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Atlanta Georgia Overview
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Atlanta, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the state of Georgia in the United States. It is the county seat of Fulton County, although a portion of the city (the 1909 annexation) extends into DeKalb County. According to the July 2005 census estimate, the city has a population of 470,688 and a metropolitan population of 4,917,717, making it the 35th largest city and 9th largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of July 1, 2005, Atlanta's combined statistical area (CSA) is estimated to have a population of 5,249,121. Atlanta is the largest of three principal cities, both by population and geographical area, of and included in the
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Georgia-Alabama (part) Combined Statistical Area. Atlanta is encompassed by Interstate 285, locally known as the Perimeter, which has come to delineate the interior of the city from the surrounding suburbs. As a result, terms such as ITP (Inside The Perimeter) and OTP (Outside The Perimeter) have arisen to describe area neighborhoods, residents, and businesses. The Perimeter plays a social and geographical role similar to that of Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) around Washington, DC.
Post World War II, Atlanta has become considered the Gateway to the New South or Capital of the New South. Today, Atlanta is one of the most important economic centers in the Southern United States, and it is considered a Gamma world city. With a rich history and a large population, Atlanta has long served as a major cultural and economic center.
The city of Atlanta has undergone several major incarnations. Originally a "railroad boomtown" that became a focal point of the Civil War, Atlanta was largely destroyed in 1864 by Union general William T. Sherman. The city later emerged from the ashes (hence the city's symbol, the phoenix) to become the postwar capital of Georgia in 1868 and a symbol of the "New South." While Atlanta's business leaders focused on making Atlanta a Southern version of New York and Chicago, the city served as a dean of Southern culture, and was the setting for much of Margaret Mitchell's most famous novel Gone With the Wind. During the Civil
Rights Movement, Atlanta stood apart from other Southern cities which supported segregation, and became known as the "City Too Busy to Hate." The city's progressive Civil Rights record made it increasingly popular with black people, and the black population formed a majority by 1972. This has led to African-Americans becoming the dominant political force in the city. Since 1974, all of the mayors of Atlanta have been African-American, in addition to the majority of the city's fire chiefs, police chiefs, and other high-profile government officials. "White flight" from the city in the 1970's and 1980's (the city's
population dropped by more than 100,000 from 1970 to 1990) has been reversed, however, since 1990, and the black majority has dropped from 69% in 1980 to 61% in 2000. The city is becoming increasingly diverse, although it remains politically black, with a majority-white business class.
Common colloquialisms for the city include A Town, The A-T-L (derived from its IATA airport code), Hotlanta, and The A'. It is common for those unfamiliar with Atlanta to associate it with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The international airport is the busiest in the world in terms of passenger traffic, due in part to it being the major airline hub of Delta Air Lines.
History
The region where Atlanta and its suburbs were built was originally Creek and Cherokee Native American territory. The Creek land in the eastern part of the metro area (including Decatur) was opened to white settlement in 1823. In 1835, leaders of the Cherokee nation ceded their land to the government in exchange for land out west under the Treaty of New Echota, an act that eventually led to the Trail of Tears. In 1836 the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad to provide a trade route to the Midwest, with the area around Atlanta--then called Terminus--serving as the terminal. The terminus was originally planned for Decatur,
but its citizens did not want it. Besides Decatur, several other suburbs of Atlanta predate the city by several years, including Marietta and Lawrenceville, GA. Terminus grew as a railroad town; later it was renamed Marthasville after then-Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Marthasville was renamed Atlanta in 1845 (a feminized version of Atlantic suggested by J. Edgar Thomson) and was incorporated as such in 1847.
In 1864, the city became the target of a major Union invasion (the subject of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind). The area now covered by Atlanta was the scene of several battles, including the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Battle of Atlanta, and the Battle of Ezra Church. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta after a four-month siege mounted by Union General William Sherman and ordered all public buildings and possible union assets destroyed. The next day, mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city, and on September 7 Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate. His forces occupied the city for several months, and
he then ordered Atlanta burned to the ground on November 11 in preparation for his punitive march south. After a plea by Father Thomas O'Reilly of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sherman did not burn the city's churches or hospitals. The remaining war resources were then destroyed in the aftermath and in Sherman's March to the Sea. The fall of Atlanta was a critical point in the Civil War, giving the North more confidence, and (along with the Battle of Mobile Bay) leading to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy.
After the war, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt and soon became the industrial and commercial center of the South. From 1867 until 1888, U.S. Army soldiers occupied McPherson Barracks (later renamed Fort McPherson) in southwest Atlanta to ensure Reconstruction era reforms. To help the newly freed slaves, the federal government set up a Freedmen's Bureau, which helped establish what is now Clark Atlanta University, one of several historically black colleges in Atlanta. In 1868, Atlanta became the fifth city to serve as the state capital. Henry W. Grady, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution, promoted the city to investors as a city of the "New
South", by which he meant a diversification of the economy away from agriculture and a shift from the "Old South" attitudes of slavery and rebellion. As part of the effort to modernize the South, Grady and many others also supported the creation of the Georgia School of Technology (now the Georgia Institute of Technology), which was founded on the city's northern outskirts in 1885.
As Atlanta grew, ethnic and racial tensions mounted. The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 left at least 27 dead and over seventy injured. In 1913, Leo Frank, a Jewish supervisor at an Atlanta factory, was put on trial for raping and murdering a thirteen-year old white employee. After doubts about Frank's guilt led his death sentence to be commuted in 1915, riots broke out in Atlanta and Frank was lynched.
In the 1930s, the Great Depression hit Atlanta. With the city government nearing bankruptcy, the Coca-Cola Company had to help bail out the city's deficit. The federal government stepped in to help Atlantans by establishing Techwood Homes, the nation's first federal housing project in 1935. With the entry of the United States into World War II, soldiers from around the Southeastern United States went through Atlanta to train and later be discharged at Fort McPherson. War-related manufacturing such as the Bell Aircraft factory in the suburb of Marietta helped boost the city's population and economy. Shortly after the war in 1946, the Communicable
Disease Center, later called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was founded in Atlanta from the old Malaria Control in War Areas offices and staff.
In 1951, the city received the All-America City Award, due to its rapid growth and high standard of living in the southern U.S.
In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, which helped usher in the Civil Rights Movement, racial tensions in Atlanta began to express themselves in acts of violence. For example, on October 12, 1958, a Reform Jewish temple on Peachtree Street was bombed. The "Confederate Underground" claimed responsibility. Many believed that Jews, especially those from the northeast, were advocates of the Civil Rights Movement.
In the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing center of the US Civil Rights Movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King and students from Atlanta's historically black colleges and universities playing major roles in the movement's leadership. On October 19, 1960, a sit-in at the lunch counters of several Atlanta department stores led to the arrest of Dr. King and several students, drawing attention from the national media and from presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. Despite this incident, Atlanta's political and business leaders fostered Atlanta's image as "the city too busy to hate". In 1961, Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the
few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of Atlanta's public schools. While the city mostly avoided confrontation, small race riots did occur in 1965 and in 1968.
In 1990, the International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the site for the Centennial Olympic Games 1996 Summer Olympics. Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation. Former Mayor Bill Campbell allowed many "tent cities" to be built, creating a carnival atmosphere around the games. Atlanta became the first American capital city to host the Olympics. The games themselves were a wonderful achievement in sports, but they were marred by numerous organizational inefficiencies as well as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which resulted
in the death of two people and injured several others. Much later it was determined that the bombing was carried out by North Carolinian Eric Robert Rudolph as an anti-government and pro-life protest.
Geography
At about 1050 feet or 320 meters above mean sea level (the airport is 1010 feet), Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River. Amongst the 25 largest MSAs, Atlanta is the fourth-highest in elevation, slightly lower than Pittsburgh (the city itself is higher than downtown Pittsburgh, however) and Phoenix, but significantly lower than Denver (1 mile or 1,600 m).
According to folklore, its central avenue, Peachtree Street, runs through the center of the city on the Eastern Continental Divide. In actuality, the divide line enters Atlanta from the southwest, proceeding to downtown. From downtown, the divide line runs eastward along DeKalb Avenue and the CSX rail lines through Decatur. 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.
The latter is via the Chattahoochee River, 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.
Climate
Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate, (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with hot, humid summers and mild winters by the standards of the U.S.
The summers are hot and humid, with afternoon highs peaking at about 90°F (32°C) in late July. Temperatures can also exceed 100F (38C) in a major heat wave. The highest temperature recorded in the city is 105F (40.6C), reached on July 13 and July 17, 1980. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 52F (11C), and low of 34F (1C). An average year sees frost on 48 days; snowfall averages 2 inches (5 centimeters) annually. The heaviest single storm brought 10 inches on January 23, 1940.[2] The lowest temperature recorded in the city is -9F (-22C), reached on 13 February 1899, and it has reached below zero several times in the 1980s and
1990s. The frequent ice storms can cause more problems than snow; the most severe such storm may have occurred on January 7, 1973. Also during winter, warm air can flow from the Gulf of Mexico, raising temperatures as high as 80F (27C).
Like the rest of the Southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. Average annual rainfall is 50.5 inches (127 centimeters).
Attractions, events, and recreation
Atlanta boasts a variety of museums on subjects ranging from history to fine arts, natural history, and beverages. Prominent among them are sites honoring Atlanta's participation in the civil rights movement. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in the city, and his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Meetings with other civil rights leaders, including Hosea Williams and current Congressman John Lewis, often happened at Paschal's, a diner and motor inn which was a favorite for "colored" people, banned from "white" restaurants in an
era of racial segregation and intolerance. King's final resting place is in the tomb at the center of the reflecting pool at the King Center.
Other history museums and attractions include the Atlanta History Center; the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum (a huge painting and diorama in-the-round, with a rotating central audience platform, that depicts the Battle of Atlanta in the Civil War); the Carter Center and Presidential Library; historic house museum Rhodes Hall; and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum.
The arts are represented by several theaters and museums, including the Fox Theatre. The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony, High Museum of Art, and Atlanta College of Art. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is the city's home for challenging contemporary art and education geared toward working artists and collectors of art. Museums geared specifically towards children include the Fernbank Science Center and Imagine It! Atlanta's Children's Museum. The High Museum of Art is the city's major fine/visual arts venue, with a significant permanent collection and an assortment of traveling exhibitions. The
Atlanta Opera, which was founded in 1979 by members of two struggling local companies, is arguably the most important opera company in the southeastern United States and enjoys a growing audience and international reputation.
Atlanta features the world's largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, which officially opened to the public on November 23, 2005. The aquarium features over 100,000 specimens in tanks holding approximately eight million gallons of water. One unique museum is the World of Coca-Cola featuring the history of the world famous soft drink brand and its well-known advertising. Adjacent is Underground Atlanta, a historic shopping and entertainment complex situated under the streets of downtown Atlanta. In addition the Atlantic Station, a huge new urban renewal project on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, officially opened in October of 2005. While not a
museum per se, The Varsity is the main branch of the long-lived fast food chain, featured as the world's largest drive-in restaurant.
The heart of the city's festivals is Piedmont Park. In 1887, a group of prominent Atlantans purchased 189 acres (0.76 km²) of farmland to build a horse racing track, later developed into the site of the Cotton States International Exposition of 1895. In 1904, the city council purchased the land for US$99,000, and today it is the largest park in metro Atlanta, with more than 2.5 million visitors each year. The grounds were part of the Battle of Peachtree Creek - a Confederate division occupied the northern edge on July 20, 1864 as part of the outer defense line against Sherman's approach. Next to the park is the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Zoo
Atlanta, with a panda exhibit, is in Grant Park.
Just east of the city, Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world. On its face are giant carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. It is also the site of impressive laser shows in the summer. A few miles west of Atlanta on I-20 is the Six Flags Over Georgia Theme Park, which opened near the city in 1967, and was the second theme park in the Six Flags chain.
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