Georgia capitolAtlanta is a fascinating urban mix of old and new! The antebellum South meets the hip and trendy 21st century on Atlanta’s streets. Take a walking tour of Atlanta historical attractions and cruise the Underground – a hidden away remnant of Atlanta’s history – or the Marietta historic district. Stop by the Fountain of Rings for a water and lights display or tread the earth of an historic Civil War battle-site and honor the unknown dead. This and more await you in Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing American cities!

1. Centennial Olympic Park
This $75 million development project began as the site for hosting the 1996 Olympic Games and now serves as a monument to Atlanta’s role in world competition as well as a fully functional municipal park. The park displays a Fountain of Rings to resemble the 5 interlocking Olympic rings. This computerized fountain can be programmed for various high-tech water displays. On a sadder note, Centennial Olympic Park was also the site of the 1996 Olympic bombing. To learn more about Centennial Olympic Park please visit: www.CentennialPark.com.

2. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
This cultural center is one of the most famous Atlanta historical attractions. It includes the final resting place of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as his birth home. The King Center is also located within the grounds of this historic site, and is the official tribute and living memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. founded by his wife Coretta Scott King in 1968. Take a tour of this monumental man’s birth house and check out the bookstore housing publications designed to educate the public on King’s life and mission for a peaceful world. To learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Historic Site commemorating him, please visit: www.NPS.gov. And don’t miss The King Center website which boasts an extensive photo and video archive collection: www.TheKingCenter.org.
3. Oakland Cemetery
If you are a Civil War buff, then don’t miss taking a walking tour of Oakland Cemetery where many Union and Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Atlanta lie buried. Other notable residents include Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones – legendary golfer, and Maynard Jackson – the first southern black mayor. Don’t miss the Lion of Atlanta (or the Lion of the Confederacy) – a monument that guards nearly 3,000 unknown Union and Confederate dead. Stroll through the magnolias and reconnect with America in this historic setting drenched in the blood of history. To learn more about Oakland Cemetery – one of the most humbling of Atlanta historical sites, please see: www.OaklandCemetery.com.

4. Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
At the Margaret Mitchell House join a tour of the apartment where this famous American author penned the legendary Gone with the Wind. View a Gone with the Wind movie exhibition, an in-depth look at Margaret Mitchell’s life and the writing of this literary classic, and the Margaret Mitchell Gift Shop. This most famous of Atlanta historical attractions was built in 1899. The Margaret Mitchell House and Museum is located in a three-story Tudor Revival mansion. Stop in for a poetry reading sponsored by the Literacy Center at the Margaret Mitchell House. To learn more about this historic site visit: www.MargaretMitchellHouse.com.


5. Underground Atlanta
Underground Atlanta is an urban phenomenon arising from the construction of viaducts in the 1920s. This new irrigation design necessitated the rising of the city streets one level, leaving historic storefronts and shops “underground.” Walk the streets of historic Underground Atlanta on a guided history tour that takes you on a journey from Civil War Atlanta to the Civil Rights era. Though Underground Atlanta is old, it’s not dead. This historic Atlanta district is a thriving entertainment center and metropolitan hot spot. To learn more about this most fascinating of Atlanta historic sites visit: www.Underground-Atlanta.com.

6. Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant
Explore the historic two-story Victorian house where Coca-Cola was born! John S. Pemberton invented the syrup for Coca-Cola in 1886, and by 1900, the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant on Atlanta’s Edgewood Avenue opened. This house is the oldest building associated with the beginnings of the “Coke” franchise. Check out the birthplace of America’s favorite soft drink! To learn more about the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant, a favorite of Atlanta historic sites, please visit: www.NPS.gov.

7. Atlanta History Center
This is the most Atlanta-focused of Atlanta historical sites. This history center features in-depth information and exhibits educating the public on the Civil War, Atlanta-specific history, the Centennial Olympic Games, folk art, among other topics. The Atlanta History Center is also home to a number of historic homes, including the Margaret Mitchell House and the gorgeous Swan House – which was the residence of one of Atlanta’s wealthiest families. This massive estate boasts terraced gardens, waterfalls, and an impressive floating staircase. Tour Swan House and see if you can locate the rumored swan in every room. Be sure to check out Tullie Smith Farm also – an antebellum plantation house. Don’t miss the extensive gardens! Additionally, the museum’s permanent exhibit “Turning Point: the American Civil War” is one of the country’s largest Civil War exhibitions. To learn more about the Atlanta History Center – one of the city’s premiere Atlanta historical attractions – and this Southern city’s role in American history visit: www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

8. Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum
The Atlanta Cyclorama located in Grant Park displays the Battle of Atlanta – a major decisive victory in Union General Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign that led to the fall of Atlanta. The Battle of Atlanta is displayed as an oil painting – the world’s largest! Be sure to check out this 1885 painting of one of the most important Southern battles in the American Civil War! In addition, the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum hosts a movie, steam locomotive Texas, a bookstore and the Civil War Museum which is home to a collection of Civil War memorabilia, weapons, uniforms, and a computer touch screen which educates young viewers on the events of the Civil War. To learn more about these Atlanta historical sites visit: www.AtlantaCyclorama.org.

9. Inman Park
Inman Park stands on what once was a Civil War battlefield. Visit the historic markers in the southwest corner of the park to witness the exact scene where some of the most violent fighting in the Battle of Atlanta took place in 1864. If you are in Atlanta during the last full weekend of April be sure to drop by the Inman Park Festival. This colorful fiesta features Atlanta’s largest street market, Dance Festival, live entertainment, quirky parade led by the Inman Park Butterfly, and the Tour of Homes. To learn more about Inman Park’s Atlanta historical attractions visit their quirky page at: www.InmanPark.org.

10. Georgia State Capitol
Home to a priceless Civil War and Georgia State flag collection, the Georgia State Capitol also houses the Georgia Capitol Museum which seeks to preserve the history of the capitol building and events that took place there. The museum has collected artifacts, memorabilia, flags, and art that detail the Georgia State Capitol building’s history. Take a tour of this most prominent of Atlanta historical sites! To learn more about Atlanta’s capitol building visit: www.SoS.ga.gov.