The tornado that struck downtown Atlanta Friday night left the Tabernacle with significant roof damage and water damage inside.
The venerable concert facility owned by Live Nation has no shows scheduled until March 29. The company expects to learn the full extent of the damage on Friday.
“Structural engineers are looking at the building,” Molly Sandman, a spokeswoman for Live Nation, says. “There is damage to the roof, but we don’t know the extent of it. There’s also water damage. But we’ll get it all fixed up.”
A press release issued today by Live Nation described the damage as “significant.”
Once the engineers have finished assessing the damage, Live Nation will have a clearer idea of what it will take to get the facility in operation again and when that will happen.
Paramore is scheduled to perform there on March 29, followed by The Levon Helm Band on April 9. The status of those shows is still up in the air.
The structure was built in 1910 as The Broughton Tabernacle church. The first pastor of the church founded the Georgia Baptist Hospital, now known as the Atlanta Medical Center.
The building was vacant for a time, then converted into a House of Blues for the 1996 Summer Olympics. After that, it became a full-time concert facility that seats 2,600 people and is known for its warm acoustics.
Rolling Stone and Paste magazine have each lauded it as one of the country’s best small music venues.
