Atlanta information
Atlanta's image as a world-class city encompasses the romance of the Old South and the bustling commerce of the 21st century. Outsiders know it as the setting for the star-crossed love of Scarlett and Rhett in Gone With the Wind and also for its civil rights marches of the 1960s.
Atlanta has a varied history. It began as a provincial seat of the Confederacy that was subsequently torched during the Civil War. Later rebuilt, it suffered rigid segregation during Reconstruction. It has since blossomed into a booming, culturally diverse state capital. The city, popular with young professionals, is home to the third-largest gay population in the country and more than a dozen university and college campuses. In 1996, it grabbed the interUS spotlight as the host of the 1996 Olympic Games.
The city also has grown into a financial leader: it is home to the world headquarters for both Coca-Cola and CNN. Offices of 400 of the Fortune 500 companies reside here. It is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, with a population of more than 3 million people. There is little dispute that Atlanta has become the commercial and cultural heart of the New South.
But despite the changes brought by urban sprawl and a more cosmopolitan lifestyle, Atlanta has not strayed from its historical roots. To enjoy it to its fullest, stroll the picturesque residential neighborhoods and relish in the Southern hospitality that has given the city its justly deserved reputation as a genteel metropolis.
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