| 131 Ponce de Leon Avenue | |
| Alternate Names: | Gulf Oil Building |
| Address: | 131 Ponce de Leon Avenue |
| Location City: | Atlanta |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Opened Date: | 1949 |
| Demolition Date: | February 2013 |
| Floor Count: | 2 |
| Floor Area: | 50,000 square feet |
| Architect: | I. M. Pei |
| Unit Count: | --> |
131 Ponce de Leon Avenue, also known as the Gulf Oil Building, is the name of a former building in Midtown Atlanta at the southeast corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Juniper Street, as well as the name of a mixed-use development which incorporates portions of the Pei building's façade, adding 321 apartments and 8600ft2 of retail space.
The building was architect I. M. Pei's first project, built in 1949,[1] a 50000ft2 two-story "box that invoked the lean rectilinearity of Mies van der Rohe".[2]
The mixed-use development incorporates the entire block bounded by Ponce de Leon Avenue, North Avenue, Piedmont Avenue and Juniper Street, except for St. Paul's church. A joint venture between real estate investment company Sereo Group Inc. and developer Faison Enterprises bought the 2.5acres site in 2012.[3]
In 2008, the block had been proposed for redevelopment as the "Fountain on Ponce" complex, but that project did not go through.[4]
The building was demolished in February 2013,[5] but the Atlanta Preservation Center stated that its understanding that a portion of the façade was to be "resurrected as a shell" and incorporated into the new complex.[6] The demolition involved taking apart the building piece by piece. The front portion of the building was then reconstructed for use as the clubhouse and offices of the mixed use development.[7]