A rendering of the Looking Glass Long before it housed CNN’s global newsroom, the downtown complex now known as the CTR was home to a short-lived indoor amusement park—the World of Sid and Marty Krofft. Next year, the space overlooking Centennial Olympic Park will once again return to its entert ainment roots. This time, it will become the Looking Glass—an immersive social playground from the team behind Your 3rd Spot, built around curiosity, connection, and the thrill of discovery. “This is 50 percent bigger,” founder Josh Rossmeisl says. “Your 3rd Spot is a little more rooted on the food and beverage side. This is more immersive and better for larger groups.” While the project draws loose inspiration from Lewis Carroll, Rossmeisl is quick to temper expectations of anything too literal. “It’s not in-your-face Alice in Wonderland,” he says. “It’s more of a parallel universe brought into a modern-day environment.” That sensibility plays out in how guests move through the space. The experience begins with an orientation in an attic-like space featuring a projected guide. It then opens into a series of interconnected environments layered with visual cues, hidden passages, and interactive elements. At its core is an optional digital scavenger hunt that threads throughout the venue. “You solve the puzzle, write your own story, and get a gift at the end,” Rossmeisl explains. Like Your 3rd Spot, the Looking Glass centers on activities, but here, they’re more theatrical and intentionally analog, designed to get people playing together rather than staring at screens. A dozen elevated carnival-style games anchor the mezzanine. Even smaller interactions are designed to keep guests moving. Custom tabletop games—including a mini-golf-style experience that unfolds across multiple stations—encourage circulation through the space. Collaborative, challenge-based attractions ask guests to work together—like navigating a ball through a tabletop maze that requires multiple people to control at once. The venue also incorporates nine-pin bowling, darts, and shuffleboard. One of the most immersive components is the six-room Hall of Illusions, where projection mapping, hidden buttons, and clues embedded in the environment reward curiosity. Guests might activate an installation by touching a wall detail or discover a doorway tucked behind a bookshelf. “It’s as if Meow Wolf had a baby with Your 3rd Spot,” Rossmeisl says. A rendering of the dining room at the Looking Glass Like Your 3rd Spot, the Looking Glass puts real weight behind its food and beverage program. Rossmeisl’s goal is simple: “A tea party where the food doesn’t suck.” Tea Time, one of the anchors of the concept, reimagines the traditional service as a social, reservation-driven experience. Located in Sanjay Gupta’s former offers, guests will be served multi-tiered trays of both sweet and savory items—designed to feel celebratory rather than prissy. Expect house-made Southern-style scones with chive butter, honey butter, strawberry rose preserves, and Meyer lemon curd, alongside desserts like brown butter tea cakes, peach hand pies, “midnight” beignets, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Savory offerings include playful takes on tea sandwiches, such as pimento cheese with green tomato and classic chicken salad, as well as lemon-pepper shrimp and spicy tuna crispy rice, all served family-style. Elsewhere, Ember Market acts as a more casual hub with fare cooked on a robata grill. Beverages extend beyond the expected including shareable cocktails like an absinthe-and-jasmine tea, poured tableside. A plentiful zero-proof program will be available as well. At roughly 40,000 square feet, the Looking Glass is designed to pull people back downtown—and keep them there. It will be open to all ages during the day and ages 21-and-up at night. A DJ booth sits by the bar, pumping music through 180 speakers with subwoofers built into the millwork. Guests will purchase a Curiosity Card, providing unlimited access to all games and experiences for a set period. “Downtown Atlanta is changing so much,” Rossmeisl says. “We’re trying to make it the heartbeat of the city.” The post An immersive playground is set to transform the former CNN Center Downtown appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less