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Downtown Atlanta, looking south |
Atlanta, a city with many nicknames
Capital of the South, the City too busy to hate, City of Trees, Hotlanta. These are some of the city's nicknames.
History:
Originally Atlanta belonged to the Cherokee and Creek Native American Nations as little as 175 years ago. The Native Americans ceded their lands to the first white settlers who founded "Fort Peachtree." This cession of land later resulted in the removal of all Native Americans from Georgia, in the "Trail of Tears." Later a railroad terminal was chosen to be placed here, and the city was founded with the name "Terminus." Shortly after the name was changed to "Marthasville" and then finally "Atlanta."
In 1864, Atlanta had already started to become an important city of 10,000 people when Sherman arrived and demolished and burned everything. After the Civil War, the city started booming and took the "Phoenix" as its symbol. This bird rises from the ashes of its own destruction to soar again, just as Atlanta did. Atlanta has recorded phenomenal growth since.
This is the city of my birth, Atlanta is the capital of Georgia and a major city in the Southeastern US. This is an awesome city, always growing and changing, and becoming more and more cosmopolitan all the time. Yet the city somehow seems to retain its southern charm.
Weather:
Perhaps the craziest thing about Atlanta. The climate is hot & humid in the summer (June - September) with a short Fall, Winter, & Spring. But sometimes it seems like the summer is spent beside a huge oven with the door wide open. With little or no breeze because of Atlanta's distance from the coast, the air just sits there, and it is usually humid. Winters are usually mild but sometimes it can get quite cold. The record lows is -8 degree F. Record high is 105.
Vital Statistics:
City population - around 400,000
Metro population - around 5 million
Tourism:
There are numerous tourist sites, and it's best to have a car to see them all. The Atlantic Ocean is a four-hour drive away, and the Gulf of Mexico is a five-hour drive. The foothills of the Appalachian Mtns are a two-hour drive north. Check out these spots:
* Underground Atlanta - shops, restaurants, bars, in an historic district of town. Located in the Central Business District.
* Cyclorama - an amazing visual depiction of the "Battle of Atlanta" of the Civil War. Located near the Zoo, south of downtown.
* Buckhead - for after-hours fun. Lots of bars within walking distance. Several miles north of the Midtown district.
* Stone Mountain - the largest piece of exposed granite in the world, around 400 feet high. Located east of the city, there are numerous attractions at this park for a full day.
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