50 Fun Facts About Atlanta

Atlanta is the county seat of which county?

The city also extends into neighbouring DeKalb County.

The name 'Atlanta' derives from which railroad?

It was supposedly a feminine version of 'Atlantic'.

What was the settlement's first name, reflecting its role as a railroad end point?

It was later renamed Thrasherville after a local merchant, then Marthasville.

Who said the site was good for 'one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else'?

He said it in 1837; the town was incorporated a decade later.

Which Union general burned Atlanta before the March to the Sea?

He ordered the civilian population to evacuate on September 7, 1864.

In which year was Atlanta captured by the Union Army?

It followed a four-month siege and the Battle of Atlanta.

Which Confederate general ordered the retreat from Atlanta as Union forces closed in?

He ordered the destruction of public buildings; Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the next day.

Georgia's state capital moved to Atlanta in 1868 from which city?

The move was due to Atlanta's superior rail network.

Which newspaper editor promoted Atlanta as the city of the 'New South'?

He edited the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s.

Which 1895 event drew nearly 800,000 attendees to Atlanta?

It promoted the New South's development to the world.

Atlanta surpassed which city as Georgia's largest in the 1880 census?

Unlike that seaport, Atlanta grew up as a railroad town.

Leo Frank was lynched in 1915 in which town near Atlanta?

The governor had commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 destroyed 1,938 buildings in what is now which neighbourhood?

It displaced 10,000 people but caused only one fatality.

Which 1939 film premiered at Atlanta's Loew's Grand Theatre?

Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland attended.

Which Oscar winner was barred from the 1939 Loew's Grand premiere by segregation laws?

She would win Best Supporting Actress for the film.

Which Atlanta author's house museum marks where she wrote her best-selling novel?

The Margaret Mitchell House is one of the city's historical museums.

Who was elected Atlanta's first Black mayor in 1973?

Every mayor elected since has been Black; he also modernised the airport.

Who in 2001 became the first woman elected mayor of Atlanta?

She was also the first African-American woman to lead a major Southern city.

Who became mayor of Atlanta in January 2022?

He is a Democrat elected on a nonpartisan ballot.

Which mayor dubbed Atlanta 'the city too busy to hate' in the 1960s?

The phrase originally referred to race relations.

Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics in which year?

A record 197 national Olympic committees all sent athletes.

During the Olympics, a bombing occurred at which downtown site?

The park remains the centrepiece of the tourist district.

Atlanta's airport became the world's busiest by passenger traffic in which year?

It has held the title every year since except 2020.

Which airline is headquartered in Atlanta and runs the world's largest hub there?

It is also metro Atlanta's largest employer.

Which media mogul founded CNN, TNT and TBS in Atlanta?

He launched the networks during the 1980s.

What nickname reflects Atlanta's growing IT sector?

As of 2013 it had the fourth-largest concentration of IT jobs in the US.

Which Atlanta film studio is one of the largest in the US?

Georgia's 20% transferable tax credit drew productions to the city.

Atlanta has the highest elevation of any major city east of which river?

It sits about 1,050 feet above sea level in the Appalachian foothills.

Atlanta straddles which watershed boundary?

Rain on one side flows to the Atlantic, on the other to the Gulf of Mexico.

Which river borders the far northwestern edge of the city?

Part of it is preserved as a National Recreation Area.

Which nickname reflects Atlanta's unusually dense tree canopy?

Vegetation covers 47.9% of the city, the highest of any major American city.

Which tower became Atlanta's tallest building on its completion in 1992?

At 1,023 feet it was the tallest US building outside New York and Chicago when it opened.

Which architect designed the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Marriott Marquis?

Most of the downtown skyline of the era was his work.

Which historic theatre was saved from demolition by a grassroots campaign in the 1970s?

It now hosts touring Broadway shows.

Which building was the last designed by architect Marcel Breuer?

In 2016 activists persuaded the City Council not to demolish it.

Which uptown district lies eight miles north of Downtown?

It is the city's third-largest business district.

What is the most popular attraction among visitors to Atlanta?

Until 2012 it was the world's largest indoor aquarium.

Zoo Atlanta was one of only four US zoos to house which animal during the 2010s?

Its pandas returned to China in 2024; the zoo also has the nation's largest collections of gorillas and orangutans.

Which Atlanta institution is the world's largest drive-in restaurant?

It is a long-lived fast food chain.

Which road is Atlanta's international dining corridor?

It runs immediately northeast of the city into Gwinnett County.

Which punk band played its first US show in Atlanta?

The show was at the Great Southeastern Music Hall.

The 1969 Atlanta International Pop Festival took place a month before which event?

Many of the same bands played both.

Which band's famous live 'Free Bird' was recorded in Atlanta in 1976?

Ronnie Van Zant told the band to 'play it pretty for Atlanta'.

Which home-grown duo put Atlanta hip hop on the map in the 1990s?

They were part of the Dungeon Family collective.

The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966 from which city?

The franchise began as the Boston Red Stockings in 1871.

The Falcons lost Super Bowl LI to which team in the largest comeback in Super Bowl history?

They had earlier lost Super Bowl XXXIII to Denver in 1999.

Atlanta United won MLS Cup 2018 by beating which club?

Forbes rates Atlanta United the most valuable club in MLS.

The Atlanta Thrashers relocated in 2011 to become which NHL team?

The earlier Atlanta Flames had left for Calgary in 1980.

Which Atlanta event is the world's largest 10 km run?

It is run every year on Independence Day.

What is the local nickname for the Interstate 285 beltway?

It divides 'ITP' (inside) from 'OTP' (outside) Atlanta.