Once a shrine to the world’s most popular soft drink, the building that housed the original World of Coca-Cola is going flat at the hands of Georgia’s state government.
Crews continued Friday to demolish the onetime temple of fizz in downtown Atlanta near the state capitol, with plans to convert the site to a parking lot.
Visitors since 2007 have taken their pause that refreshes across downtown at a newer, larger Coca-Cola Co. museum in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. The building is testament to the marketing mojo of the Atlanta-based beverage titan, getting visitors to pay to view the company’s take on its history and sample its drinks.
The park has become the heart of the city’s tourism industry, ringed by hotels and attractions including the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, State Farm Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center convention hall.
State government bought the original three-story museum, which opened in 1990, from Coca-Cola in 2005 for $1 million, said Gerald Pilgrim, deputy executive director of the Georgia Building Authority. The agency maintains and manages state properties.
