From Joe’s story vault: Fire guts historic Georgia Theatre

It was a long, hot summer day in downtown Athens 15 years ago when I was reporting this story for the Athens Banner-Herald

Joe Johnson

jjohnson@onlineathens.com

Published 6:00 a.m. ET June 20, 2009

Fire gutted the historic Georgia Theatre in downtown Athens on Friday morning, and authorities don't expect to enter the building until today to begin looking for the cause.

"It's like having a death in the family," said Bill "Duck" Anderson, who bought the former dollar movie theater in 1989 and converted it into one of Georgia's most popular nightspots.

Dozens of big-name acts had performed at the Georgia Theatre, including B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Wynton Marsalis, along with home-grown artists such as the B-52s, R.E.M., and the Drive-By Truckers.

The roof caved in within an hour of a passerby reporting the fire at about 7 a.m., and officials were concerned one or more walls might collapse.

Firefighters worked into the late afternoon, streaming water from ladder trucks as flames continued to flare from hot spots in the 74-year-old building.

Athens-Clarke Assistant Fire Chief Kyle Hendrix said he didn't see signs from the outside that walls might collapse, but he didn't want investigators to go in until the rubble cooled.

No one was in the building when the fire began, officials said.

The fire drew hundreds of people, some frantically text messaging, others talking on cell phones and snapping pictures of the burning landmark. People shed tears and shared hugs.

"Honestly, I don't want to believe it," said Winfield Smith, a Georgia Theatre manager who also played on the stage with his band, Stewart and Winfield. "Not only is this Athens history, it's also music history, and hopefully it can be salvaged somehow."

Officials allowed current owner Wilmot Greene to cross the yellow fire line and view the fire damage up close.

"It was Armageddon," he said.

Mr. Greene bought the club five years ago for $1.5 million and spent $750,000 on renovations. He said he hoped he had enough insurance to allow him to rebuild.

Georgia Theatre employed more than 35 full- and part-time workers.

The club's night manager, Scott Orvold, made a final walk-through of the building about 3:30 a.m. Friday, and everything seemed fine, he said.

Resident Wade Koch walked by about 31/2 hours later and noticed smoke coming through the entrance doors. He called 911, and firefighters arrived in about five minutes.

"The firefighters were unraveling their hoses, and before they could begin getting any water on the building, 100-foot flames shot up out of the roof," he said. "It was insane how it escalated so fast."

The fire seemed to have begun on the second floor before it punched through the roof, according to Athens-Clarke Fire Chief Iby George.

Fire investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives came, but weren't able to do anything Friday because it was too dangerous to go in, Chief Hendrix said.

No one suspects foul play, he said, but ATF agents can help local officials determine where and how the fire started, and they have a laboratory to analyze debris and evidence.

HISTORY OF THE GEORGIA THEATRE

1889: YMCA of Athens buys property and erects a building on the site.

1918: Elite Theater movie house opens on ground floor and Majestic Hotel occupies second and third floors.

1926: Masonic Temple Association of Athens buys the building.

1931: Publix-Lucas Theaters Inc. buys the building and opens Georgia Theatre.

1960S: Serves as worship hall for United Methodist Church.

1967: United Theatre Enterprises Inc. buys the building; continues Georgia Theatre.

OCTOBER 1975: Georgia Theatre shows last movie, Brotherhood of Death.

1977: Sam Smartt, Hap Harris, George Fontaine and Sheffy McArthur team up to open Georgia Theatre as concert hall

JAN. 11, 1978: Sea Level performs first concert at reopened Georgia Theatre, Jan.

JAN. 18, 1978: David Alan Coe performs

MAY 20, 1978: B-52s pay to perform at Georgia Theatre

1979: The Police play as part of band's first U.S. tour

1981: Georgia Theatre closes

APRIL 9, 1982: Carafe & Draft Theater opens as movie house, with Raiders of the Lost Ark the first show

1989: Kyle Pilgrim and Bill "Duck" Anderson buy the building, plan to open Georgia Theatre as concert venue

OCT. 2, 1989: Pylon performs first concert at reopened Georgia Theatre

1991: Widespread Panic films Widespread Panic: Live from the Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA directed by Billy Bob Thornton

2001: R.E.M. plays an unannounced show at a fundraiser for Community Connection, Oct. 16

2009: Fire destroys Georgia Theatre.

Sources: Compiled by Don Nelson from Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, Athens City Directory, newspaper archives, interview with former Georgia Theatre owners