Downtown Atlanta - History

History

The history of Downtown began in 1826 with Wilson Lumpkin and Hamilton Fulton surveying a possible railroad route between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Milledgeville, the state capital at the time. In 1833, Lumpkin, who had become governor, requested that the state legislature charter three railroad lines. By 1836, the state-financed Western and Atlantic Railroad, linking the middle Georgia to the northern U.S., was founded by the legislature and signed by Lumpkin. As a result, the town named Terminus was founded in 1837, named for the end of the railroad line. Terminus received a name change in 1842 when the town's 30 inhabitants voted to change the town's name to Marthasville, in honor of Governor Lumpkin's daughter.

By 1845, John Thomson, chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested that Marthasville's name be changed. The first suggestion was "Atlantica-Pacifica," which was shortened to "Atlanta." In 1847, Atlanta was incorporated, with the town limits extending in a one mile (1.6 km) radius from the mile marker at the railroad depot.

By the outbreak of the Civil War, Atlanta was a major railroad hub and manufacturing center, making it a target for the Union Army. In 1864, General William T. Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground during his "March to the Sea," making Atlanta the only major American city to ever be destroyed by war.

Atlanta's first resurgence began during Reconstruction. In 1868, Georgia's state capital was moved to the city from Milledgeville. By the 1920s, a downtown business sector ringed by residential districts had emerged.

Professional sports came to Atlanta in 1965 with the construction of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and the relocation of the Braves from Milwaukee. The National Football League awarded the city the Falcons expansion team in 1966. The Hawks arrived in 1968, even though Omni Coliseum, the city's basketball arena, did not open until 1972. Atlanta's three major league sports team continue to play their home games downtown in updated facilities: Turner Field, the Georgia Dome, and Philips Arena.

From July 20 through August 4, 1996, Atlanta hosted the Centennial Olympic Games. The Olympics served as a catalyst for a resurgence of downtown, with Centennial Olympic Park, which was built as a physical memorial to the games, spurring the creation of a tourist district.

On March 14, 2008, at approximately 9:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, a category EF2 tornado hit downtown with winds up to 135 miles per hour (217 km/h). This tornado caused damage to Philips Arena, the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, the CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center. This was the first time a tornado touched ground in downtown Atlanta since weather records keeping began in the 1880s. While there were dozens of injuries, there was only one fatality.