Atlanta (pronounced /ətˈlæntə/ or /ætˈlæntə/ ) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
With a 2008 estimated population of 537,958, Atlanta is the thirty-third largest city in the United States, and the 28-county Atlanta Metropolitan Area is the eighth largest such region in the United States, and the largest in the Southeastern U.S. with more than 5,376,285 residents. The Atlanta Combined Statistical Area, home to 5,729,304 people, is the tenth largest in the country.
Considered a top business city and transportation hub, Atlanta is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, AT&T Mobility, and Delta Air Lines. The surrounding area contains additional corporate headquarters, including Home Depot and UPS. Atlanta has the country's third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies along with Chicago inside city boundaries, and more than 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is located seven miles south of downtown Atlanta, is the world's busiest airport and the only major airport to serve the city.
Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County and the fifth location for the seat of government of the state of Georgia. A small portion of the city of Atlanta corporate limits extends into DeKalb County. Residents of the city are known as Atlantans.
History
Main article: History of AtlantaSee also: Atlanta in the Civil WarThe land constituting the city of Atlanta was once a Native American village called Standing Peachtree. The land that became the Atlanta area was taken from the Cherokee and Creeks by white settlers in 1822, with the first area settlement being Decatur.
On December 21, 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad to provide a trade route to the Midwestern United States. Following the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation between 1838 and 1839 the newly depopulated area was opened for the construction of a railroad. The area around the eastern terminus to the line began to develop first, and so the settlement was named "Terminus" in 1837. It was nicknamed Thrasherville after John Thrasher, who built homes and a general store there. By 1842, the settlement had six buildings and 30 residents and the town was renamed "Marthasville". The Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, J. Edgar Thomson, suggested that the area be renamed "Atlantica-Pacifica", which was quickly shortened to "Atlanta". The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847. By 1854, another railroad connected Atlanta to LaGrange, and the town grew to 9,554 by 1860.
During the American Civil War, Atlanta served as an important railroad and military supply hub. In 1864, the city became the target of a major Union invasion. 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 T. Sherman and ordered all public buildings and possible Confederate assets destroyed. The next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city, and on September 7 Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate. He then ordered Atlanta burned to the ground on November 11 in preparation for his march south, though he spared the city's churches and hospitals.
The rebuilding of the city was gradual. From 1867 until 1888, U.S. Army soldiers occupied McPherson Barracks in southwest Atlanta to ensure Reconstruction era reforms. To help the newly freed slaves, the Freedmen's Bureau worked in tandem with a number of freedmen's aid organizations, especially the American Missionary Association. 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", one built on a modern economy, less reliant on agriculture. However, as Atlanta grew, ethnic and racial tensions mounted. The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 left at least 27 dead and over 70 injured.
On December 15, 1939, Atlanta hosted the premiere of Gone with the Wind , the movie based on Atlanta-born Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of the same name. Stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Olivia de Havilland attended the gala, which was held at Loew's Grand Theatre, now destroyed. The reception was held at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, which is still standing.
During World War II, manufacturing such as the Bell Aircraft factory in the suburb of Marietta helped boost the city's population and economy. Shortly after the war, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was founded in Atlanta. The recption that followed was held at the
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. On October 12, 1958, a Reform Jewish temple on Peachtree Street was bombed; the synagogue's rabbi, Jacob Rothschild, was an outspoken advocate of integration. A group of anti-Semitic white supremacists calling themselves the "Confederate Underground" claimed responsibility.
In the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing center of the Civil Rights Movement, as Dr. Martin Luther King and students from Atlanta's historically black colleges and universities played major roles in the movement's leadership. Two of the most important civil rights organizations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, had their national headquarters in Atlanta. Despite some racial protests during the Civil Rights era, Atlanta's political and business leaders labored to foster Atlanta's image as "the city too busy to hate". In 1961, Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of his city's public schools.
African-American Atlantans demonstrated growing political influence with election of the first African-American mayor in 1973. They became a majority in the city during the late 20th century but suburbanization, rising prices, a booming economy and new migrants have decreased their percentage in the city from a high of 66.8 percent in 1990 to about 54 percent in 2004. The addition of new immigrants such as Latinos and Asians is also altering city demographics, along with an influx of white residents.
In 1990, Atlanta was selected as the site for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation. Atlanta became the third American city to host the Summer Olympics. The games themselves were marred by numerous organizational inefficiencies, as well as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
Contemporary Atlanta is sometimes considered to be an archetype for cities experiencing rapid growth and urban sprawl. Unlike most major cities, metropolitan Atlanta does not have any natural boundaries, such as an ocean, lakes, or mountains, that might constrain growth.
The city has recently been commended by bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency for its eco-friendly policies. In 2009, Atlanta's Virginia-Highland became the first carbon-neutral zone in the United States. Verus Carbon Neutral developed the partnership that links 17 merchants of the historic Corner Virginia-Highland shopping and dining neighborhood retail district, through the Chicago Climate Exchange, to directly fund the Valley Wood Carbon Sequestration Project (thousands of acres of forest in rural Georgia).
Geography
Topography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 343.0 km 2 (132.4 sq mi). 341.2 km 2 (131.7 sq mi) of it is land and 1.8 km 2 (1 sq mi) of it is water. The total area is 0.51% water. At about 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level (the airport is at 1,010 feet (308 m)), Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River. Atlanta has the second highest average elevation of any major city east of Denver, after Pittsburgh.
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 th
eBay - Christmas Modern 1946-90, Holiday Seasonal, Collectibles ...
Reviews & Guides >Collectibles >Holiday & Seasonal >Christmas: Modern (1946-90) ... Vintage Christmas Ornaments - Facts and Fiction I am a vintage Christmas addict to put it ...
Christmas: Vintage (Pre-1946) Decorations For Sale | Used Christmas ...
Christmas: Vintage (Pre-1946) for sale, buy Christmas: Vintage (Pre-1946) Christmas ... Christmas: Modern (1946-90) Christmas: Vintage (Pre-1946) Angel Figures
Christmas: Modern (1946-90) Decorations For Sale | Used Christmas ...
Christmas: Modern (1946-90) for sale, buy Christmas: Modern (1946-90) Christmas ... Wreaths; Christmas: Vintage (Pre-1946) Navigation: Home; Contact; Privacy; Sitemap
Vintage, great deals on Christmas Modern 1946-90, Christmas Vintage ...
Buy Vintage, Christmas Modern 1946-90 on eBay. Find great deals on Christmas Vintage Pre-1946, Christmas Current 1991-Now and get what you want now!
Christmas HQ - Christmas: Modern (1946-90), Christmas and Holiday
Find New & Used Christmas: Modern (1946-90), Christmas and Holiday on Christmas HQ ... LOT 6 vintage single light Christmas Window CANDELABRA: 1 $5.00: 20m
Candy Cane Facts Christmas Store - Christmas: Modern (1946-90 ...
Find New & Used Christmas: Modern (1946-90), Holiday, Seasonal on Candy Cane Facts Christmas Store ... Lot of 9 Vintage Round Christmas Light Bulbs Iced-$9.99: 15m
Artificial Trees, Christmas: Modern (1946-90) at Holiday Way
Artificial Trees, Christmas: Modern (1946-90). All you need for every holiday - Christmas, Halloween, July 4th ... Vintage Christmas Feather Tree 12" Usa Zone Germany $21.50: Vintage ...
Garlands, Christmas: Modern (1946-90) at Gifts Occasions
Garlands, Christmas: Modern (1946-90). Feature unique gifts and supplies for ... LOT OF MODERN / VINTAGE CHRISTMAS GARLAND SCRAP US $5.99: VTG PINK MERCURY GLASS BEAD CHRISTMAS ...
eBay – christmas shop, santa claus ornament and santa claus ...
Holiday & Seasonal >Christmas: Modern (1946-90) >Search results ... Buy from eBay Top-rated sellers and get excellent ... Vintage Christmas corsage sugar bells mercury glass
Bells, Christmas: Modern (1946-90) at Holiday Way
Bells, Christmas: Modern (1946-90). All you need for every holiday - Christmas, Halloween ... Merri-Bells Jasco Vintage Christmas Bell Girl Kitty Nwt $1.88: Lefton Christmas Tree ...