Atlanta

On December 21, 1836 the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad to provide a trade route to the Midwest 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. By 1842, the settlement had six buildings and 30 residents and the town was renamed "Marthasville". After a few renames, 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.

As more railroads were constructed, the town experienced a small boom, reaching 2,500 in population. In 1848, the first mayor was elected, the first homicide occurred and the first jail was built. Sidewalks were constructed and a town marshal appointed. By 1854 another railroad connected Atlanta to LaGrange, and the town grew to 7,741 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 spared the city's churches and hospitals.

The rebuilding of the city — immortalized by the phoenix and motto "Resurgens" (Latin for "rising again") on the city seal — 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 Federal Government's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Land (Freedmen's Bureau] worked in tandem with a number of freedmen's aid organizations, especially the American Missionary Association (A.M.A.). The A.M.A. established two well-respected black schools by 1866 (Storrs School and Summer Hill School) which became part of the Atlanta public schools in 1872. It also created the Washburn Orphanage to aid homeless children and launched the charter for Atlanta University in 1867, the first of several historically black colleges in Atlanta, in part to begin the training of black teachers. The First Congregational Church of Atlanta was begun as a collaboration between whites, especially Northerners of the A.M.A. and Atlanta's freedmen; today its congregation still celebrates their Reconstruction-era roots.

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. In the 1880s Georgia School of Technology and Atlanta Hospital were founded.

In 1907, Peachtree Street, the main street of Atlanta, was busy with streetcars and automobiles.As Atlanta grew, ethnic and racial tensions mounted. The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 left at least 27 dead and over seventy injured. In 1913, Leo Frank, a Jewish supervisor at a factory in Atlanta was put on trial for raping and murdering a thirteen-year old white employee from a suburb of Atlanta, ultimately resulting in Frank's lynching.

With the entry of the United States into World War II, soldiers from around the Southeastern United States went through Atlanta to train and later be discharged at Fort McPherson. War-related 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 Communicable Disease Center (CDC) was founded in Atlanta.

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.

Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood was the city's first planned suburb. Today, it features several mansions and many colorful restored bungalows.In the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing center of the US Civil Rights Movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King and students from Atlanta's historically black colleges and universities playing major roles in the movement's leadership. Two of the most important civil rights organizations -- SCLC and SNCC -- had their national headquarters in Atlanta. In April of 1960 black students published "AN APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS" condemning segregation and laying the justification for direct action against it. A wave of sit-ins followed resulting in almost 100 arrests.[24] On October 19, 1960, sit-ins at the lunch counters of several Atlanta department stores led to the arrest of Dr. King and more than 50 students, drawing attention from the national media and from presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. Sit-ins and other forms of student-led protests against various forms of segregation at both commercial and public venues such as the City Hall cafeteria and Atlanta airport continued until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Despite these incidents, Atlanta's political and business leaders labored to foster Atlanta's image as "the city too busy to hate". In 1961, Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of Atlanta's public schools.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Atlanta claimed to stand apart from southern cities that supported segregation, touting itself as "The City Too Busy to Hate." That characterization was sharply disputed by many Atlanta blacks, particularly student activists at Atlanta's black colleges and universities who from 1960 to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 waged a determined effort to desegregate public facilities through nonviolent direct action such as sit-ins and marches. Eventually, the city's progressive civil rights record and existing population of blacks made it increasingly popular as a relocation destination for black Americans. Blacks soon became the dominant social and political force in the city, though today some measure of demographic diversification has taken place. .

In 1990, Atlanta was selected as the site for the Centennial Olympic Games 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, after St. Louis and Los Angeles. The games themselves were marred by numerous organizational inefficiencies as well as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

On March 14, 2008, at approximately 9:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, a category EF2 tornado hit downtown Atlanta with winds up to 135 mph (217 kph). The tornado caused damage to Philips Arena, the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center. It also damaged the nearby neighborhoods of Vine City to the west and Cabbagetown, and Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills to the east. While there were dozens of injuries, only one fatality was reported.City officials warned it could take months to clear the devastation left by the tornado.

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 343.0 km² (132 sq mi). 341.2 km² (132 sq mi) of it is land and 1.8 km² (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 1,010 feet (308 m)), Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River. Atlanta has the highest average elevation of any major city east of Denver.

The Eastern Continental Divide line enters Atlanta from the south, proceeding to downtown. From downtown, the divide line runs eastward along DeKalb Avenue and the CSX rail lines through Decatur. Rainwater that falls on the south and east side runs eventually into the Atlantic Ocean while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide runs into the Gulf of Mexico.

The latter is via the Chattahoochee River, part of the ACF River Basin, and from which Atlanta and many of its neighbors draw most of their water. Being at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is still preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Downstream however, excessive water use during droughts and pollution during floods has been a source of contention and legal battles with neighboring states Alabama and Florida.

Climate

Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate, (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with hot, humid summers and mild to chilly winters by the standards of the United States. July highs average 88 °F (31 °C) or above, and low average 67 °F (19 °C). Infrequently, temperatures can even exceed 100 °F (38 °C). The highest temperature recorded in the city is 105 °F (41 °C), reached in July, 1980.[35] January is the coldest month, with an average high of 50 °F (10 °C), and low of 29 °F (−2 °C). Warm fronts can bring springlike temperatures in the 60s and 70s in winter, and Arctic air masses can drop temperatures into the teens as well. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −9 °F (−23 °C) in February 1899. A close second was −8 °F (−22 °C), reached in January 1985.

Like the rest of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. Average annual rainfall is 50.2 inches (1,275 mm). An average year sees frost on 36 days; snowfall averages about 2 inches (5 cm) annually. The heaviest single storm brought 10 inches (25 cm) on January 23, 1940.Frequent ice storms can cause more problems than snow; the most severe such storm may have occurred on January 7, 1973

Cityscape

Atlanta's skyline is punctuated with highrise and midrise buildings of modern and postmodern vintage. Its tallest landmark – the Bank of America Plaza – is the 29th-tallest building in the world at 1,023 feet (312 m). It is also the tallest building in the United States outside of Chicago and New York City.

Midtown AtlantaThe city's highrises are clustered in three districts in the city — Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead.(there are two more major suburban clusters, Perimeter Center to the north and Cumberland/Vinings to the northwest). The central business district, clustered around the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel – one of the tallest buildings in Atlanta at the time of its completion in 1967 – also includes the newer 191 Peachtree Tower, Westin Peachtree Plaza, SunTrust Plaza, Georgia-Pacific Tower, and the buildings of Peachtree Center. Midtown Atlanta, farther north, developed rapidly after the completion of One Atlantic Center in 1987.

Businesses continue to move into the Midtown district.The district's newest tower, 1180 Peachtree, opened there in 2006 at a height of 645 feet (197 m), and achieved a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification that year from the U.S. Green Building Council. Atlanta has been in the midst of a construction and retail boom, with over 60 new highrise or midrise buildings either proposed or under construction as of April 19, 2006 October 2005 marked the opening of Atlantic Station, a former brownfield steel plant site redeveloped into a mixed-use urban district. In early 2006, Mayor Franklin set in motion a plan to make the 14-block stretch of Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta (nicknamed "Midtown Mile") a street-level shopping destination envisioned to rival Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive or Chicago's Magnificent Mile.

In spite of civic efforts such as the opening of Centennial Olympic Park in downtown in 1996, Atlanta ranks near last in area of park land per capita among cities of similar population density, with 8.9 acres per thousand residents (36 m²/resident) in 2005. The city has a reputation, however, as a "city of trees" or a "city in a forest";beyond the central Atlanta and Buckhead business districts, the skyline gives way to a sometimes dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs. Founded in 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed over 68,000 shade trees.

The city's northern section, Buckhead, is consistently ranked as one of the most affluent communities in the United States. Since the opening of the intown segment of the Georgia 400 tollway, which linked the district to the city superhighway system in 1993, Buckhead has developed a dense commercial district, clustered around the high-end retail centers at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza and including a growing number of office buildings and residential highrises, some in the 40+ story range. The Mansion on Peachtree, a 42 Story Luxury Hotel and Condominium tower will open in Early 2008 and the 50 story 3344 Peachtree/Sovereign, planned to reach 660 feet (201 m), is due for completion in late 2007.

The edge cities clustered around Perimeter Mall and Cumberland Mall have distinct skylines of their own. The Concourse at Landmark Center, located near Perimeter Mall in Sandy Springs, includes a pair of buildings called the King and Queen that each measure 570 feet (174 m) in total height.

As of July 2006, the Atlanta metropolitan area had an estimated population of 5,138,223.[7] According to the 2000 census, there were 416,474 people (486,411 in the July 2006 estimate),168,147 households, and 83,232 families residing in the city proper. The population density was 3,161 people per square mile (1,221/km²). There were 186,925 housing units at an average density of 1,419/sq mi (548/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.39% African American (Black), 33.22% White, 2.93% Asian, 0.18% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.99% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 6.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.The city also has the third highest percentage (12.8%) of gay, lesbian, and bisexual couples among the fifty largest cities in the United States.

There were 168,147 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.5% were married couples living together, 20.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.5% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,482 and the median income for a family was $55,939. Males had a median income of $36,162 compared to $30,178 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,772, and 24.4% of the population and 21.3% of families were below the poverty line, including 38.8% of those under the age of 18 and 20.7% of those 65 and older.

According to a 2000 daytime population estimate by the Census Bureau over 250,000 more people commuted to Atlanta on any given workday, boosting the city's estimated daytime population to 676,431. This is an increase of 62.4% over Atlanta's resident population, making it the largest gain in daytime population in the country among cities with fewer than 500,000 residents.

According to census estimates, Metropolitan Atlanta is the fastest growing area in the nation since 2000 by numerical increase.

Atlanta is also home to the fastest growing millionaire population in the United States. The number of households in Atlanta with $1 million or more in investable assets, not including primary residence and consumable goods, will increase 69% through 2011, to approximately 103,000 households.

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