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About Atlanta
Atlanta is the capital of Georgia and the epicenter of the New South. While the city retains some of its small-town atmosphere in many ways--homey neighborhoods such as Virginia-Highland and Little Five Points, blooming dogwoods and azaleas that politely announce springtime and the genteel hospitality practiced by true Southerners--it is far from the sleepy Southern town that Gen. Sherman burned to ashes in his 1864 march to the sea.
Sleek skyscrapers house headquarters to some of the country's biggest business names, and traffic rivals the professional gridlock found in other major metropolitan areas, but the atmosphere is pleasant. Perhaps it's all the sweet tea, but Atlanta is one big city that retains its Southern charm. The host for the Centennial Olympic Games, Atlanta is home to four major league sports teams whose fans are (dare we say) well-mannered. And one of the city's best preserved sites, the historic Fox Theatre, was saved from destruction by the goodwill of gracious Atlantans.
Even though driven Northerners count for more than half of the city's ever-growing population, you'll still encounter a slow pace if you look. Hints of the Old South can be found at historic sites, and heard--in the slow drawl of a "yes, ma'am."
Atlanta, capital of Georgia, is the commercial, industrial and financial giant of the Southeast. It is crisscrossed with crowded expressways and throbs with teeming industry, yet manages to maintain a gracious air of Southern living. At its center towering skyscrapers rise along streets with names evocative of the Old South. Throughout the city many trees and shrubs lend an ever present note of green.
Atlanta began in 1837 as a railroad surveyor's stake in a pine clearing. The city rapidly grew into an important railway and manufacturing center, becoming the Confederate arsenal during the Civil War. Reduced to a smoking ruin by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's occupation in 1864, the city drew upon its unconquerable spirit and the wise use of carpetbagger money to again become a booming commercial center.
Rapid growth has continued unabated for more than a century. Due to active urban renewal and the fact that few of its buildings predate the Civil War, Atlanta has suffered less from urban blight than most U.S. cities. Evidence of this good fortune is reflected in the burgeoning skyline; however, there are still reminders of an earlier Atlanta and of a city closer to the Old South and its small towns. The 50-year-old Varsity, a drive-in restaurant near Georgia Tech., stands in stark contrast to the chrome and glass skyscrapers that now surround it.
The CNN Center at Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park houses the worldwide headquarters for the Cable News Network as well as broadcast studios, a behind-the-scenes tour, shops, restaurants and the Philips Arena. Just across Marietta Street is Centennial Olympic Park, a 21-acre landscaped green space that is the focal point of downtown Atlanta; sculptures, walkways and the Fountain of the Rings grace the park, which was the largest single facility of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Adjacent to Centennial Olympic park is the Georgia Aquarium, believed to be the largest aquarium, in the world with more than 100,000 fish and other animals in eight million gallons of water. The Georgia World Congress Center on Andrew Young International Boulevard is a huge exhibition hall and convention center. The mammoth AmericasMart sits across from a complex of skyscrapers comprising Peachtree Center.
Some 3,700 manufacturers produce a range of commodities including aircraft, automobiles, furniture, textiles, chemicals, food, paper, iron and steel. More than 750 Fortune 1000 companies have offices in Atlanta, including the headquarters of Coca-Cola, which was introduced in the city in 1886. Atlanta is the Southeastern headquarters for the U.S. Public Health Service and the national headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control, United Parcel Service and the American Cancer Society.
Atlanta also leads the South in social reform. Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked to eliminate racial discrimination in the city and throughout the nation, and Ralph McGill, publisher of the Atlanta Constitution, was a leading force for integration in the early 1960s. Dr. King's birthplace, church and tomb as well as other buildings are preserved in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
A tour of the suburbs is a must for any visitor, for the elegant houses and curving, wooded streets make up some of the country's most beautiful residential areas. They are especially stunning in April during the Dogwood Festival, when millions of dogwoods and azaleas burst into red, pink and white blooms.
The Atlanta University Center District is comprised of a group of distinguished African-American colleges and universities. Campus tours are offered Monday through Friday; phone (800) 851-1254 for Morehouse College; phone (800) 982-2411 for Spelman College; phone (404) 880-8000 for Clark Atlanta University; phone (404) 739-1000 for Morris Brown College; and phone (404) 527-7700 for the Interdenominational Theological Center.
Atlanta enjoys four definite seasons. Warm summers and mild winters permit nearly year-round golfing, fishing and outdoor living--happy distractions from the ambitions of a progressive, sophisticated city.
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