Hooray for Hollywood! Airport re-creates early 1900s with vintage posters
By DeAllous Smith

Hartsfield-Jackson’s Art Program and collector Herb Bridges will help travelers experience the magic of Tinseltown’s golden age when a collection of original, hand-painted movie posters is unveiled in the Atrium Gallery on April 23.

“During the golden age of Hollywood, movie palaces like the Loew’s Grand enjoyed the prestige of having hand-painted promotional artwork hanging in their lobbies,” said Katherine Marbury, Airport Art Program manager. “It was exciting for patrons to view the images of the top movie stars in vivid colors. I’m sure that, for those lucky theatergoers, it was an incredible experience.”

Atlanta’s famed Loew’s Grand Theater on Peachtree Street employed full-time artists to design and paint posters for the films shown there. Artists based their renderings — which they created in media such as oil, watercolors and chalk — on photo stills and publicity images from the movies.

Movie enthusiasts and historians passing through the Airport will enjoy the collection, which features many Hollywood stars, including Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich.

Bridges, who lives in Sharpsburg, worked as an usher at Loew’s during the summers when he was a teenager. At the time, many posters were discarded as soon as the movies concluded their runs. When Bridges, a collector of “Gone With the Wind” movie memorabilia, had an opportunity to purchase more than 70 handcrafted movie posters originally designed for Loew’s, he jumped at the chance.

“We’re delighted that Herb is sharing this rare collection with the world,” Marbury said. “Today, the Georgia-Pacific Tower sits where Loew’s once stood, but we’re proud to say that the memories and splendor of Atlanta’s iconic gem live on through this exhibit!”

Bridges’ vintage movie posters will be displayed until May 23.