Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of Georgia, in the United States

ATLANTA is a relatively young city: only incorporated in 1847, it was little more than a minor transportation center until the Civil War, when its accessibility made it a good site for the huge Confederacy munitions industry and consequently a major target for the Union army. In 1864 Sherman's army burned the city, an act immortalized in Gone with the Wind . Recovery after the war took just a few years: Atlanta was the archetype of the aggressive, urban, industrial ''New South,'' furiously championed by '' boosters '' newspaper owners, bankers, politicians and city leaders. Industrial giants who based themselves here included Coca-Cola , source of a string of philanthropic gifts to the city.

Very few of Atlanta's buildings predate 1915, and nothing at all survives from before 1868. Its characters, on the other hand politicians and newspaper people have changed little, and the ''booster'' tradition has continued to the present, peaking spectacularly when Atlanta won the right to host the 1996 Olympics . The bid to convince the world of the city's prosperity and sophistication was led by city leaders such as ex-mayor Andrew Young (the first Southern black congressman since Reconstruction, who became Carter's ambassador to the UN) and flamboyant former CNN magnate Ted Turner .

The heart of the city's festivals is Piedmont Park. In 1887, a group of prominent Atlantans purchased 189 acres (0.76 km²) of farmland to build a horse racing track, later developed into the site of the Cotton States International Exposition of 1895. In 1904, the city council purchased the land for $99,000, and today it is the largest park in metro Atlanta, with more than 2.5 million visitors each year. The grounds were part of the Battle of Peachtree Creek – a Confederate division occupied the northern edge on July 20, 1864 as part of the outer defense line against Sherman's approach. Next to the park is the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Zoo Atlanta, with a panda exhibit, is in Grant Park.

Today's Atlanta is at first glance a large American city. Its population has reached 3.5 million. The city is undeniably progressive, with little interest in lamenting a lost Southern past. Since voting in the nation's first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, in 1974, an estimated 200,000 black families streamed in from states further north in the 1980s alone. With its ever-increasing international profile, cosmopolitan blend of cultures and hip local neighborhoods, the spirit and dynamism of modern Atlanta is a far cry indeed from its much-mythologized Deep South roots.

Atlanta's layout is confusing, following old Native American trails rather than a logical grid system, with no fewer than 32 streets named "Peachtree"; take care to note whether you're looking for Avenue, Road, Boulevard and so forth. The most important is Peachtree Street , which cuts a long north-south swath through the city. Sights are scattered, but relatively easy to reach on public transportation. Once you're there, the downtown area, the Martin Luther King Jr Historic District ranged along Auburn Avenue , and the trendy neighborhoods of Little Five Points and Virginia-Highland are all easy to explore on foot.

Colleges and universities

Georgia Tech TowerAtlanta has more than 30 institutions of higher education, among which Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology (popularly known as Georgia Tech), Georgia State University, Mercer University, and Oglethorpe University are prominent. Atlanta University Center, a consortium of historically black colleges and universities, is also located in the city; members of the consortium include Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morris Brown College, and Spelman College. The Reformed Theological Seminary is another Atlanta school. The Savannah College of Art and Design opened a Midtown, Atlanta, campus in 2005 and acquired the Atlanta College of Art shortly thereafter. John Marshall Law School is the city's only freestanding law school and produces many local lawyers.

Institutions in the metropolitan area include Agnes Scott College, in Decatur; Clayton State University, in Morrow; DeVry University, in Decatur; Georgia Perimeter College, with campuses in Alpharetta, Clarkston, Conyers, Covington (scheduled to open in January 2007), Decatur, Dunwoody, and Lawrenceville; Gwinnett University Center (soon to be known as Georgia Gwinnett College, in Lawrenceville); Kennesaw State University, in Kennesaw; Southern Polytechnic State University, in Marietta; and the University of West Georgia, in Carrollton.

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