, the Theatre's manager at the time, said the plan was to make it a premier place in town to see live acts. "We don't want the Georgia Theatre to be just a rock theater," Wier told the Red & Black at the time. "We hope to book country and western acts, gospel groups as well as plays."
With a seating capacity of 650, the Theatre greeted students coming back from winter break in 1978 with a concert by Sea Level. Before the end of the decade, the Theatre would host several bands that would soon become the biggest in the world, including the B52s, The Police, as well as B.B. King and Muddy Waters.
It shut down as a musical venue in the early 1980s, but was reopened again as a concert hall in 1989 with legendary Athens band Pylon playing the first show. Since then a steady stream of top acts have graced the stage, including R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and Beck.
"We spent a week there, getting drunk, recording and sleeping in the building," Jensen said. ""I really feel bad for Wilmot."
"I have tremendous respect for the guys who run the place, I consider it a monument," Koch said. "It was a hell of a morning."
- Assistant News Editor Carey O'Neil and News Editor Daniel Burnett contributed to this story.
The fire broke out a little after 7 a.m. and continued to burn for several hours, sending plumes of smoke high over downtown. Athens-Clarke County Fire Chief Chuck Gulley said the fire was contained, but expected firefighters to be dealing with it most of the day. He said it would be quite a while before officials knew the true cause of the blaze.
"We are in a defensive mode where we're not sending personnel in at this time, this is gonna be an all day affair," he said. "It was a pretty intense fire for the first hour."
At the request of the fire department, the power was cut to the downtown area, and was expected to be off until the mid-afternoon. Smoke filled downtown, making breathing difficult, as more than 50 firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
Wade Koch was walking past the Theatre a little after 7 when he saw smoke coming from under the theater's front door. He immediately placed the 911 call.
"I was on my way home from a party at 7 a.m. and I was walking home and I noticed that smoke smell and as I'm walking by Georgia Theatre I saw the smoke coming out from under the doors," Koch said. "When I got there there was maybe a little bit of smoke, and I called 911 and said 'I think Georgia Theatre's on fire.' Within 10 to 15 minutes humongous flames were coming out of the building."
Scott Orvold, the Theatre's booking manager, told the Athens-Banner Herald that employees left the air-conditioner on Thursday night because of the 100-degree weather expected Friday. Theatre owner Wilmot Greene told the Banner the AC had been acting up.
Since taking over the Georgia Theatre in 2004, Greene has spent more than $700,000 on renovations, both inside and out.
A list of the renovations included painting and installing new seats in the balcony, painting ceiling tiles and the building front, rewiring the power supply to the stage, revamping the sound system, adding a secondary lighting truss, and revamping the bar area with new registers, a new walk-in cooler, new ceiling fans and new serving lines for beer and Coke. There was also bathroom and carpet overhauls.
"I hope that karma is on my side," Greene told The Red & Black in 2007. "My pocketbook tells me I'm doing the wrong thing, but my brain tells me I'm doing the right thing."
Greene, who had building insurance, said Friday the outside walls seem to be in tact and he plans to rebuild.
"It was going when I went to get my wife from 10 minutes to 6. When I walked out the door, I could smell something was burning," said Ricky Vaughn, owner of The Mayflower restaurant downtown near corner of Lumpkin and Broad streets. The Mayflower had no power, but the gas stoves were working so they were open.
With AthFest slated to begin next week, the Theatre had a full schedule of bands set for next Friday and Saturday night, not to mention a two-night stint with Perpetual Grove tonight and Saturday. The Classic Center will host one Perpetual Groove show on Saturday instead, and all Georgia Theatre tickets from both nights will be honored. Officials at AthFest said the Theatre shows will most likely be moved to the Morton Theatre.
Several people gathered cat-corner from the burning building Friday, taking pictures and talking about their memories of the place.
"Last summer we spent a week recording an album in the Theatre, so it kind of became near and dear to our hearts," said James Sewell, keyboardist in Athens' band Venice is Sinking. "We spent about two months practicing up here on weekends. [Wilmot] installed this huge fan called the big ass fan - I think that was the name of the company. I got a text from our bass player. As soon as I got the text, I jumped in my truck and came down here to see what was going on."
"It's sad," said Lucas Jensen, drummer of Venice is Sinking. "It's a great venue, so that's a real blow to the town."
The band Rockinwood played the Theatre Thursday night, and some who went said it was a fantastic night,
"We were there to see the Rockinwood concert, and it was fantastic. It was a lot of fun," said University student Amanda Williams, a fourth-year from Columbus who said she went to the Theatre for her first time Thursday. "It definitely went out with a bang, though. I'm saddened, it hurts my heart. It's crazy, I can't believe it happened."
It was once a tired old movie house in the late 1970s, home to schlocky Bruce Lee films. But in 1977, the Theatre was kicked into shape.
Lanny Wier, the Theatre's manager at the time, said the plan was to make it a premier place in town to see live acts. "We don't want the Georgia Theatre to be just a rock theater," Wier told the Red & Black at the time. "We hope to book country and western acts, gospel groups as well as plays."
With a seating capacity of 650, the Theatre greeted students coming back from winter break in 1978 with a concert by Sea Level. Before the end of the decade, the Theatre would host several bands that would soon become the biggest in the world, including the B52s, The Police, as well as B.B. King and Muddy Waters.
It shut down as a musical venue in the early 1980s, but was reopened again as a concert hall in 1989 with legendary Athens band Pylon playing the first show. Since then a steady stream of top acts have graced the stage, including R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and Beck.
"We spent a week there, getting drunk, recording and sleeping in the building," Jensen said. ""I really feel bad for Wilmot."
"I have tremendous respect for the guys who run the place, I consider it a monument," Koch said. "It was a hell of a morning."
- Assistant News Editor Carey O'Neil and News Editor Daniel Burnett contributed to this story.
Reprinted with permission from www.redandblack.com.
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