What used to be the Sheraton Atlanta Airport hotel property was finally imploded with hundreds of pounds of dynamite yesterday, Sunday, September 5, 2021 at approximately 7:30 in the morning Eastern Daylight Time as part of a $6 billion expansion plan — including the extension of at least one terminal and the possible addition of a sixth runway — for the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area.
Watch Video of Sheraton Hotel Property Finally Imploding
The Sheraton Atlanta Airport officially closed on Sunday, July 23, 2017 because the hotel property was acquired by the city of Atlanta for $16.8 million for the aforementioned airport expansion project.
The closure of the Sheraton Atlanta Airport — which was twelve stories tall — at 1900 Sullivan Road meant clearing 395 rooms, a restaurant, a lobby, meeting rooms, offices, and the outside patio of furniture, lighting, mirrors, hair dryers, flat-screen televisions, soap dishes, equipment, fixtures, and furnishings. Everything was then consolidated onto two floors of the former hotel property for a liquidation tag sale, which started on Thursday, August 10, 2017 and continued for a total duration of two weeks.
The early morning video implosion of the hotel property was captured by a number of news media outlets; and the video shown below is from WXIA-TV Channel 11 News — also known as 11 Alive — in Atlanta.
A perimeter was set up for roads around the area to be closed. According to an outline of the implosion, the exclusion zone “indicates that area where persons are not to be outside or on top of structures during the implosion, to facilitate security surrounding the demolition site and to ensure that persons are not exposed to air overpressure (noise) levels above the 140 dBL impact guidelines under OSHA regulations.”
Additionally, airplane traffic on two of the five runways of the airport was temporarily halted for the demolition of the former hotel property.
The site on which the former Sheraton Atlanta Airport hotel property is 19 acres in area. Before moving to a new site nearby on Camp Creek Parkway in 2003, the Georgia International Convention Center used to be attached to the former hotel property, which was built in the 1980s.
More insights on the history of the hotel property and the complex of which it was a part is offered by this article, which was written by Kelly Yamanouchi for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — as well as additional details of the demolition itself.
Final Boarding Call
Please allow me to share my own personal experience with the former Sheraton Atlanta Airport hotel property: on a flight from the United States to Zurich some years ago for which I was going to spend ten days in Europe — but some plans fell through and I did not need all ten days after all — an announcement by the gate agent requested volunteers who were willing to take a later flight.
I, of course, volunteered.
I was instructed to wait aside while the passengers boarded the airplane. After the door was closed and the airplane departed for Zurich, the gate agent then scheduled me to be a passenger on an earlier flight the next day, which was absolutely fine with me. I was already being compensated with a voucher worth $750.00 for a flight on which I paid $333.00; plus I was given $40.00 for meals and lodging for the night at the Sheraton Atlanta Airport hotel property — and I earned frequent guest loyalty program points from a purchase at the hotel where I relaxed and stayed for the night.
“What seat would you prefer?” the gate agent asked me.
“A seat as close to the front as possible,” I replied — which is my typical preference…
…and then — after a momentary pause — I finished the response with a suggestion that I be seated in the business class cabin.
I was completely joking about that last part; so you can imagine my surprise when the gate agent said “Let me see…” and started clicking away at the keyboard on the computer.
Before I realized it, I was assigned to a seat in the business class cabin; and it was treated as though I paid for it and not as an upgrade, which meant that I earned bonus frequent flier loyalty program miles and qualification miles towards elite level status for the next year — as well as complimentary access to the airport lounge…
…all for only $333.00 and a night of my time at the Sheraton Atlanta Airport hotel property.
Even though this hotel property played an important role in what was an amazing voluntary “bump” experience, the hotel itself — as well as the service from its staff, its restaurant, and the food which was served in it — was mediocre at best…
…but I did not complain at all.
Ah…the good ol’ days…
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
