Cyclorama Moving to Buckhead

One of the most enduring artistic representations of the Civil War in Atlanta is relocating after nearly eight decades in Grant Park.

Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed has announced that the Cyclorama, which has stood outside the entrance to Zoo Atlanta, will be moved to the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead. WSB-TV reports that the move was necessitated by declining attendance at the Grant Park site.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that the Atlanta History Center has raised over $30 million to move the nine-ton, 365-foot circular painting from Grant Park to Buckhead. The raised funds will also pay for a 23,000 sq. ft. building to house the painting, pay for a restoration of the work, and provide upkeep to maintain it.

WSB-TV reports construction should be completed by the summer of 2016.

The painting, actually called “The Battle of Atlanta,” was completed in 1886 and moved to Atlanta in 1892. The diorama was not added until 1936 as part of a Depression-era program to put artists to work.