In the final stages of completion, Oakland Visitor Center prepares for grand opening

Learn more and read Smith Dalia’s architect statement.

Historic Oakland Foundation is thrilled to share that the new Visitor Center across from the cemetery’s western gate is near completion and has “soft opened” to the public. Planning for the Visitor Center began in 2007, with construction breaking ground in 2023. The facility, designed by Smith Dalia Architects, is now operational, providing an atrium, store, and courtyard garden for visitors to enjoy, in addition to staff offices and a versatile event space.

Final elements, including a mural installed in the atrium, are still in progress, but we’re on track for the official grand opening, scheduled for April 2025. Ahead of the formal opening, visitors are encouraged to explore the new space, open from 10 am - 5 pm daily. Further updates will be provided as the project reaches its final stages.

To learn more about the inspiration behind the building, read the statement below provided by Greg Cross, Partner & Principal at Smith Dalia Architects.

From our very first conversations about the project, we heard the need for the new Visitor Center to be an embassy outside Oakland’s iconic cemetery wall. The Historic Oakland Foundation’s mission was, of course, of greatest importance—to literally bring the Foundation’s people and their work out into the community. But the building and grounds would be equally important and for our design team, also more challenging—create something highly visible but still deferential, connected to Oakland’s material culture and craftsmanship without being an imitation, a place inspired by history while still being of its own time.

Inevitably, this new Visitor Center is not about the building itself—but a lens through which to focus the experience of Oakland Cemetery. It creates a formal arrival point for visitors from the neighborhood and much farther away; a place for cars, buses, and the outside world to be left behind; a prelude with views over the cemetery walls and toward the west gate; and an opportunity to understand the depth of the intriguing relationship between the city of Atlanta and this special place before experiencing it for yourself.

The event space, exhibits, plazas and event lawn, offices, and Oakland Store (for those in the know, the best book shop in the city) provide enhanced opportunities for visitors and community members to interact with the Oakland Foundation and learn from the individuals who manage and care for Atlanta’s oldest historical and cultural landmark. The Visitor Center lobby runs the length of the building and doubles as an exhibit hall and gallery, its contents visible to those outside even on those times when the building is not open. The second floor event space was carefully coordinated to minimize building infrastructure and maximize acoustic performance, creating a compelling venue whose backdrop (the Oakland Overlook) is a unique view of the cemetery itself.

The Visitor Center embodies the same spirit of stewardship as the Foundation, embracing opportunities for a shared and sustainable future. It employs time-honored strategies like deep south-facing windows with sunshades, substantial east and west overhangs, and large north-facing windows. But it also takes advantage of cutting edge technology, using full-building energy modeling to evaluate and select the most advantageous combination of systems. And the design incorporates some surprising elements—like repurposing a wall of glazed terracotta tiles that were once part of the Sylvan Hills Nabisco factory, as well as bioretention gardens that will not only divert over a million gallons of water annually from Atlanta’s storm system, but also provide a chance to learn about the plantings used in different biomes inside the cemetery. And it’s thoughtfully designed to become even greener in the future—like integration of solar power.

As architects, SDA is proud to have played a part in creating this new and much-needed facility, Oakland’s embassy outside its gates. As friends and neighbors, we’re excited to see the new Visitor Center uplift and amplify the stories behind this place we love so much!

Greg Cross, Partner

Smith Dalia Architects