Address: 236 Trinity Ave SW Atlanta, GA 30303
If you’ve ever visited the downtown Atlanta area, it is hard to ignore the large abandoned building on the corners of Trinity Avenue and Pryor Street. The building itself still maintains the original 1905 architectural structure on the outside, however, the inside of the building is completely gutted. Literally, only a shell remains. If you google the address, this image is perhaps one of the most popular photographed abandoned buildings in downtown Atlanta.
So, exactly what is this building? According to the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Upton Hotel was completed and opened for business in 1905, after the completion of the Atlanta Terminal Station. The hotel served as a rest stop for travelers. Seems Atlanta have been a busy tourist town since the turn of the century!
Unfortunately, later on, the building was gutted by fire and it’s brick structure remains (supported by beams) intact.
Below, you will find the images of Sanborn Maps of the Upton Hotel location before the hotel was built and afterward. You will notice a change in the names of the streets for which the Upton Hotel was built upon. In 1886 Spring Street (which now know as Ted Turner Dr) was named Thompson Street; Forsyth Street was labeled as W. Forsyth Street and Trinity Ave. (the location of the Upton Hotel) was named W. Peters Street.
Trinity Avenue in 1886:
Apparently, a few stores were located at the corner of Trinity Avenue during the late 1880’s.
Just to give an idea of what the area may have looked liked in 1905, here’s a picture of the Atlanta Terminus Station that the Upton Hotel serviced. The station was demolished in 1979.
Current Location of Upton Hotel:
Atlanta's Past Revisted 