Facts about Atlanta
Atlanta's skyline is punctuated with highrise buildings, the tallest of which—the Bank of America Plaza—is the 30th-tallest building in the world at 1,023 feet (312 m).
Atlanta is also the county seat of Fulton County, with which it shares responsibility for the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.
Like the rest of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.
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.
Cox Enterprises, a privately held company, has substantial media holdings in and beyond 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."
Union General William T. Sherman ordered that Atlanta be burned to the ground in preparation for his march south, though he spared the city's churches and hospitals.
In 1868, Atlanta became the fifth city to serve as the state capital.
Atlanta contains a large, and rapidly growing, Roman Catholic population which grew from 311,000 in 2000 to 650,000 in 2007.
Protestant Christian faiths are well represented in Atlanta, the city historically being a major center for traditional Southern denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
During the Civil War, Atlanta served as an important railroad and military supply hub.
The Atlanta metro area is served by many local television stations and is the eighth largest designated market area (DMA) in the United States with 2,310,490 homes (2.0 percent of the total).
The combination of pollution and pollen levels caused the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America to name Atlanta as the worst American city for asthma sufferers to live in.
Other headquarters for some major companies in Atlanta and around the metro area include Arby's, Chick-fil-A, Earthlink, Equifax, Georgia-Pacific, Oxford Industries, Southern Company, SunTrust Banks, and Waffle House.
The public school system (Atlanta Public Schools) is run by the Atlanta Board of Education.
The Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association have played in Atlanta since 1968.
The denomination has eight churches, numerous social service centers, and youth clubs located throughout the Atlanta area.
The Clean Air Campaign was created in 1996 to help reduce pollution in metro Atlanta.
Two of the prominent organizations—Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—were based in Atlanta.
Atlanta began as a railroad town and it still serves as a major rail junction, with several freight lines belonging to Norfolk Southern and CSX intersecting below street level in downtown.
Piedmont Park hosts many of Atlanta's festivals and cultural events.
According to census estimates, Metropolitan Atlanta is the fastest growing area in the nation since 2000 by numerical increase.
The Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, have played in the city since 1966.
Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild, but occasionally chilly winters by the standards of the United States.
Atlanta is also seeing a unique and drastic demographic increase in its white population, and at a pace that outstrips the rest of the nation.
Two of the most important civil rights organizations—Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—had their national headquarters in Atlanta.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport as measured by passenger traffic and by aircraft traffic, provides air service between Atlanta and many national and international destinations.
Atlanta is mostly encircled by Interstate 285, a beltway locally known as "the Perimeter" which has come to mark the boundary between the interior of the region and its surrounding suburbs.
Atlanta features the world's largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005.
Atlanta is also home to the fastest growing millionaire population in the United States.
According to crime statistics for Atlanta, crime in the city is well above the national average.
The city hosts the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral, the see of Metropolis of Atlanta.
Atlanta ranks near last in area of park land per capita among cities of similar population density.
Over 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations.
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.
Atlanta's classical music scene includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, New Trinity Baroque, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Boys Choir.
Atlanta is also the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, which includes all of northern Georgia, much of middle Georgia and the Chattahoochee River valley of western Georgia.
In 1961, Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of Atlanta's public schools.
Founded in 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed over 68,000 shade trees.
The numbers of violent crimes and murders also rose in most of metro Atlanta's largest counties.
On June 25, 1997, Atlanta was awarded a National Hockey League expansion franchise, and the Atlanta Thrashers became the city's newest ice hockey team.
The most famous is Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (immortalized in the movie Groundhog Day).
Instead, Atlanta viewed itself as the leading city of a progressive "New South" and opted for expressive modern structures.
The number of households in Atlanta with $1 million or more in investable assets, not including primary residence and consumable goods, is projected to increase 69 percent through 2011, to approximately 103,000 households.
The population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of 8,376 square miles (21,694 kmІ) – a land area larger than that of Massachusetts.
Shortly after the war, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was founded in Atlanta.
The headquarters for the Salvation Army's United States Southern Territory is located in Atlanta.
The city also hosts the Atlanta University Center, the largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities in the country.
Atlanta ranks third in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered within city boundaries, behind New York City and Houston.
Several major national and international companies are headquartered in Atlanta or its nearby suburbs, including three Fortune 100 companies: Coca-Cola Company, Home Depot, and United Parcel Service.
Notwithstanding heavy automotive usage, Atlanta's subway system, operated by Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), is the seventh busiest in the country.
In 2007, the American Lung Association ranked Atlanta as having the 13th highest level of particle pollution in the United States.
The Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America maintains offices in downtown Atlanta; ELCA parishes are numerous throughout the metro area.
Three major interstate highways converge in Atlanta; Two combine to form the Downtown Connector through the middle of the city.
Atlanta is home to several professional sports franchises, including teams from all four different major league sports in the United States.
Black Atlantans demonstrated growing political influence with the election of the first African-American mayor in 1973.
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.
The region, including its new capital of Halifax, saw a modest immigration boom comprising Germans, Dutch, New Englanders, residents of Martinique and many other areas.
Atlanta's elevation ensures it has a more temperate climate than other southern cities of the same latitude.
The Atlanta race riot of 1906 left at least 27 dead and over 70 injured.
Atlanta has the highest average elevation of any major city east of Denver.
Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation.
The city's northern district of Buckhead, eight miles north of downtown Atlanta, features wealthy neighborhoods.
Atlanta is in the midst of a construction and retail boom, with over 60 new high-rise or mid-rise buildings either proposed or under construction as of April 19, 2006.
Contemporary Atlanta is sometimes considered a poster child for cities experiencing rapid growth and urban sprawl.
One of the areas experiencing rapid growth is Midtown Atlanta, which includes about one-third of the city's high-rises.