Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, is the largest transportation, commercial and financial center in the southeastern United States. In 1992, Atlanta was ranked as the 13th largest city with the largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a total population of 3,200,000. The city has an area of about 340 square kilometers, and is located at an altitude of 310 meters. Atlanta is located in the central eastern part of the state of Georgia, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, 320 kilometers northwest of the Atlantic Ocean and 440 kilometers north of the Gulf of Mexico and enjoys a temperate climate.
The downtown Atlanta neighborhood is called Five Points. East of downtown is the African American neighborhood, Sweet Auburn. North of Sweet Auburn is the center of college life in Atlanta, Little Five Points. To the north is Midtown, the shopping and nightlife area. The West End, the west of the city, is the oldest area. Finally, the Olympic stadium and Grant Park are located respectively south and southeast of the center.
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During the 1970s, the MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) network was created. MARTA trains bring thousands of people from the city to their workplaces every day. Hartsfield International Airport is among the busiest in the nation. The city is also traversed by several major interstate highways, such as 20, 75, and 85, and is surrounded by Interstate 285, which provides a fast route for those not planning to travel through the city. It also counts on the Georgia Highway number 400, fast access to the north area.
Atlanta was known for a long time as the “Capital of the New South” and was the site of the Olympic Games in 1996. In recent years it has seen its economy grow a lot.
History– The history of Atlanta is connected with that of the railroad, built in the 1830s, which transformed it into the communications center of the southern United States. Its strategic location gave it importance and was, in large part, the main factor that made it a target of General Sherman’s Union Army, which razed it to the ground during the Civil War. The devastation caused by the army became the subject of a Hollywood film that went down in history, Gone with the Wind. With its reconstruction came the era of strict segregation, an era that lasted several decades. The efforts of many of its inhabitants, however, made it a great city, known as the ”
Since the city was rebuilt after the Civil War, downtown Atlanta has undergone numerous transformations as it developed and is now a modern metropolis.
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TOURIST SITES AND MONUMENTS (WHAT TO SEE)
The Capitol: one of the most beautiful historic buildings, dates back to 1889 and has a large dome.
National Historic District Fairlie-Poplar, was the commercial center of the city a century ago. It has some buildings built between 1880 and the First World War. CNN is based in this neighborhood.
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site – At the center of a long tank next to a perennial flame, the tomb of Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. The tank is located inside the Center for Nonviolent Social Change, also equipped with a gallery where portraits and his personal objects are exhibited. Also nearby is the authentic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr, his father and grandfather preached. Martin Luther’s birthplace is to the east, down the street, while opposite is the National Park Service Visitor Center, which houses portraits and objects on the city’s role in the struggle for civil rights.
Sweet Auburn: For decades, this neighborhood was the black zone of Atlanta, a city within a city where African Americans created their own institutions, and were excluded from white Atlanta. During the 1940s a building divided the neighborhood radically cutting it in half, and it became the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of its blocks date back to the 1920s and some churches, homes and commercial buildings are still in good condition. Martin Luther King’s birthplace became a nearby museum at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, preaching this internationally known character. You can also visit his tomb.
Grant Park, located in the south, within this area, the park offers a great multimedia experience: the Cyclorama Atlanta, which shows a large circular painting, depicting the battle of Atlanta, which completely surrounds the audience with a show of sounds and lights, and a voice that tells what you are contemplating.
The zoo, located south of the park, features a naturalistic habitat, which include an African jungle and a Sumatran tiger.
Buckhead, it is a commercial district with luxury hotels, restaurants and shopping centers and some of the best buildings in the city. Here is the railway station built in 1917, the Brookwood Railway Station. Also in this district is the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Historic Downtown Atlanta is one of the best in the whole country. Here is the Atlanta History Museum which offers excellent exhibits spanning the city’s 150-year history.
Stone Mountain Park, is a park of about 3,200 hectares, the park is, at the same time, a recreational, amusement and educational park.
American Adventures, an amusement park for children, is particularly aimed at children under twelve.
Atlanta History Center, The center houses a museum and two historic houses. Materials exhibited illustrate pre-war daily life and the African American community in the city. Contrasting examples of rural and urban life are presented in the two houses.
Six Flags Over Georgia: is an amusement park, with shops and restaurants.
Fernbank Museum of Natural History, a very interesting natural science museum, offers natural history exhibits on topics from plate tectonics to dinosaurs. Locally, it illustrates the diverse ecosystems of Georgia, such as the Appalachian forest, the coastal plain.
The World of Coca-Cola(The World of Coca Cola) The largest collection of Coca-Cola related items is exhibited here.
The High Museum of Art is located in the arts district, behind a colorful sculpture by Alexander Calder in a very modern structure by Richard Meier. The museum has doubled the space by adding the building and the square designed by Renzo Piano.
Masquerade Entertainment Complex: a shopping and entertainment complex.
Use number ad Atlanta
Ambulance
Hospital 911
Piedmont Hospital
Tel: (404) 605-5000, see 1968 Peachtree Road NW Atlanta, GA 30309
Emory University Hospital
Tel: (404) 712-2000, see
1364 Clifton Road NE Atlanta, GA 30322
Atlanta Medical Center
Tel: (404) 265-3521
315 NE Boulevard Atlanta, GA 30312
Atlanta Police, tel: 404-853-3434,
City data
Inhabitants – 460,000 approximately
5,400,000 metropolitan area
Surface – 340 sq km
Prefix 404 – 678 – 770
