Downtown Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta
—  District  —
Part of the Downtown Atlanta skyline
Downtown Atlanta Location in Metro Atlanta
Coordinates: 33°45′18″N 84°23′24″W
Elevation	225-320 m (738-1,050 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	23,300 (approximately)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

Downtown Atlanta is the historic business district of Atlanta. Downtown is the largest of the city's three commercial districts, and is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting venues, and most of Atlanta's tourist attrations. Downtown measures approximately four square miles, and had 26,700 residents as of 2010. Downtown one of the most active business districts in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, with its daytime population swelling to over 140,000 as of 2006. Downtown also brings in more than 12 million visitors annually.

Similar to other central business districts in the U.S., Downtown has recently undergone a transformation that included the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses.

Geography

Downtown is bound by North Avenue to the north, Boulevard to the east, Interstate 20 to the south, and Northside Drive to the west. This definition of Downtown Atlanta includes central areas like Five Points, the Hotel District and Fairlie-Poplar and outlying inner-city neighborhoods such as SoNo, and Castleberry Hill.

A Downtown street

The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) organization, though, defines a much smaller downtown area measuring just one and two tenths square miles. This area is roughly bound by North Avenue to the north, Piedmont Avenue and then Downtown Connector to the east, Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Courtland Street, and Edgewood Avenue to the south, and the railroad tracks to the west. This area only includes the core central business district neighborhoods of Fairlie-Poplar, Five Points, the Hotel District, Centennial Hill, and South Downtown.

History

Downtown Atlanta, 1889

Downtown is the historic core of Atlanta. The history of Downtown began in 1826 with Wilson Lumpkin and Hamilton Fulton surveying a possible railroad route between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Milledgeville, the state capital at the time. In 1833, Lumpkin, who had become governor, requested that the state legislature charter three railroad lines. By 1836, the state-financed Western and Atlantic Railroad, linking the middle Georgia to the northern U.S., was founded by the legislature and signed by Lumpkin. As a result, the town named Terminus was founded in 1837, named for the end of the railroad line.

Terminus received a name change in 1842 when the town's 30 inhabitants voted to change the town's name to Marthasville, in honor of Governor Lumpkin's daughter, Martha. By this time, Marthasville was a growing town with seven streets. Residents in 1844 turned down the town commissioners proposal to build more streets and were satisfied with the town's seven original streets.

Marietta Street in Downtown Atlanta

By 1845, John Thomson, chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested that Marthasville's name be changed. The first suggestion was "Atlantica-Pacifica" but was quickly shortened to "Atlanta." Atlanta was derived as a supposedly feminine form of "Atlantic." The name "Atlanta" becomes popular and town's name changes. In 1847, Atlanta is incorporated with its new name, with the town limits a one mile (1.6 km) radius away from the mile marker at the railroad depot. (The zero milepost marker is located under the Central Avenue viaduct between Alabama Street and Wall Street.) After the incorporation of Atlanta, a movement began to move the state capital from Milledgeville to Atlanta.^{[citation needed]}

Tornado

On March 14, 2008, at approximately 9:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, a category EF2 tornado hit downtown with winds up to 135 miles per hour (217 km/h). This tornado caused damage to Philips Arena, the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, the CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center. This is the first time a tornado touched ground in downtown Atlanta since weather records keeping began in the 1880s. While there were dozens of injuries, there was only one fatality.

Original streets

Downtown Atlanta skyline at night.

As the town of Marthasville, Atlanta had seven original streets. In 1844, the town's commissioners attempted to levy a tax to create more streets. However, the seven streets the town had were enough for the people of Marthasville at the time. Today, each of these seven streets are critical arteries of the city, which Peachtree Street being the most critical of the seven (primarily due to its recognizable name, amenities on the street such as hotels and restaurants, and its location of premier office space and corporate headquarters.)

The seven original streets of Atlanta are:

• Peachtree Street
• Whitehall Street
• Marietta Street
• Decatur Street
• Pryor Street
• Loyd Street (now Central Avenue)
• Alabama Street

The southern leg of Peachtree Street south of Five Points was originally Whitehall Street. Park Place was originally Pryor Street north of Decatur Street. Four of the original streets, Peachtree Street, Marietta Street, Decatur Street and Whitehall Street (the southern leg of Peachtree Street before it was renamed) meet at Five Points, along with Edgewood Avenue.

Cityscape

Centennial Olympic Park facing Downtown Atlanta

Atlanta Downtown Festival and Tour

The area of downtown contains among the tallest buildings in Atlanta. The tallest building in Atlanta, the Bank of America Plaza building, is situated between Midtown Atlanta and Downtown Atlanta. Rising at 1,023 feet (312 m), Bank of America Plaza is also the tallest building in any of the U.S. state capitals, and the tallest building in the U.S. outside of New York City and Chicago.

Downtown Atlanta is the heart and the largest of the three business districts of the city. This area contains striking architecture dating as far back as the 19th century. Some of the most famous and/or tallest buildings in Downtown include:

• Westin Peachtree Plaza
• Georgia-Pacific Tower
• Marriott Marquis
• Flatiron Building
• SunTrust Plaza
• 191 Peachtree Tower
• Bank of America Plaza
• Centennial Tower (or known as 101 Marietta)
• Equitable Building
• Peachtree Center
• State of Georgia Building

Neighborhoods

Looking north to the center of the Hotel District in Downtown Atlanta.

Downtown Atlanta is divided into nine subdistricts:

• Castleberry Hill
• Centennial Hill
• Fairlie-Poplar
• Five Points
• Hotel District
• Luckie Marietta
• Peachtree Center
• SoNo
• South Downtown

Economy

Downtown Atlanta contains over 26,000,000 square feet (2,400,000 m²) of office space; combined with Midtown as the central business district they make up over 48 million sq ft, more than the CBDs of Dallas, and Miami. Downtown's economy is also driven by its government facilities, venues, and retail options.

Governmental facilities

The Federal government maintains a strong prescense in Downtown Atlanta. The U.S. Census Bureau has its Atlanta Regional Office in the Centennial Tower and the Atlanta Regional Census Center in Suite 1000 in the Marquis Two Tower in the Peachtree Center. The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Atlanta Aviation Field Office in the Atlanta Federal Center in Downtown Atlanta. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building was built and "designed and constructed to accommodate the rapidly expanding volume of the Postal Service, which was then oriented around a single, central processing facility." The Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Building is the ninth largest federal building in the United States and the largest in the southeast. The building "houses 5,000 employees for dozens of federal agencies and combines four distinct structural elements in central downtown, equaling 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m²)." The Richard B. Russell Federal Building, a 1,250,000-square-foot (116,000 m²) mixed-used office building, contains the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and offices for several other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy's regional office. Further north in the Fairlie-Poplar district of Downtown is the U.S. Court of Appeals. This court takes federal cases from the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The building is officially named the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals building, named after a former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the predecessor court to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit).

The Richard B. Russell Federal Building in the background from Forsyth Street.

Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building.

U.S. District Court of Appeals Building in the Fairlie-Poplar District.

The State Bar of Georgia, the former Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Downtown is also marked by its state, county, and city government facilities. The Georgia State Capitol, the seat of the government for the State of Georgia, is located South Downtown. The State Capitol's gold dome is visible from the Downtown Connector. The Fulton County Government Center, the seat of the Fulton County Government, is located on Pryor Street. The Fulton County Courthouse is located directly across the street from the Fulton County Government Center. A few blocks away from the U.S. Court of Appeals is the State Bar of Georgia building, the former location of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta before it moved to to its Midtown location in 2001.

Venues and convention centers

Downtown is home to all of the city's major sporting venues. The Georgia Dome, with a seating capacity of 71,250 is the largest cable-supported dome stadium in the world. Sitting on 8.6 acres (35,000 m²), The Dome is home to the Atlanta Falcons, the city's NFL team. The Georgia Dome also hosts other sporting events, such as the NCAA Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the NCAA Chik-Fil-A kickoff classic, the SEC Championship game, and the home games of Georgia State University football. In the vicinity of the Georgia Dome is Philips Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, the city's NBA team, and the Atlanta Dream, the city's WNBA team. The arena opened in September 1999 and has the following capacities: Hockey, 18,750; Basketball 18,729; Concerts 21,000. The arena is located directly across Centennial Olympic Park Drive from the CNN Center. Just south of Interstate 20 is Turner Field, home to the Atlanta Braves, the city's MLB team. The baseball park is capable of seating 50,096.

Street scene in Peachtree Center

Broad Street

The Tabernacle, located on Luckie Street, is a music concert hall built in 1910 for Tabernacle Baptist Church. In 1996 the building was converted into a House of Blues Club for the Olympics. It was renamed "The Tabernacle" in 1998. The concert hall is four stories and can seat 2600.

Clustered around the Georgia Dome and the CNN Center, the Georgia World Congress Center is a state-owned convention center. Opened in 1976, it was the first state owned and operated major convention center in the United States. As the fourth largest convention center in the United States and with 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m²) of space, more than a million people attend conventions at the Georgia World Congress Center annually, and as many 125,000 people attend a single event.

Retail

Located near the MARTA Five Points Station, Underground Atlanta is Downtown's shopping and entertainment district. During the 1920s, streets in the area were raised above the ground (and the railroad tracks) for a better flow of traffic. Under these viaducts is a district for entertainment and shopping. Underground contains retail stores, restaurants that serve a variety of different foods, and several nightclubs in Kenny's Alley. The Mall at Peachtree Center, located on Peachtree Street, has 60 specialty shops, including six full-scale restaurants, as well as a regular food court, a conference center in the South Tower. The mall also includes the Peachtree Center Athletic Club, which contains a 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m²) full service athletic facility. Transit access is provided MARTA's Peachtree Center station that is directly connected to the mall.

Diplomatic missions

The Consulate-General of Argentina, The Consulate-General of Germany, Consulate of Belgium, and the Consulate-General of South Korea are located in Peachtree Center. The Consulate-General of the United Kingdom is located in the Georgia-Pacific Tower.

Parks

Woodruff Park, named after Robert W. Woodruff, is a 6-acre (24,000 m²) park in Downtown located a block away from Five Points. The park is the location of the inconic Phoenix Memorial, which memorializes Atlanta's rise from the ashes of the Civil War. Built as a legacy of the 1996 Olympic Games, Centennial Olympic Park, located on 21-acre (85,000 m²) area of Downtown, is the largest downtown park in the United States developed in the last 25 years. A famous part of the park is the Fountain of Rings, the world's largest interactive fountain utilizing the Olympic symbol of five interconnecting Rings. The park hosts many events, such as music concerts and a fireworks display for the Independence Day holiday. Hurt Park (Atlanta) with its fountain was an attraction in the 1940s and 1950s and a reminder of a bygone age.

Attractions

Just north of Centennial Olympic Park is the Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium with more than 8 million US gallons (30,000 m³) of fresh and marine water. The Aquarium is listed as one of the '1,000 Places to See Before You Die.' The World of Coca-Cola, situated near the Georgia Aquarium at Pemberton Place, is a permanent exhibition to the history of Coca-Cola. Downtown Atlanta is in the process of bringing new attractions to the area, particularly in the area clustered around Centennial Olympic Park. In June 2008, Atlanta was selected for the future home of the National Health Museum. The location will be near Centennial Olympic Park where it is estimated to attract between 1.1 and 1.4 million visitors per year.

Public art in Peachtree Center

Education

Downtown Atlanta is home to Georgia State University, a four-year public institution.

Transportation

The Downtown Connector in Downtown Atlanta

Downtown is a transportation hub for the entire region. The Downtown Connector runs north and south through the district. The Connector is the primary freeway artery for the city. Downtown is also served by Interstate 20, which creates the southern border of Downtown. Downtown also has many surface streets that serve as alternatives to the Downtown Connector. MARTA's east-west and north-south subway lines converge in the middle of Downtown at the Five Points MARTA station. The MARTA North-South Line has four additional stops in Downtown-Garnett (in South Downtown), Peachtree Center, and Civic Center (in SoNo). The MARTA East-West line has two additional stops in Downtown-Dome/Philips Arena/GWCC/CNN and Georgia State.

Gallery

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  Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta)

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  Westin Peachtree Plaza

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  Flatiron Building

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  SunTrust Plaza

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  AT&T Tower (former Southern Bell Telephone Company Building)

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  Candler Building: An example of old architecture in Atlanta

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  Atlanta Public Library

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  191 Peachtree Tower

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  A small Downtown Plaza

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  An Atlanta Tourism information booth

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  Former Davison's / Macy's Department Store

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  Part of the Downtown Atlanta skyline from a distance.

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  Residential High-rise Construction

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  Downtown MARTA Station at Peachtree Center

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  Georgia Power Building

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  Atlanta Marriott Marquis

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  Downtown Atlanta from James Wendell George Parkway

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  Downtown Atlanta night

See also

• Peachtree Street
• Midtown Atlanta (Northern financial and residential district of Atlanta)
• Buckhead (Northern-most financial and residential district of Atlanta)
• List of skyscrapers
• 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak

External links

• Official Website for the City of Atlanta
• Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District