Here, before us, rises The Arch. This isn’t just any arch. The Millennium Gate Museum, also known as The Gate, is a triumphal arch. It stands as a proud monument to peaceful accomplishment.
The Millennium Gate Museum opened on July 4, 2008. Its construction cost about $20 million. Rodney Mims Cook Jr. collaborated with Hugh Petter of ADAM Architecture. Together, they refined the winning design from a competition in 2000.
Initially intended for Washington, D.C., The Arch didn’t gain enough support there. So, Atlanta became its home. The Arch stands in the Atlantic Station district of Midtown. Atlanta has historically been called “The Gate City.” The Arch is a fitting monument for a city with such a name.
Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart embellished the design. His sculptural allegory tells the story of 2000 years of peaceful progress. Stoddart’s Peace and Justice Gates won the 2006 Palladio Prize. It was awarded for best American design of a public space.
The Arch bears a Latin inscription. It reads: “This American monument was built to commemorate all peaceful accomplishment since the birth of Jesus Christ in the year of our Lord, MM.”
Inside The Arch is the Millennium Gate Museum. It features 12,000 square feet of gallery space. These galleries narrate Georgia’s history. They use interactive technology and film. The museum also features period rooms and exhibitions.
The museum begins with pre-Columbian Native American history. It then moves to the 16th-century Spanish settlement. The 18th Century Georgia Pioneer Gallery focuses on General James Oglethorpe. He created the Colony of Georgia. The gallery displays documents and artifacts. These items come from the American Indian, Spanish, British Colonial, and American Revolutionary periods.
The 19th and 20th Century galleries narrate Atlanta’s and Georgia’s early history. Photographs and artifacts from twenty of Atlanta’s pioneering families are exhibited.
In partnership with Georgia Tech, the museum created the 21st Century Interactive Gallery. Here, visitors explore Atlanta and how philanthropy changed the city.
The Millennium Gate features three period rooms. One is an 18th-century Colonial study. It comes from Lyman Hall’s home in Midway, Georgia. Hall signed Georgia’s Declaration of Independence. Another room is Thomas K. Glenn’s 19th-century office. Glenn was a Coca-Cola magnate and president of Atlantic Steel and the Trust Company of Georgia. The third is the 20th-century drawing room of Pink House. The Rhodes-Robinson home was designed by Philip T. Shutze and Edward Vason Jones.
The Millennium Gate Museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret Georgia history. It also highlights Georgia’s relevance to the United States and the world.