Atlanta is a thriving metropolitan city, settled at the Appalachian Mountains foothills. The city has massive greenery among the United States cities, and boasts an array of attractions from the home of Coca-Cola to America’s largest aquarium. Did you know Atlanta is the birthplace of the Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Read on a few fast facts about "the Gate City"-
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Atlanta Geographic and Demographic Fast Facts
- Atlanta is the capital city of Georgia.
- It is the fifth capital of Georgia. Earlier, Milledgeville, Louisville, Augusta and Savannah were the capital of Georgia.
- It is the largest city of Georgia.
- Atlanta is located in the northwest part of Georgia.
- The city is 1,050 ft above the seal level.
- It ranks at third position among the US cities in terms of the LGBT population per capita.
- The tallest building in the US is in Atlanta- The Bank of America Plaza, 1,023 ft tall.
- The ethnic composition of Atlanta includes: 53.9% Black or African American, 41.8% White, 37.1% Non-Hispanic, 5.3% Latino or Hispanic, and 4.3% Asian.
Atlanta History Fast Facts
- Hardy Ivy was the first European settler.
- In 1837, Atlanta was founded as Terminus and later in 1843 was formed as Marthasville, in honour of Martha, the ex-governor Wilson Lumpkin’s daughter.
- In 1847, it was officially formed as Atlanta.
- It was the only city in North American that was razed due to Civil War.
- In 1868, it became the capital city of Georgia.
- Atlanta got its present name from J. Edgar Thompson, the railroad engineer. It is a short version of Atlantica-Pacifica.
Atlanta Economy and Government Fast Facts
- The city is governed by the Atlanta City Council and a mayor.
- It is known as a “world city”, or “alpha city”, positioned at thirty-sixth spot among the world cities.
- The metropolitan area of Atlanta is the 8th largest economy in Georgia and seventeenth largest in the world.
- It ranks at the third position in having base of Fortune 500 companies.
- The Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, UPS, The Home Depot, AT & T Mobility, CNN and many more have global headquarters in Atlanta.
- It is the main center of the cable television programming.
- It is the key transportation and commercial center of the southeast US.
- It is the main educational hub with many reputable colleges and universities.
- The city’s economy is diverse, with main sectors including business, logistics, media operations, information technology, and professional services.
Atlanta Important and Interesting Fast Facts
- Atlanta is nicknamed as “Hotlanta”, “The A”, “The Gate City”, “ATL”, and “The City in a Forest”.
- It had four names earlier before being named as “Atlanta”. The names are-Terminus, Marthasville, Thrasherville, and the Atlantica-Pacifica.
- There are more than 55 streets with the name “Peachtree”.
- Stone Mountain is one of the biggest pieces of exposed granite in the world.
- Atlanta witnessed the fastest baseball game in the history, when the Atlanta Crackers was beaten by the Mobile Sea Gulls by 2-1 in 32 minutes.
- The world’s largest drive-in restaurant is the Varsity, located in downtown Atlanta.
- It is home to the world’s busiest airport- the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
- The city’s symbol is a phoenix that indicates the fact that it’s the only city in the United States to be devastated by an act of war.
- The world’s largest black gay celebration is in Atlanta-the Atlanta Black Pride.
- Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta in 1929.
- It is one of the two cities in the world that houses two Nobel Peace Prize winners: President Jimmy Carter and Civil Right activist Martin Luther King Jr.
- Atlanta has the globe’s largest toll-free dialling area.
- In the United States, Atlanta has the second largest shopping center space.
- Coca-Cola was given out for the first time at Jacobs Pharmacy in 1886.
- The Atlanta’s main daily newspaper is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
