When you look at the Atlanta skyline, you can’t help but see the legacy of John Portman, a true hometown hero who transformed our city with his bold vision. He wasn’t just an architect. He was a dreamer, a developer, and an artist who believed Atlanta deserved to shine on the world stage.
In 1967, Portman gave Atlanta the Hyatt Regency and with it the first soaring atrium hotel lobby the world had ever seen. That one design changed hospitality forever. His atrium became a gathering place, a sense of awe, and a signature that hotels across the globe would copy for decades.
Atop the Hyatt sat one of Atlanta’s most iconic landmarks: the Polaris restaurant, with its cobalt-blue, flying-saucer dome that rotated high above the city. Diners reached it by glass elevator, gliding 22 stories up before enjoying a panoramic view as the restaurant made a full rotation every 45 minutes. Polaris wasn’t just futuristic design, it was a statement. From the day it opened in 1967, the Hyatt Regency and Polaris were Atlanta’s first fully integrated hotel and restaurant, symbols of both progress and inclusion during the Civil Rights era.
When I moved to Atlanta in 1971, this was the tallest building in the city. To see that blue dome spinning against the skyline was magical. The movement of the dine was slow and steady and magical💥It represented possibility, a city on the rise, and the boldness of a man who wasn’t afraid to dream bigger than anyone else.
Portman didn’t stop there. He gave us the Westin Peachtree Plaza, a 73-story glass cylinder that still defines our skyline, and Peachtree Center, a mega-project that turned downtown into a hub of commerce, hospitality, and business. He believed in Atlanta when many doubted, and he invested in our city’s future with courage and creativity.
His reach went far beyond Georgia. From the Renaissance Center in Detroit to iconic towers in San Francisco, Singapore, Shanghai, and Beijing, Portman exported Atlanta’s ingenuity worldwide. Yet he always came home, and he always poured back into our community. He was not only an architect and developer but also a patron of the arts, a sculptor, and a philanthropist who believed beauty belonged in both public spaces and people’s lives.
John Portman showed the world that Atlanta was more than a southern city, it was a modern metropolis, vibrant, global, and full of possibility. His legacy still stands tall in glass and steel, reminding us that one person’s vision can change the face of a city forever.
Atlanta will always carry Portman’s fingerprint. For me, his work is proof that when you dream big and follow through, you don’t just build buildings, you build community, opportunity, and pride.
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