Atlanta
—  City  —
City of Atlanta
From top to bottom left to right: Atlanta skyline seen from Buckhead, Fox Theatre, Georgia State Capitol, Centennial Olympic Park, Millennium Gate, Canopy Walk, Georgia Aquarium, The Phoenix statue, and Midtown skyline from Piedmont Park
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Hotlanta [1], The ATL,[1] ATL,[1] The A,[1] Gate City[2] (historic), City in a Forest[3]
Motto: Resurgens (Latin for rising again)
City highlighted in Fulton County, location of Fulton County in the state of Georgia
Atlanta Location of the city of Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates: 33°45′18″N 84°23′24″W / 33.755°N 84.39°W / 33.755; -84.39Coordinates: 33°45′18″N 84°23′24″W / 33.755°N 84.39°W / 33.755; -84.39
Country	United States of America
State	Georgia
County	Fulton and DeKalb
Terminus	1837
Marthasville	1843
City of Atlanta	1847
Government
• Mayor	Kasim Reed
Area
• City	132.4 sq mi (343.0 km2)
• Land	131.8 sq mi (341.2 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.8 km2)
• Urban	1,963 sq mi (5,080 km2)
• Metro	8,376 sq mi (21,690 km2)
Elevation	738 to 1,050 ft (225 to 320 m)
Population (2010)
• City	420,003
• Density	4,020/sq mi (1,552/km2)
• Urban	4,750,000
• Metro	5,268,860 (9th)
• Metro density	630/sq mi (243/km2)
• Demonym	Atlantan
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code(s)	30060, 30301-30322, 30324-30334, 30336-30350, 30353
Area code(s)	404, 470, 678, 770
FIPS code	13-04000[4]
GNIS feature ID	0351615[5]
Website	atlantaga.gov

Atlanta ( /ətˈlæntə/, stressed /ætˈlæntə/, locally  /ætˈlænə/) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003.^[6] Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest in the U.S., ^[7] which is in turn part of the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. Residents of the city and its surroundings are known as "Atlantans."^[8]

Atlanta began as a settlement located at the intersection of two railroad lines, and it was incorporated in 1845. Today, the city is a major business city and the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States (via highway, railroad, and air), with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998.^{[9][10][11][12]} The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Atlanta as an "alpha(-) world city."^[13] With a gross domestic product of US$270 billion, Atlanta's economy ranks 15th among world cities and sixth in the nation.^[14] The city is a center for services, finance, information technology, government, and higher education. Metro Atlanta contains the country's third largest concentration^[15] of Fortune 500 companies, and is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Delta Air Lines. As of 2010, Atlanta is the seventh most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.^[16]

The city has long been known as a center of black wealth, political power and culture; a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement^[17] and home to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, the city's white population is growing rapidly, while Metro Atlanta has quickly become ethnically diverse with large Hispanic and Asian populations. The arts and entertainment are well represented in Atlanta, and the city is an important base for hip hop, gospel, and neo soul music; in addition, it has become a major center of film and TV production. Atlanta stands out among major U.S. cities for its dense tree coverage. In 1996, Atlanta played host to the Summer Olympics, an event that spurred a wave of gentrification that has intensified into the 21st century, revitalizing the city's center and in-town neighborhoods.

History

Marietta Street, 1864

The history of Atlanta dates back to 1836, when Georgia decided to build a railroad to the U.S. Midwest and a location was chosen to be the line's terminus. In 1839 homes and a store were built there and the settlement grew. Between 1845 and 1854 rail lines arrived from four different directions, and the rapidly growing town quickly become the rail hub for the entire Southern United States. During the American Civil War, Atlanta, as a distribution hub, became the target of a major Union campaign, and in 1864 Union General Sherman's troops set on fire and destroyed the city's assets and buildings, save churches and hospitals. After the war the population grew rapidly, as did manufacturing, while the city retained its role as a rail hub. Coca-Cola was launched here in 1886 and grew into an Atlanta-based world empire. Electric streetcars arrived in 1889, and the city added new "streetcar suburbs".

The city's elite black colleges were founded between 1865 and 1885, and despite disenfranchisement and the later imposition of Jim Crow laws in the 1910s, a prosperous black middle class and upper class emerged. By the early 20th century, "Sweet" Auburn Avenue was called "the most prosperous Negro street in the nation". In the 1950s blacks started moving into city neighborhoods that had previously kept them out, while Atlanta's first freeways enabled large numbers of whites to move to, and commute from, new suburbs. Atlanta was home to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a major center for the Civil Rights Movement. Resulting desegregation occurred in stages over the 1960s. Slums were razed and the new Atlanta Housing Authority built public housing projects.

From the mid-60s to mid-70s, nine suburban malls opened, and the downtown shopping district declined. But just north of it, gleaming office towers and hotels rose, and in 1976 the new Georgia World Congress Center signaled Atlanta's rise as a major convention city. In 1973 the city elected its first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, and in ensuing decades, black political leaders worked successfully with the white business community to promote business growth, while still empowering black businesses. From the mid-70s to mid-80s most of the MARTA rapid transit system was built. While the suburbs grew rapidly, much of the city itself deteriorated and the city lost 21% of its population between 1970 and 1990.

The diving event at the 1996 Summer Games, with Atlanta's Olympic logo in the background

In 1996 Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics, for which new facilities and infrastructure were built. Hometown airline Delta continued to grow, and by 1998-9, Atlanta's airport was the busiest in the world. Since the mid-90s, gentrification has given new life to many of the city's intown neighborhoods. The 2010 census showed blacks leaving the city, whites moving to the city, and a much more diverse metro area with heaviest growth in the exurbs at its outer edges.

Geography

The city of Atlanta from Stone Mountain. Downtown and Midtown to the left, and Buckhead to the right.

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city encompasses 132.4 square miles (342.9 km²), of which 131.7 square miles (341.1 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) is water. At about 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level, Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River.

The Eastern Continental Divide line enters Atlanta from the south, proceeding to the downtown area. From downtown, the divide line runs eastward along DeKalb Avenue and the CSX rail lines through Decatur.^[18] Rainwater that falls on the south and east side runs eventually into the Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide runs into the Gulf of Mexico^[18] via the Chattahoochee River. That river is part of the ACF River Basin, and from which Atlanta and many of its neighbors draw most of their water. Being at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is still preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Downstream however, excessive water use during droughts and pollution during floods has been a source of contention and legal battles with neighboring states Alabama and Florida.^[19][20]

Climate and environment

Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate, (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with hot, humid summers and cool winters that are occasionally cold by the standards of the southern United States. January averages 42.7 °F (5.9 °C), with temperatures in the suburbs slightly cooler. Warm, maritime air can bring springlike highs while strong Arctic air masses can push lows into the teens (−11 to −7 °C). High temperatures in July average 89 °F (31.7 °C) but occasionally exceed to near 100 °F (38 °C). Atlanta's high mean elevation distinguishes it from most other southern and eastern cities, and contributes to a more temperate climate than is found in areas farther south.^[21]

Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, though spring and early fall are markedly drier. Average annual rainfall is 50.2 inches (1,280 mm). Temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C) occur more than 40 days per year; overnight freezing can be expected over 45 days, but high temperatures that do not climb above the freezing mark are rare. Annual snowfall averages 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) annually. The heaviest single storm brought around 16 inches on March 12–14, 1993 during The Storm of the Century.^[22] True blizzards are rare but possible; one hit in March 1993. Ice storms usually cause more trouble than does snowfall; the most severe such storms may have occurred on January 7, 1973 and January 9, 2011.^[23] In 2010, Atlanta had its first White Christmas since 1882.

Extremes range from −9 °F (−23 °C) in February 1899 to 105 °F (41 °C) in July 1980.^[24] More recently, a low one degree away from the record, was observed on January 21, 1985.^[24]

In 2007, the American Lung Association ranked Atlanta as having the 13th highest level of particle pollution in the United States.^{[25][broken citation]} The combination of pollution and pollen levels, and uninsured citizens caused the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in 2007 to name Atlanta as the worst American city for asthma sufferers to live in,^[26] though it did not make the top 10 in 2011.^[27]

Cityscape

The Midtown skyline from Piedmont Park

Midtown Atlanta from the Northwest near the Cobb County/Fulton County border on the Chattahoochee River. In the middle is the largest mosque in Atlanta (Masjid Al-Farooq) .Atlantic Station is visible to the left with the Atlantic skyscraper in the foreground. April 2010

A 2008 aerial photo of Atlanta's urban core viewed from the Southwest near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Downtown Atlanta (in the foreground) is followed by Midtown, and then Buckhead. Sandy Springs and Dunwoody's Perimeter Center skyline is visible in the background. In 2008, the entire region had a population of 5,729,304.

Architecture

Architecture in Atlanta is dominated by modernism and postmodernism in its commercial and institutional buildings, with a significant influence by hometown architect John Portman. A few notable buildings remain from earlier eras going back to the 1880s, but not a single building remains from the antebellum city, which Union troops burned to the ground in 1864.^{[note 1]} Residential architecture in Atlanta's Intown neighborhoods, largely built between the 1880s and 1920s, is characterized by styles ranging from Victorian cottages to Craftsman bungalows to Revival styles; Atlanta's outer neighborhoods were built in post-World War II suburban styles. Historically, industry located next to the rail lines, and repurposed industrial structures can be found near those rail lines which both approach Downtown Atlanta from all directions, as well as surround it in a belt pattern, passing through the city's inner neighborhoods.

Most of Atlanta was burned during the Civil War, depleting it its antebellum architecture. Yet Atlanta, architecturally, had never been particularly "southern." Because Atlanta originated as a railroad town, rather than a patrician southern seaport like Savannah or Charleston, many of the city's landmarks could have easily been erected in the Northeast or Midwest.^[31] After the war, Atlanta viewed itself as the leading city of a progressive "New South," and opted for expressive modern structures.^[32]

As a result of Atlanta's embrace of modernism, its cityscape is dominated by relatively recent architectural styles, containing works by most major U.S. firms and some of the more prominent architects of the 20th century, including Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Marcel Breuer, Renzo Piano, Pickard Chilton, and locally-based, internationally-known Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam Architects. The city's skyline, which began its marked rise in the 1960s, is punctuated with highrise and midrise buildings of both modern and postmodern vintage. At 1,023 feet (312 m), Atlanta's tallest skyscraper—the Bank of America Plaza—is the 52nd-tallest building in the world and the 9th tallest building in the United States.^[33]

Unfortunately, the city's embrace of modernism and postmodernism resulted in an ambivalent approach toward historic preservation. Such an approach ultimately led to the destruction of notable architectural landmarks, including the Equitable Building (Atlanta's first skyscraper), Terminal Station, and the Carnegie Library. Atlanta's cultural icon, the Fox Theatre, would have met the same fate had it not been for a grassroots effort to save it in the mid-1970s.^[31]

The city's most notable hometown architect may be John Portman, whose creation of the atrium hotel beginning with the Hyatt Regency Atlanta—one of the tallest buildings in Atlanta at the time of its completion in 1967^[34]—made a significant mark on hospitality architecture, both nationally and internationally. Through his work, Portman—a graduate of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture—reshaped downtown Atlanta with his designs for the Atlanta Merchandise Mart, Peachtree Center, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and SunTrust Plaza.^[31]

Atlanta contains more than 40 historic districts, nearly all NRHP-listed. The most notable residential historic districts include Druid Hills, with its parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Inman Park with its Victorian mansions (also Olmsted), Virginia-Highland with its Craftsman bungalows, and Cabbagetown with its shotgun houses.

Notable industrial architecture includes Ponce City Market (formerly a Sears regional warehouse), the former Van Winkle Cotton Gin and Machine Works, Northyards (a converted roundhouse and rail yards), and other buildings in the Means Street Historic District, the proposed King Plow/Railroad Historic District, and on the Marietta Street Artery.

• 

  Bank of America Plaza, the tallest building in Georgia

• 

  Candler Building (1906)

• 

  SunTrust Plaza, the second-tallest building in Atlanta

• 

  Beath-Dickey House (1890), example of Queen Anne architecture, Inman Park

• 

  One Symphony Tower in Midtown

• 

  Georgian Terrace Hotel (1911) in Midtown

• 

  Ponce City Market in the Old Fourth Ward, a former Sears regional warehouse

Tree canopy

The Atlanta Plaza skyscraper surrounded by trees

Beyond the business districts, the Atlanta skyline gives way to a dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs. Atlanta is nicknamed the "city in a forest", and at 36%, the city's tree coverage is the highest of all major U.S. cities.^[36] The canopy filters out pollutants and cools sidewalks and buildings. However, Atlanta's tree canopy has increasingly been under assault from man and nature due to heavy rains, drought, aged forests, new pests, and urban construction. The city is home to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, an annual arts and crafts festival held one weekend during early April, when the native dogwoods are in bloom.

Parks, gardens, and trails

Atlanta's Piedmont Park, with a blanket of winter snow.

Atlanta's green space is composed of 343 parks, nature preserves, gardens, and public spaces (3,622 acres (14.66 km²) in all). Piedmont Park, site of the 1895 Cotton States Expo, is Atlanta's iconic green space. The Midtown park, which underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2010, attracts visitors from across the region and hosts various cultural events throughout the year. Centennial Olympic Park forms a centerpoint for downtown visitors in and around which key visitor attractions are located; nearby Woodruff Park and Hurt Park cater to the downtown lunch crowd. Grant Park, located on the east side, is home to the city zoo, as well as the Cyclorama exhibit. Chastain Park, the primary recreational center for the northern Buckhead district, contains an amphitheater for live music concerts. Atlanta's largest park, Southside Park, is remote and nearly undeveloped, and the planned Westside Park in northwest Atlanta, which will be constructed on the site of a former gravel quarry, will eclipse Southside as the city's largest. Several nature preserves line the south fork of Peachtree Creek in the Morningside neighborhood, while part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area lies in the city's northwest corner. The Atlanta Botanical Garden is home to the Canopy Walk, a 600-foot elevated walkway ambling 40 feet from the ground through a 15-acre forest of mature hardwoods, and the only canopy-level pathway of its kind in the United States.

The BeltLine, a former rail corridor that forms a 22-mile loop around Atlanta's central neighborhoods, has been acquired and transformed into public space. Most of the corridor opened in the late-2000s as a walking path, with plans for development of multi-use trails and, eventually, public transit. A trail has already been constructed near the West End neighborhood, while another one, under construction as of 2012, will connect Piedmont Park to Inman Park. BeltLine projects will increase Atlanta's park space by 40%,^[37] including two new parks: Historic Fourth Ward Park, now open, and Westside Park. In addition to BeltLine trails, PATH maintains a network of biking and walking trails in Metro Atlanta, including one that traverses Atlanta's east side, traveling past the Carter Center and through Freedom Park.

Neighborhoods

Bungalows in Inman Park

Rowhouses in Glenwood Park, an example of gentrification in Atlanta

The city is divided into 25 neighborhood planning units or NPUs, which in turn are divided into 242 officially defined neighborhoods.^[38]

The three major high-rise districts within the city limits form a north-south axis along Peachtree: Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead.^[39] Surrounding these high-density districts are leafy single-family residential neighborhoods.^[40][41] Downtown contains many notable skyscrapers, the most office space in the metro area and many government offices. Further north is Midtown Atlanta, a major employment center, including many law offices.^[42] Between 1990 and 2010, a skyline of office and residential towers took shape. Upscale retail stores are opening, though scaled down from previous (2006) plans. Buckhead is eight miles (13 km) north of Downtown. The wealthy suburban area developed into a major commercial and financial center after Lenox Square mall opened in 1959. Skyscapers and hotels surround the mall, and around this commercial core are neighborhoods of single-family homes ranging from upper middle-class to very wealthy.

Atlanta's east side is marked by historic streetcar suburbs built from the 1890s-1930s as havens for the upper middle class. Each of these neighborhoods are unique, containing separate commercial villages surrounded by leafy, architecturally distinct residential streets. East side neighborhoods include Victorian Inman Park and Grant Park, craftsman Virginia-Highland and Kirkwood, and Bohemian Candler Park and East Atlanta.^[43] On Atlanta's west side, former warehouses and factories have been transformed into condos, apartments, retail space, art galleries, and sophisticated restaurants, making the once-industrial West Midtown a model neighborhood for smart growth, historic rehabilitation, and infill construction.^[44] It is in Atlanta's east side and in West Midtown where the gentrification of Atlanta has transformed the city since the 1996 Olympics. As of 2010, Buckhead and northeastern Atlanta were on average 80% white.

Downtown, Midtown, West Midtown, and some close-in east side neighborhoods (NPU N) were the fastest growing areas of the city from 2000 to 2010.

Predominantly black neighborhoods cover 60% of the city's area: northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern Atlanta were 92% African American as of 2010. In Southwestern Atlanta, the areas closest to Downtown are streetcar suburbs, including the historic West End. Farther from Downtown are postwar suburban neighborhoods, including Collier Heights and Cascade Heights, home to the city's established African-American elite.^[45][46] Further southwest are newer neighborhoods that are also havens for middle-class and upper-class black homeowners.^[47] From 2000 to 2010 there was rapid population loss in northwestern Atlanta (-24.1%) and southeastern Atlanta (-20.5%), while small areas at the far west perimeter like Ben Hill grew quickly (+45.8%).

The median household income in the various sections of Atlanta varies widely: as of 2003 it was $20,969 in northwest Atlanta, $24,309 in the CBD, $25,514 in the southeast, $31,624 in the southwest, $43,396 in far eastern portion of Atlanta in DeKalb County, $62,254 in the northeast and $149,432 in Buckhead.^[48]

Culture

The High Museum of Art, a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown Atlanta

Atlanta, while geographically at the center of the American South, has a culture that is no longer strictly Southern. More than half of Metro Atlanta residents were born outside Georgia^[49] including 13% born outside the U.S.^[50] Atlanta's culture reveals itself at the High Museum of Art, the bohemian shops of Little Five Points, at its many neighborhood festivals, and in the cuisines from around the world found along Buford Highway.^[51]

Arts and entertainment

Atlanta is a capital of hip hop, including Southern hip hop, of R&B and of neo soul. The city is home to Lil Jon,Ludacris, Usher, Toni Braxton, Ciara, Trey Songz, India.Arie. It is also a center of gospel music where the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards take place. Atlanta also has strong live music, pop, rock, indie-rock, country, blues and jazz scenes, including artists such as the Indigo Girls, and Justin Bieber.

The Fox Theatre is an historic landmark and is among the highest grossing theatres in of its size.^[52] The city also has a large collection of highly successful music venues of various sizes that host top and emerging touring acts including the Tabernacle, the Variety Playhouse and The Masquerade.

The city contains a flourishing theater community. Theater groups include the Alliance Theater, winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the internationally-known Center for Puppetry Arts and dozens of other groups across the city and Metro Atlanta.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra plays at its concert hall at the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown, which also houses the High Museum of Art and Alliance Theatre. The Atlanta Opera and The Atlanta Ballet usually perform at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre at the city's northwest edge. Atlanta's renowned classical musicians have included conductors Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony's Robert Spano.

In literature, Atlanta has been the home of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, one of the best-selling books of all time; Alice Walker, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple; Alfred Uhry, playwright of Driving Miss Daisy, and Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Brer Rabbit children's stories. Famous journalists include Ralph McGill, the anti-segregationist editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. Atlanta is also the home of contemporary editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich, who is syndicated nationally to 150 newspapers.

Atlanta has become a major regional center for film and television production, especially since 2008 when Georgia state tax credits were increased. Tyler Perry Studios, TurnerStudios and EUE/Screen Gems studios are located in the city. Metro Atlanta is frequently seen in films and on TV including the top-rated Real Housewives of Atlanta, and The Vampire Diaries, shot in the historic suburb of Covington. Atlanta has gained recognition as a center of production of horror and zombie-related productions,^[53] with Atlanta magazine dubbing the city the "Zombie Capital of the World".^[54][55]In addition to numerous other film festivals, Atlanta is the host of the Atlanta Film Festival, an Academy Award qualifying, international film festival held every April and showcasing a diverse range of independent films, including genre films such as horror and sci-fi.

Museums

In 2010, American Style Magazine ranked Atlanta as the ninth-best city for the arts.^[56] The renowned High Museum of Art is arguably the South's leading art museum and among the 100 most-visited art museums in the world. Other art institutions include the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory, containing the largest collection of ancient art in the Southeast.^[57]

Museums geared specifically towards children including the Fernbank Science Center and Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta. The Atlanta Botanical Garden next to Piedmont Park, home to the 600-foot-long (180 m) Kendeda Canopy Walk, the only canopy-level pathway of its kind in the United States. Zoo Atlanta, located in Grant Park, is one of only four zoos in the U.S. currently housing giant pandas.^[58]

Tourism

Multimedia exhibit at the MLK Historic Site

Atlanta is one of the nation's leading tourist destinations, both for Americans and those visiting the U.S. from abroad. As of 2010, the city is the seventh-most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.^[16]

Besides its museums, Atlanta major attractions include the world's largest indoor aquarium,^[59] the Georgia Aquarium,^[60] the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum, the Carter Center and Presidential Library, the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum (where Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind), and the World of Coca-Cola.

Festivals and traditions

Pink Pig ride, originally Rich's, now at Macy's Lenox Square

Outdoor events and attractions are plentiful. Piedmont Park hosts many of Atlanta's festivals, including the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Festival Peachtree Latino, Music Midtown, and Atlanta Pride.^[61] Most older intown neighborhoods hold yearly festivals as well, such as the Inman Park Festival and Virginia Highland Summerfest. Yearly traditions include the Southeastern Flower Show, and at Christmastime the Macy's (originally Rich's) Great Tree and "Pink Pig" ride at Macy's Lenox Square.

Cuisine

A meal at The Varsity

Atlanta's cuisine contains a mix of urban establishments garnering national attention, ethnic restaurants offering cuisine from every corner of the world, and traditional eateries specializing in Southern dining. In the last decade, Atlanta has emerged as a sophisticated restaurant town.^[62] Many of the restaurants that have opened within the city's gentrifying neighborhoods since 2000 have garnered praise on a national scale, including Bocado, Bacchanalia, Flip Burger Boutique, and Miller Union in West Midtown, Empire State South in Midtown, and Two Urban Licks, Parish, and Rathbun's on the east side.^{[63][64][65][66]} Empire State South and Miller Union reflect "a new kind of sophisticated Southern sensibility centered on the farm but experienced in the city".^[67]

Buford Highway, stretching from near Buckhead to Gwinnett County, is the area's international food destination. There, the million-plus immigrants that make Atlanta home have established various authentic ethnic restaurants, ranging from Vietnamese, Indian, Cuban, Korean, Mexican, and Chinese, to Ethiopian.^[68]

Local landmarks include The Varsity, opened in 1928 and the world's largest drive-in restaurant,^[69] and Mary Mac's Tea Room, opened in 1945, a traditional destination for Southern food.

Religion

Roman Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (1869), oldest church in Atlanta

There are over 1,000 places of worship within the city of Atlanta, with a wide range of religious faiths represented. The Southern Baptist, the Methodist and the Roman Catholic are the largest denominations in Metro Atlanta. Other prominent churches include the Episcopal, Church of God and independent charismatic churches.^[70][71] Traditional African American denominations such as the National Baptist Convention, the Church of God in Christ, and the AME Church are also represented and have several seminaries that form the Interdenominational Theological Center complex in the Atlanta University Center.

Megachurches in the area include pastor Andy Stanley's North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, ranked as the third largest church in the U.S.,^[72] and the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, with 14,000 members.^[73] Primarily African American megachurches in Metro Atlanta include Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church International in College Park claiming nearly 30,000 members^[74] and Eddie Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, with 25,000.^[75]

According to the Roman Catholic Church, their membership in the metro area has more than tripled from 292,300 in 1998 to 900,000 in 2010, about 16% of the population.^[76][77] Atlanta is both an archdiocese and a metropolitan see. Atlanta is also the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.

Metro Atlanta has a 120,000-strong Jewish community,^[78] ranked 11th largest in the U.S. in 2006.^[78] One of the area's approximately 15 Hindu temples, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta in Lilburn is the largest Hindu temple outside of India.^[79] There also are an estimated 75,000 Muslims in the metro area and about 35 mosques.^[80] Buddhist temples include the Tibetan Buddhist Drepung Loseling Monastery in Brookhaven, associated with Emory University and where the Dalai Lama has spoken.^[81]

Sports

Turner Field

Atlanta is home to professional franchises for three major team sports: the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League.

The Braves began playing in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, and is the oldest continually operating professional sports franchise in America.^[82] The Braves won the World Series in 1995, and had an unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005.

The Atlanta Falcons (American football) have played in Atlanta since 1966 and currently play at the Georgia Dome. They have won the division title four times (1980, 1998, 2004, 2010) and one conference championship—going on to finish as the runner-up to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999.^[83]

The Atlanta Hawks basketball team has been the National Basketball Association franchise of Atlanta since 1969. The Atlanta Dream plays in the Women's National Basketball Association. Atlanta does not currently have an National Hockey League (NHL) team. The Atlanta Silverbacks play in the United Soccer Leagues First Division (Men) and W-League (Women).

In golf, the final event of the PGA Tour season, The Tour Championship, is played annually at East Lake Golf Club, a club associated with the great amateur golfer Bobby Jones, an Atlanta native.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets participate in 17 intercollegiate sports, including football and basketball, competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Atlanta hosted the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between Auburn and the University of Georgia in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.^[84]

Atlanta is also home to the Atlanta Harlequins (women's rugby union), Atlanta Legion (rugby league football), Atlanta Kookaburras (men's and women's Australian rules football), and two Gaelic football teams.

Auto racetracks near Atlanta include the Atlanta Motor Speedway (a NASCAR track) and Road Atlanta.

Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics. Atlanta has also hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV, as well as the NCAA Final Four Men's Basketball Championship, most recently in 2007. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Bowl (Formerly known as the Peach Bowl) and the Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10 km race.^[85]

Media

The Atlanta metro area is served by dozens of local television stations and is the eighth largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 2,387,520 homes (2.0% of the total U.S.).^[86]

Cox Enterprises has substantial media holdings in and beyond Atlanta. Its Cox Communications division is the nation's third-largest cable television service provider;^[87] the company also publishes over a dozen daily newspapers in the United States, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. WSB AM—the flagship station of Cox Radio—was the first broadcast station in the South.

The nation's first cable superstation launched in Atlanta in 1976, WTCG (Channel 17). The station changed its call letters to WTBS in 1979. In 2007, parent Turner Broadcasting System separated the local (WPCH-TV, "Peachtree TV") and national ("TBS") feeds. Based in Atlanta are other Turner properties TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, HLN, truTV, and Turner Classic Movies, as well as NBC Universal's The Weather Channel.

The Atlanta radio market is ranked seventh in the nation by Arbitron, and is home to more than forty radio stations.

Economy

CNN Center

Delta Air Lines headquarters

Atlanta is one of ten U.S. cities classified as an "alpha-world city" by a 2010 study at Loughborough University,^[88] and ranks fourth in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered within city boundaries, behind New York City, Houston, and Dallas.^[89] Several major national and international companies are headquartered in metro Atlanta, including four Fortune 100 companies: The Coca-Cola Company, Home Depot, United Parcel Service, Delta Air Lines, AT&T Mobility, and Newell Rubbermaid. Over 75% of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations. As of 2006 Atlanta Metropolitan Area ranks as the 10th largest cybercity (high-tech center) in the US, with 126,700 high-tech jobs.^[90]

Delta Air Lines is the city's largest employer and the metro area's third largest.^[91] Delta operates the world's largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and, together with the hub of competing carrier AirTran Airways, has helped make Hartsfield-Jackson the world's busiest airport, both in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft operations. The airport, since its construction in the 1950s, has served as a key engine of Atlanta's economic growth.^[92]

The Coca-Cola world headquarters

Federal Reserve Bank in Midtown Atlanta.

Atlanta has a sizable financial sector. SunTrust Banks, the seventh largest bank by asset holdings in the United States,^[93] has its home office on Peachtree Street in downtown.^[94] The Federal Reserve System has a district headquarters in Atlanta; the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which oversees much of the deep South, relocated from downtown to midtown in 2001.^[95] Wachovia announced plans in August 2006 to place its new credit-card division in Atlanta,^[96] and city, state and civic leaders harbor long-term hopes of having the city serve as the home of the secretariat of a future Free Trade Area of the Americas.^[97]

Atlanta's biotechnology sector is growing, gaining recognition through such events as the 2009 BIO International Convention.^[98] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are located adjacent to Atlanta and to the Emory University campus, with a staff of nearly 15,000.^[99] Atlanta is also the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II.

The city is a major cable television programming center. Ted Turner began the Turner Broadcasting System media empire in Atlanta, and established the headquarters of the Cable News Network at CNN Center, adjacent today to Centennial Olympic Park. As his company grew, its other channels centered their operations in Atlanta as well. Turner Broadcasting is a division of Time Warner. In 2008 Tyler Perry established his studios in Southwest Atlanta; and in 2010 EUE/Screen Gems opened soundstages in Lakewood Heights, south Atlanta. (See also: Film industry in Georgia (U.S. state)) The Weather Channel has its offices in the Cumberland district northwest of downtown Atlanta.

Cox Enterprises, headquartered in Sandy Springs, has substantial media holdings in and beyond Atlanta.^[100][101] Its Cox Communications division is the third-largest cable television service provider in the United States.^[102]

Law and government

Atlanta City Hall

Atlanta city seal

Atlanta is governed by a mayor and the Atlanta City Council. The city council consists of 15 representatives—one from each of the city's 12 districts and three at-large positions (a district system superseded the ward system in 1954). The mayor may veto a bill passed by the council, but the council can override the veto with a two-thirds majority.^[103] The mayor of Atlanta is Kasim Reed.

Every mayor elected since 1973 has been black.^[104] In 2001, Shirley Franklin became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Atlanta, and the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major southern city.^[105] Atlanta city politics suffered from a notorious reputation for corruption during the 1990s administration of Bill Campbell, who was convicted by a federal jury in 2006 on three counts of tax evasion in connection with gambling income he received while Mayor during trips he took with city contractors.^[106]

As the state capital, Atlanta is the site of most of Georgia's state government. The Georgia State Capitol building, located downtown, houses the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state, as well as the General Assembly. The Governor's Mansion is located on West Paces Ferry Road, in a residential section of Buckhead. The city has several properties relating to the United States federal government, including the John C. Godbold Federal Building, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, Richard B. Russell Federal Building, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building.^[107] Atlanta also serves as the home of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; Atlanta is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (the Sixth District of the Federal Reserve).

Crime

Crime in Atlanta has been consistently dropping. Between 2001 and 2009 the crime rate in Atlanta dropped by 40 percent, according to the FBI. Homicide fell 57 percent. Rape is down 72 percent. Violent crime overall is down 55 percent. Atlanta’s public safety improvement has occurred at more than twice the rate of the rest of the country. Crime is down across the country, but Atlanta’s improvement has far surpassed the national trend. This relative improvement explains why Atlanta—after ranking in the top five highest crime cities for most of the previous three decades—now ranks 31st. Atlanta has lower crime than Salt Lake City, Orlando and Tacoma, Washington.^[108] The city is served by the Atlanta Police Department, which has an estimated 1,700 officers working in the force. Atlanta is divided into six police zones.

Demographics

The 2010 Census indicates a population of 420,003 – 22.4% lower than 2009 estimates of 540,921.^[109] The difference between the 2010 official count and the 2009 estimates caused some to question the reliability of the 2010 count.^[110] However, Atlanta's daytime population is much larger. According to a 2000 daytime population estimate by the Census Bureau,^[111] over 250,000 more people commuted to Atlanta on any given workday, boosting the city's estimated daytime population to 676,431. This is an increase of 62.4% over Atlanta's resident population, making it the largest gain in daytime population in the country among cities with fewer than 500,000 residents.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,464 and the median income for a family was $59,711. About 21.8% of the population and 17.2% of families lived below the poverty line.^[112]

Race and ethnicity

In 2010, the city of Atlanta was 54.0% black (down from 61.4% in 2000), 36.3% non-Hispanic white (up from 31.3%), 3.1% Asian and 5.2% Hispanic. 8.0% were foreign born, while the metro as a whole was 13.6% foreign-born.^{[113][114][115][116]}

Atlanta is, as of 2010, the nation's 4th largest black-majority city and has long been known as a "black mecca" for its role as a center of black wealth, political power, education, and culture including film and music.^[117] However, the area's African Americans have rapidly suburbanized since 1990. The city's black population shrunk from 2000 to 2010 by 31,678 people, dropping from 61.4% to 54.0% of the population.^{[118][119][119][120]} While blacks exited the city and neighboring DeKalb County, the black population increased sharply in other areas of Metro Atlanta by 93.1%.^[121]

The proportion of whites in the city's population has grown dramatically from 31.3% ^{[note 2]} in 2000 to 36.3% in 2010. Between 2000-2006 the growth was the fastest amongst major cities.^{[note 3][120]} The city has also become relatively more diverse. Blacks and non-Hispanic whites made up 97.1% of the city in 1990, but by 2010 their proportion had shrunk to 90.3%, the Hispanic and Asian proportions having grown. Metro Atlanta as a whole is becoming much more diverse much more quickly - blacks and non-Hispanic whites make up only 83.1% of the population. From 2000 to 2010, the Hispanic population more than doubled to make up over 10% of Metro Atlanta, ^[122] while the Asian population nearly doubled to make up just under 5% of the region's population. Gwinnett County became one of the most diverse counties in the nation.^[123]

Sexual orientation and marital status

The city of Atlanta also has one of the highest LGBT populations per capita. It ranks 3rd of all major cities, behind San Francisco and slightly behind Seattle, with 12.8% of the city's total population recognizing themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.^[124][125]

According to the 2000 United States Census (revised in 2004), Atlanta has the twelfth highest proportion of single-person households nationwide among cities of 100,000 or more residents, which was at 38.5%.^[126]

Education

Main Quad on Emory University's Druid Hills Campus

Part of the Henry W. Grady High School Campus in Midtown Atlanta.

Colleges and universities

The city has more than 30 institutions of higher education, including Emory University, a prominent liberal arts and research institution that has been consistently ranked as a top 20 U.S. school by U.S. News & World Report; Georgia Institute of Technology, a premier research university that has been ranked among the nation's top ten public universities since 1999 by U.S. News & World Report; Georgia State University, a comprehensive public research university located downtown; the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design, a private arts university; a campus of Mercer University; and the Atlanta University Center, the largest contiguous consortium of historically black colleges, comprising Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and the Interdenominational Theological Center; Morris Brown College is a former member.

Notable colleges and universities in Metro Atlanta include Oglethorpe University, Agnes Scott College, a women's college, and Kennesaw State University, the third largest university in Georgia. See List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta for a full listing.

Primary and secondary schools

The public school system (Atlanta Public Schools) is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with interim superintendent Erroll Davis. As of 2007, the system has an active enrollment of 49,773 students, attending a total of 106 schools: including 58 elementary schools (three of which operate on a year-round calendar), 16 middle schools, 20 high schools, and 7 charter schools.^[127] The school system also supports two alternative schools for middle and/or high school students, two single-sex academies, and an adult learning center.^[127] The school system also owns and operates radio station WABE-FM 90.1, a National Public Radio affiliate, and Public Broadcasting Service television station WPBA 30.

Transportation

Air

A concourse at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (IATA: ATL, ICAO: KATL), the world's busiest airport as measured by passenger traffic and by aircraft traffic,^[128] offers air service to over 150 U.S. destinations and more than 80 international destinations in 52 countries, with over 2,700 arrivals and departures daily.^[129] Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways maintain their largest hubs at the airport.^[130][131] Situated 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown, the airport covers most of the land inside a wedge formed by Interstate 75, Interstate 85, and Interstate 285. The MARTA rail system has a station in the airport terminal, and provides direct service to Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and Sandy Springs. The major general aviation airports near the city proper are DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (IATA: PDK, ICAO: KPDK) and Brown Field (IATA: FTY, ICAO: KFTY).

Freeways

With a comprehensive network of freeways that radiate out from the city, Atlantans rely on their cars as the dominant mode of transportation in the region.^[132] Atlanta is mostly encircled by Interstate 285, a beltway locally known as "the Perimeter" which has come to mark the boundary between the city and close-in suburbs ("ITP": Inside The Perimeter) from the outer suburbs and exurbs: ("OTP": Outside The Perimeter).

The Downtown Connector, seen at night in Midtown.

Three major interstate highways converge in Atlanta; I-20 runs east to west across town, I-75 runs from northwest to southeast, and I-85 runs from northeast to southwest. I-75 and I-85 combine to form the Downtown Connector through the middle of the city, carrying more than 340,000 vehicles per day, making it one of the ten most congested segments of interstate highway in the United States.^[133] The intersection of I-85 and I-285 in Doraville is nicknamed Spaghetti Junction.^[134] Metro Atlanta is also approached by Interstates 575, 675, and 985; Georgia 400, 141, and 316; and US 78; all terminate near the Perimeter.

Reliance on cars has resulted in heavy traffic and has helped make Atlanta one of the more polluted cities in the country.^[135] The Clean Air Campaign was created in 1996 to help reduce pollution in metro Atlanta. Since 2008, Metro Atlanta has ranked at or near the top of lists of longest average commute times and worst traffic in the country.^[136]

Public transportation

The Peachtree Center MARTA Station

A 2011 Brookings Institute study placed Atlanta 91st of 100 metro areas for transit accessibility.^[137] A vote is scheduled to take place in Summer 2012 for an extra 1% sales tax ("SPLOST") in Metro Atlanta to fund roads and transit.

Atlanta's subway system, operated by Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), is the eighth busiest in the country.^[138] Feeding into the rail system is MARTA's bus system. the 14th largest in the country. MARTA rail lines connect many key destinations in the area such as the airport, Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter Center, and Decatur. However key central destinations, such as Emory University and Turner Field, remain unserved.

MARTA rail only reaches some of the innermost suburbs in Fulton and DeKalb Counties and does not extend at all into outer counties such as Gwinnett and Cobb; Xpress GA buses connect those areas with central Atlanta.

Cycling in Atlanta

A Downtown Streetcar is under construction and will link Centennial Olympic Park, Peachtree Center and the MLK historic site. Proposed additional streetcar lines would run along portions of the Beltline, Peachtree Street, Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., North Ave., and 17th St.^[139] Proposals also exist for a commuter rail system, MARTA rail line extensions, light rail lines, bus rapid transit, and more suburban express buses.^[140]

Atlanta began as a railroad town, and remains both a major rail junction and home of major classification yards for Norfolk Southern and CSX. Amtrak provides the only remaining passenger service via its daily Crescent service to cities between New Orleans and New York. There are proposals to create a Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal downtown in The Gulch area just west of the Five Points MARTA station, which would link, in a single facility, MARTA bus and rail, intercity bus, proposed commuter rail, and Amtrak services.

Cycling

Cycling is a growing mode of transportation in Atlanta, taking 1.1% of all commutes in 2009, up from 0.3% in 2000,^[141] and organizations like the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition^[142] continue to lobby for increased accessibility to bicyclists. However, heavy automobile traffic, Atlanta's famed hills, the lack of bike lanes on many streets, and difficulty in crossing major streets deter many residents from cycling frequently in Atlanta.^[143] The city's transportation plan calls for the construction of 226 miles of bike lanes by 2020.^[144] The Beltline^[145], which will include multi-use, paved trails, may help the city achieve this goal.^{[citation needed]}

International relations

Diplomatic missions

Atlanta, as the home of 24 general consulates, contains the seventh-highest concentration of diplomatic missions in the United States. Most of the diplomatic missions are located in Buckhead, Midtown, or Peachtree Center. The city is also home to 36 honorary consulates.^[146] In 2011, it was announced that Atlanta would be the host of the next Indian consulate.^[147]

Sister cities

Atlanta has 19 sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):^[148]

Surrounding municipalities

The population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of 8,376 square miles (21,694 km²)—a land area larger than that of Massachusetts.^[151] Because Georgia contains the second highest number of counties in the country,^[152] area residents live under a heavily decentralized collection of governments. As of the 2000 census, fewer than one in twelve residents of the metropolitan area lived inside Atlanta city proper.^[153]

	Marietta	Sandy Springs	Norcross
	Douglasville		Lithonia
		Atlanta
	Columbus	Riverdale	Panthersville

In popular culture

See also Nicknames of Atlanta and Films and TV shows set in Atlanta

Atlanta has numerous nicknames including "Hotlanta", for its hot summers, exciting nightlife, or both; "The ATL", for its airport code; and "The A". The city is the setting for many films, most famously Gone with the Wind. It is also the setting for numerous television shows, including Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns, and for Real Housewives of Atlanta. The nearby CDC is often mentioned in fiction novels.

See also

	Atlanta portal
	Georgia (U.S. state) portal

• Urban forest
• List of people from Atlanta

Footnotes

Notes

References

• Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events: Years of Change and Challenge, 1940–1976 by Franklin M. Garrett, Harold H. Martin
• Atlanta, Then and Now. Part of the Then and Now book series.
• Craig, Robert (1995). Atlanta Architecture: Art Deco to Modern Classic, 1929–1959. Gretna, LA: Pelican. ISBN 0-88289-961-9. 
• Darlene R. Roth and Andy Ambrose. Metropolitan Frontiers: A short history of Atlanta. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. An overview of the city's history with an emphasis on its growth.
• Sjoquist, Dave (ed.) The Atlanta Paradox. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2000.
• Stone, Clarence. Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. University Press of Kansas. 1989.
• Elise Reid Boylston. Atlanta: Its Lore, Legends and Laughter. Doraville: privately printed, 1968. Lots of neat anecdotes about the history of the city.
• Frederick Allen. Atlanta Rising. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. A detailed history of Atlanta from 1946 to 1996, with much about City Councilman, later Mayor, William B. Hartsfield's work in making Atlanta a major air transport hub, and about the American Civil Rights Movement as it affected (and was affected by) Atlanta.

External links

Find more about Atlanta on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Official Website
• Atlanta Department of Watershed Management
• Atlanta Police Department
• Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia
• Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive Digital Library of Georgia
• Atlanta Time Machine
• Atlanta travel guide from Wikitravel
• Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

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Candler Park Druid Hills East Atlanta East Lake Edgewood Glenwood Park Kirkwood Lake Claire North Ormewood Park Ormewood Park Villages of East Lake South/Southeast Benteen Park Boulevard Heights Capitol Gateway Chosewood Park High Point Joyland Lakewood Heights Peoplestown South Atlanta Summerhill Villages at Carver Southwest Adair Park Adamsville Ashley Collegetown Ashley Courts Ben Hill Capitol View Capitol View Manor Cascade Heights Collier Heights Fort McPherson Greenbriar Hunter Hills Just Us Mechanicsville Oakland City Perkerson Peyton Forest Pittsburgh Summerdale Commons Sylvan Hills Venetian Hills Villages of Castleberry Hill West End Westview Northwest Bankhead The Bluff Carey Park Center Hill English Avenue Grove Park Hunter Hills Mozley Park Riverside Scotts Crossing Vine City Washington Park West Highlands West Lake Whittier Mill Village Related topics Demolished public housing projects Former neighborhoods, districts and settlements Mixed-income communities Landmarks List by area Table by population Category Portal v d e Atlanta landmarks v d e Current Commercial Atlantic Station · AmericasMart · Briarcliff Hotel · Briarcliff Plaza · Clermont Lounge · Lenox Square · Mary Mac's Tea Room · Phipps Plaza · Ponce City Market (Sears Building/City Hall East) · Underground Atlanta · The Varsity Governmental Atlanta City Hall · Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building · Federal Penitentiary · Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta · Georgia Governor's Mansion · Georgia State Capitol Industrial DuPre Excelsior Mill (Masquerade) · Ford Factory · Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills · Georgia Railroad Freight Depot · E. Van Winkle Gin and Machine Works (Goat Farm Arts Center) · King Plow Arts Center Monuments Atlanta from the Ashes (The Phoenix) · Carnegie Education Pavilion · Millennium Gate · Oakland Cemetery · Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial · World Athletes Monument Museums Apex Museum · Atlanta Contemporary Art Center · Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum · Atlanta History Center · Callanwolde Fine Arts Center · Delta Heritage Museum · Fernbank Museum of Natural History · Fernbank Science Center · Hammonds House Museum · High Museum of Art · Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta · Jimmy Carter Library and Museum · Joel Chandler Harris House (Wren's Nest) · King Plow Arts Center · Margaret Mitchell House & Museum · Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site · Michael C. Carlos Museum · Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia · Museum of Design Atlanta · Rhodes Memorial Hall House Museum · Robert C. Williams Paper Museum · William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum · World of Coca-Cola Parks and gardens Atlanta Botanical Garden · BeltLine · Stone Mountain · Centennial Olympic Park · Chastain Park · Chattahoochee River · Fernbank Forest · Georgia Aquarium · Grant Park · Historic Fourth Ward Park · Zoo Atlanta · Piedmont Park · Woodruff Park Performing Arts Alliance Theatre · Atlanta Symphony Hall · Atlanta Civic Center · Buckhead Theatre · Center for Puppetry Arts · Center Stage · Eyedrum · Fox Theatre · Goat Farm Arts Center · King Plow Arts Center · Plaza Theatre · Shakespeare Tavern · The Masquerade · The Tabernacle · Tara Theatre · Variety Playhouse · Woodruff Arts Center Residential (Former) Asa G. Candler, Jr. (Callanwolde) · Water T. Candler (Lullwater) · Joel Chandler Harris (Wren's Nest) · Edward H. Inman (Swan House) · Martin Luther King, Jr. · Ferdinand McMillan (The Castle) · Margaret Mitchell · Edward C. Peters (Ivy Hall) · Amos Giles Rhodes (Rhodes Hall) · Rufus M. Rose Skyscrapers Downtown (pre-WWII) Candler (1906) · Flatiron (1897) · Healey (1914) · Hurt (1926) · J. Mack Robinson (Empire) (1901) · The Metropolitan (1911) · Rhodes-Haverty (1929) · Southern Bell (1929) · William-Oliver (1930) · Winecoff Hotel (1913) · Downtown (post-WWII) 25 Park Place (Trust Company of Georgia) · 55 Marietta Street (Fulton National Bank) · 191 Peachtree Tower · Centennial Tower · Equitable · Georgia Power · Georgia-Pacific Tower · Hyatt Regency Atlanta · Marriott Marquis · One Park Tower (IBM Tower) · Peachtree Center · Peachtree Summit · State of Georgia Building · SunTrust Plaza · TWELVE Centennial Park · Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel · Midtown 12th & Midtown (1010 Midtown · 10 Sixty Five Midtown · 1075 Peachtree) · 1100 Peachtree · 1180 Peachtree · 1280 West · AT&T Midtown Center · Atlantic Center Plaza · Atlantic Station (171 17th Street · The Atlantic) · Bank of America Plaza · The Campanile · Coca-Cola · Colony Square · CNN Center · Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta/GLG Grand · Georgian Terrace Hotel · Mayfair Condominiums · One Atlantic Center · Promenade II · Spire · ViewPoint · Buckhead 2828 Peachtree · 3344 Peachtree · 3630 Peachtree  · Atlanta Plaza · Buckhead Grand · Mansion on Peachtree · Paramount at Buckhead · Park Avenue Condominiums · Park Place · The Pinnacle · Realm · Resurgens Plaza · Terminus · Tower Place Perimeter Center Concourse Corporate Center V & VI (King & Queen towers) · Park Towers I & II · Three Ravinia Drive Sports Bobby Dodd Stadium · Georgia Dome · Philips Arena · Turner Field   Former 688 Club · Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium · Atlanta (Confederate) Rolling Mill · Atlantic Steel Mill · Coca-Cola Olympic City · DeGive's Opera House · Equitable Building (1892) · 3rd Georgia Governor's Mansion (John H. James mansion) · Henry Grady Hotel · Kimball House · Loew's Grand Theatre · Masonic Temple · National Museum of Patriotism · Omni Coliseum · Piedmont Hotel · Ponce de Leon amusement park · Ponce de Leon Park (ballpark) · Ponce de Leon Springs · Rich's · Riverbend Apartments · Roxy Theatre · SciTrek · State Square · Terminal Station · Turner Broadcasting tower · Union Stations: 1853 · 1871 · 1930   Planned Atlanta Symphony Center · Center for Civil & Human Rights v d e Municipalities and communities of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States County seat: Decatur Cities Atlanta‡ Avondale Estates Chamblee Clarkston Decatur Doraville Dunwoody Lithonia Pine Lake Stone Mountain CDPs Belvedere Park Candler-McAfee Druid Hills Gresham Park North Atlanta (Brookhaven) North Decatur North Druid Hills Panthersville Redan Scottdale Tucker Unincorporated communities Embry Hills Lenox Park Northlake Pittsburg Smoke Rise Vista Grove Ghost town Constitution Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties v d e Municipalities and communities of Fulton County, Georgia, United States County seat: Atlanta Cities Alpharetta Atlanta‡ Chattahoochee Hills College Park‡ East Point Fairburn Hapeville Johns Creek Milton Mountain Park‡ Palmetto‡ Roswell Sandy Springs Union City Unincorporated communities Campbellton Hopewell Red Oak Sandtown Serenbe Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties v d e  State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) Topics Index Geology History Delegations Government Governors Culture People Music Elections Politics Geography State Parks Demographics Economy Sports Visitor Attractions Regions Atlantic coastal plain Blue Ridge Lower Coastal Plain Cumberland Plateau The Golden Isles Historic South Metro Atlanta Central Georgia North Georgia Mountains Piedmont Ridge and Valley Sea Islands Southern Rivers Tennessee Valley Wiregrass Region Largest cities Albany Atlanta Athens Augusta Columbus Johns Creek Macon Marietta Roswell Valdosta Savannah Warner Robins Counties Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley 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Hagåtña MP Saipan PR San Juan VI Charlotte Amalie 1 Federal capital. v d e 50 most populous cities of the United States     New York Los Angeles Chicago Houston Philadelphia Phoenix San Antonio San Diego Dallas San Jose Jacksonville Indianapolis San Francisco Austin Columbus Fort Worth Charlotte Detroit El Paso Memphis Baltimore Boston Seattle Washington Nashville Denver Louisville Milwaukee Portland Las Vegas Oklahoma City Albuquerque Tucson Fresno Sacramento Long Beach Kansas City Mesa Virginia Beach Atlanta Colorado Springs Omaha Raleigh Miami Cleveland Tulsa Oakland Minneapolis Wichita Arlington (2010 United States Census Bureau) v d e Summer Olympic Games host cities 1896: Athens 1900: Paris 1904: St. Louis 1908: London 1912: Stockholm 1920: Antwerp 1924: Paris 1928: Amsterdam 1932: Los Angeles 1936: Berlin 1940: cancelled 1944: cancelled 1948: London 1952: Helsinki 1956: Melbourne 1960: Rome 1964: Tokyo 1968: Mexico City 1972: Munich 1976: Montreal 1980: Moscow 1984: Los Angeles 1988: Seoul 1992: Barcelona 1996: Atlanta 2000: Sydney 2004: Athens 2008: Beijing 2012: London 2016: Rio de Janeiro v d e Summer Paralympic Games host cities 1960: Rome 1964: Tokyo 1968: Tel Aviv 1972: Heidelberg 1976: Toronto 1980: Arnhem 1984: Stoke Mandeville/New York 1988: Seoul 1992: Barcelona 1996: Atlanta 2000: Sydney 2004: Athens 2008: Beijing 2012: London 2016: Rio de Janeiro v d e Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Georgia     Kasim Reed (Atlanta) Deke Copenhaver (Augusta) Teresa Tomlinson (Columbus) Otis Johnson (Savannah) Nancy Denson (Athens) Other states AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY v d e 50 most populous places of Georgia (U.S. state)     Atlanta Augusta[a] Columbus[a] Savannah Athens[a] Sandy Springs Macon Roswell Albany Johns Creek Warner Robins Alpharetta Marietta Valdosta Smyrna Dunwoody Brookhaven Mableton Rome Martinez Peachtree City Gainesville East Point Hinesville Dalton Newnan Redan Milton Douglasville Kennesaw LaGrange Evans Lawrenceville Statesboro Tucker Duluth Stockbridge Carrollton Woodstock Griffin Candler-McAfee Canton McDonough Acworth Cartersville Union City Decatur Pooler North Druid Hills Sugar Hill ^ a b c Augusta, Columbus, and Athens are consolidated city-counties, but have independent municipalities within them, so the balance is used here. (2010 U.S. Census Bureau)