Downtown Atlanta

{{short description|Central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States}}

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|population_total = 26,850{{cite web |title=Downtown Counts |url=https://www.atlantadowntown.com/_files/docs/downtown-counts_2017-reduced.pdf |website=www.atlantadowntown.com |publisher=Central Atlanta Progress |access-date=20 February 2023}}

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Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, state, and federal government facilities; Georgia State University; sporting venues; and most of Atlanta's tourist attractions. It measures approximately four square miles, and had 26,850 residents as of 2017. Similar to other central business districts in the United States, it has recently undergone a transformation that includes the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses.

Geography

Downtown is bound by North Avenue to the north, Boulevard to the east, Interstate 20 to the south, and Northside Drive to the west. This definition includes central areas like Five Points, the Hotel District, and Fairlie-Poplar, and outer neighborhoods such as SoNo and Castleberry Hill.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) organization, though, defines a much smaller downtown area measuring just one and two tenths square miles. This area is roughly bound by North Avenue to the north, Piedmont Avenue and the Downtown Connector to the east, Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Courtland Street, and Edgewood Avenue to the south, and the railroad tracks to the west. This area only includes the core central business district neighborhoods of Fairlie-Poplar, Five Points, the Hotel District, Centennial Hill, and South Downtown.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

History

File:Downtown Atlanta, 1889.JPG

The history of downtown began in 1826 with Wilson Lumpkin and Hamilton Fulton surveying a possible canal route between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Milledgeville, Georgia's capital at the time.[http://iloveatlanta.info/history/1782-1859 ATLANTA HISTORY, 1782-1859], accessed June 8, 2008{{cite web |title=Building the Western and Atlantic Railroad |url=http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Building_the_Western_and_Atlantic_Railroad |website=About North Georgia |publisher=Golden Ink |access-date=8 June 2019 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608101512/http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Building_the_Western_and_Atlantic_Railroad |url-status=dead }} 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 of Georgia to the other states north and west, was granted a charter by the legislature, which was signed into law by Lumpkin. As a result, the town named Terminus was founded in 1837, named for the end of the railroad line.[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2207 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Atlanta], accessed on July 29, 2009 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.[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gafulton/atlantahistorystuff.html History of Atlanta - 1792 to the 1900s], accessed July 29, 2009

By 1845, John Edgar 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".[http://www.atlantadowntown.com/HavingFun_History.asp CAP/ADID Having Fun - Atlanta History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514092543/http://www.atlantadowntown.com/HavingFun_History.asp |date=2008-05-14 }}, accessed June 8, 2008 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/Atlanta/wes.htm,|title=Western & Atlantic Railroad Zero Milepost-Atlanta: A National Register of Historical Places Travel Itinerary}}

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 be destroyed by war.{{cite web|url=http://iloveatlanta.info/history/1782-1859|title=1782 - 1859 - I love Atlanta}}

File:Peachtree Street, 1882.JPG

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. Two of the teams continue to play their home games downtown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Philips Arena.

File:COMMUTERS ON A STREET CORNER IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA GEORGIA, WAITING FOR A METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY... - NARA - 556808.tif

Business growth in the 1970s resulted in significant development in Downtown, most notably in Peachtree Center and the Hotel District. Economic development in these areas shifted the commercial center of the city to an area along Peachtree Street that was north of Five Points, however, despite the construction of the MARTA central station there in 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2207|title=Atlanta|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia}} By the mid-1980s, Peachtree Center had become the core of a dedicated hotel-convention district that lay at the heart of the Downtown economy, even as the remainder of Downtown Atlanta deteriorated markedly.Theorizing the City: The New Urban Anthropology Reader, edited by Setha M. Low, pp. 324-35

The closure of Underground Atlanta in 1979 due to an increase in crime contributed to perceptions that Downtown was dangerous, and the 1980s saw a significant decline in population. By 1990, Five Points was a "vacant shell of its former self," while Downtown as a whole was largely an "archepelagic assemblage of fortified enclaves inhabited in the daylight hours by government office workers, conventioners, and college students, and in the night by a substantial population of homeless persons."Theorizing the City: The New Urban Anthropology Reader, edited by Setha M. Low, p. 318

The 1996 Olympic Games, along with the transformation of Georgia State University from a commuter school to a traditional college, initiated a resurgence of Downtown that continues today. They resulted in Centennial Olympic Park, which was built as a physical memorial to the games in the former industrial area west of Five Points. In the following decade, Centennial Olympic Park spurred the creation of a Downtown tourist district anchored by the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the CNN Center, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the College Football Hall of Fame. Following the 1996 games, Georgia State University president Carl Patton, an urban planner, initiated a university-led transformation of Downtown that sought to make Georgia State "a part of the city, not apart from the city." Dubbed the Main Street Master Plan, Patton's vision has been executed through billions of dollars of urban construction, boosting Downtown's economy and population.The University As Urban Developer: Case Studies And Analysis, edited by David C. Perry and Wim Wiewel, p. 139

On March 14, 2008, at approximately 9:40 pm Eastern Daylight Time, an EF2 tornado hit Downtown with winds up to {{convert|135|mi/h|km/h}}. It 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. It was the first time a tornado touched ground in Downtown since weather record keeping began in the 1880s. While there were dozens of injuries, there was only one fatality.[http://dr.coxnewsweb.com/www.ajc.com/content/stories/atlanta-tornado-claims-2-/ Tornado Claims One in Polk County] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418112428/http://dr.coxnewsweb.com/www.ajc.com/content/stories/atlanta-tornado-claims-2-/ |date=2008-04-18 }} by Tim Eberly and Paul Shea for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, March 15, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2008.

Cityscape

File:Atlanta_Downtown_Festival_and_Tour.jpg

Downtown contains some of the tallest buildings in Atlanta. The tallest building in Atlanta, the Bank of America Plaza building, is situated between Midtown Atlanta and Downtown. Rising at {{convert|1023|ft|m}},{{cite web|url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=bankofamericaplaza-atlanta-ga-usa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501152153/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=bankofamericaplaza-atlanta-ga-usa|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 1, 2007|title=Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta - 121137 - EMPORIS|first=Emporis|last=GmbH|website=Emporis}} Bank of America Plaza is also the tallest building in any of the U.S. state capitals, and one of the tallest buildings in the United States outside of New York City and Chicago.

Downtown is the heart and the largest of the three business districts of the city. This area contains striking architecture dating as far back as the 19th century. Some of the most famous and/or tallest buildings in Downtown include:

{{wide image|Atlanta Downtown Skyline.jpg|align-cap=center|1000px|The Downtown skyline}}

= Neighborhoods =

File:Marietta and Fairlie Streets.jpg

Downtown is divided into sixteen (16) districts:{{Cite web|url=https://thegeneralistview.substack.com/p/downtown-atlanta-districts|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509065309/http://www.atlantadowntown.com/DoingBusiness_Downtown_Neighborhoods.asp|url-status=dead|title=Downtown Atlanta Districts Guide|first=Jereme|last=Sharpe|date=March 29, 2023|archivedate=May 9, 2008}}

  • Auburn Avenue Corridor - Cultural District
  • Castleberry Hill - Arts District
  • Centennial Hill - Energy District
  • Centennial Park - Tourism District
  • [https://centennialyards.com/ Centennial Yards] (CY) - Entertainment District
  • Edgewood Avenue Corridor - Bar District
  • Fairlie-Poplar - Residential District
  • Five Points (Underground) - Club District
  • Garnett - International District
  • Georgia State University (GSU) Campus - Education District
  • Congress Center - Sports & Events District
  • [https://ctycms.com/ga-atlanta/docs/government-walk.pdf Government Walk] - Government District
  • Grady Memorial Hospital (GMH) Campus - Healthcare District
  • Peachtree Center (PTC) - Business District
  • South Downtown (SoDo) - Makers District
  • Whitehall Corridor - Industrial District

Economy

Downtown contains over {{convert|26|e6sqft|m2}} of office space; combined with Midtown as the central business district they make up over 48 million{{cite web|url=http://dsg.colliers.com/document.aspx?report%3D1197.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-07-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326175419/http://dsg.colliers.com/document.aspx?report=1197.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-26 }} sq ft, more than the CBDs of Dallas,{{cite web |url=http://www.colliersmn.com/prod/ccgrd.nsf/publish/D6404E72A4A79962862572A2007748AA/$File/Q4+2006+DFW+Office+Market+Report.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926030551/http://www.colliersmn.com/prod/ccgrd.nsf/publish/D6404E72A4A79962862572A2007748AA/$File/Q4+2006+DFW+Office+Market+Report.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-26 |url-status=dead }} and Miami.{{cite web|url=http://www.colliers.com/Content/Repositories/Base/Markets/Miami/English/Market_Report/PDFs/YEARENDFINALAPR3.pdf|title=Colliers Setup SPREADS|access-date=2007-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926030556/http://www.colliers.com/Content/Repositories/Base/Markets/Miami/English/Market_Report/PDFs/YEARENDFINALAPR3.pdf|archive-date=2007-09-26|url-status=dead}} Downtown's economy is also driven by its government facilities, venues, and retail options.

= Governmental facilities =

The Federal government maintains a strong presence in Downtown. The U.S. Census Bureau has its Atlanta Regional Office in the Centennial Tower and the Atlanta Regional Census Center in Suite 1000 in the Marquis Two Tower in the Peachtree Center."[https://www.census.gov/roatl/www/ The Atlanta Region]." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 17, 2010. The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Atlanta Aviation Field Office in the Atlanta Federal Center in Downtown Atlanta."[https://www.ntsb.gov/abt_ntsb/regions/aviation.htm Regional Offices: Aviation]." National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved on May 15, 2010. The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building was built and "designed and constructed to accommodate the rapidly expanding volume of the Postal Service, which was then oriented around a single, central processing facility."[http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/1fd3e688294c3a74852563d3004975f4/7ff498278ff10655852565d900539ee1?OpenDocument Historic Federal Buildings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407000244/http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/1fd3e688294c3a74852563d3004975f4/7ff498278ff10655852565d900539ee1?OpenDocument |date=2009-04-07 }}, accessed on June 13, 2008

The Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center is the ninth largest federal building in the United States and the largest in the southeast.[http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/04/10/focus19.html Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center - Atlanta Business Chronicle], accessed on June 13, 2008 It "houses 5,000 employees for dozens of federal agencies and combines four distinct structural elements in central downtown, equaling {{convert|2|e6sqft|m2}}." The Richard B. Russell Federal Building, a {{convert|1.25|e6sqft|m2|adj=on}} mixed-used office building, contains the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and offices for several other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy's regional office.[http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=labeled_buildings.showProfile&profile_id=2001 Richard B. Russell Federal Building - ENERGY Start], accessed on June 13, 2008

Further north in the Fairlie-Poplar district of Downtown is the U.S. Court of Appeals. This court takes federal cases from the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. It is officially named the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals building, named after a former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the predecessor court to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit).{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

File:State Bar of Georgia.JPG

Downtown is also marked by its state, county, and city government facilities. The Georgia State Capitol, the seat of the government for the State of Georgia, is located South Downtown. Its gold dome is visible from the Downtown Connector. The Fulton County Government Center, the seat of the Fulton County Government, is located on Pryor Street. The Fulton County Courthouse is located directly across the street from the Fulton County Government Center. A few blocks away from the U.S. Court of Appeals is the State Bar of Georgia building, the former location of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta before it moved to its Midtown location in 2001.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

= Venues and convention centers =

Downtown is home to most of the city's major sporting venues. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is home to the Atlanta Falcons, the city's NFL team, and Atlanta United FC, the city's MLS team. Mercedes-Benz Stadium also hosts major college football events, including the annual Aflac Kickoff Game, the SEC Championship Game, the Celebration Bowl, and the Peach Bowl. In its vicinity is State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, the city's NBA team. It is located directly across Centennial Olympic Park Drive from the CNN Center. Just south of Interstate 20 are the Georgia State University baseball, basketball, and football stadiums—the latter built from the legacy of the defunct Centennial Olympic Stadium and Turner Field.

File:Peachtree October 2.jpg

The Tabernacle, located on Luckie Street, is a music concert hall built in 1910 for the Tabernacle Baptist Church. In 1996 it was converted into a House of Blues Club for the Olympics.{{cite web|url=http://www.tabernacleatl.com/history.php|title=Tabernacle Atlanta - History|access-date=2008-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605024423/http://www.tabernacleatl.com/history.php|archive-date=2008-06-05|url-status=dead}} It was renamed "The Tabernacle" in 1998.{{Citation | title=Former House of Blues reopening in downtown as the Tabernacle | last=Saporta | first=Maria | date=March 12, 1998 | newspaper=The Atlanta Journal and Constitution | page=F-2 | url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/AT/lib00003,0EADA39E998BCCAC.html | access-date=2009-02-02 }} The concert hall is four stories and can seat 2600.

AmericasMart is a wholesale trade center consisting of four buildings totaling seven million square feet.{{cite web|title=AmericasMart Atlanta|url=http://www.americasmart.com/|work=Americas Mart Atlanta|publisher=AMC, Inc.|access-date=17 February 2012}} The Mart hosts several trade shows every year including Market Wednesday, Atlanta Apparel, Atlanta Spring Immediate Delivery, and The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market. Some permanent showrooms are open daily, though many are open only part of the time or during trade shows.

Clustered around the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the CNN Center, the Georgia World Congress Center is a state-owned convention center. Opened in 1976, it was the first state owned and operated major convention center in the United States.[http://www.gwcc.com/about/fun_facts.html GWCC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701034646/http://www.gwcc.com/about/fun_facts.html |date=2008-07-01 }}, accessed on June 13, 2008 As the fourth largest convention center in the United States and with {{convert|1.4|e6sqft|m2}} of space, more than a million people attend conventions at the Georgia World Congress Center annually, and as many 125,000 people attend a single event.

= Retail =

Located near the MARTA Five Points Station, Underground Atlanta is Downtown's shopping and entertainment district. During the 1920s, streets in the area were raised above the ground (and the railroad tracks) for a better flow of traffic.{{cite web|url=http://www.underground-atlanta.com/about-us/history-of-underground.html|title=History of Underground Atlanta|website=www.underground-atlanta.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302112128/http://www.underground-atlanta.com/about-us/history-of-underground.html |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=usurped}} The Mall at Peachtree Center, located on Peachtree Street, has 60 specialty shops, including six full-scale restaurants, as well as a regular food court, a conference center in the South Tower. It also includes the Peachtree Center Athletic Club, which contains a {{convert|72000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} full service athletic facility.{{cite web|url=http://www.peachtreecenter.com/new_site/p_amenities.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021108122738/http://www.peachtreecenter.com/new_site/p_amenities.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2002-11-08|title=Peachtree Center - The Hearf of Atlanta}} Transit access is provided MARTA's Peachtree Center station that is directly connected to it. Centennial Yards is a $5 billion mixed-use development that is expected to be completed in 2026. The transformative 50-acre project will bring more restaurants, entertainment, housing, hotel rooms, and retail stores to downtown.{{cite web | url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/centennial-yards-next-phase-downtown-redevelopment/85-db6bd6c0-c09c-437c-a11b-01d6e4484195#:~:text=ATLANTA%20%E2%80%94%20The%20developer%20behind%20Centennial,to%20a%20Monday%20news%20release. | title=Centennial Yards to begin next phase of Downtown redevelopment | date=25 March 2024 }}{{Cite web|url=https://centennialyards.com/news/|title=News}}

= Diplomatic missions =

The Consulate-General of Argentina,"[http://www.consuladoargentinoatlanta.org/contactenos.htm Contáctenos]." Consulate-General of Argentina in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009."[http://www.peachtreecenter.com/pdfs/international_710.pdf Peachtree Center]{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}" (Map). Peachtree Center. Retrieved on July 28, 2009. The Consulate-General of Germany,"[http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/03__Consulates/Atlanta/01/__Data.html Address, Contact and Office Hours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118153747/http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/03__Consulates/Atlanta/01/__Data.html |date=2008-11-18 }}." Consulate-General of Germany in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009. Consulate of Belgium, and the Consulate-General of South Korea are located in Peachtree Center."[http://www.koreanconsul.org/inc.php?inc=100101&lang=en General Information]." Consulate-General of South Korea in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009. The Consulate-General of the United Kingdom is located in the Georgia-Pacific Tower."[http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/our-offices-in-the-us/other-locationsin-us/atlanta/ British Consulate-General - Atlanta] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721220416/http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/our-offices-in-the-us/other-locationsin-us/atlanta |date=2009-07-21 }}." UK in the USA. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.

Parks

Woodruff Park, named after Robert W. Woodruff, is a {{convert|6|acre|m2|adj=on}} park in Downtown located a block away from Five Points. The park is the location of the iconic Phoenix Memorial, which memorializes Atlanta's rise from the ashes of the Civil War.[http://www.woodruffpark.com WOODRUFFPARK.COM], accessed June 13, 2008 Built as a legacy of the 1996 Olympic Games, Centennial Olympic Park, located on {{convert|21|acre|m2|adj=on}} area of Downtown, is the largest downtown park in the United States developed in the last 25 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.centennialpark.com/about/park_history.html|title=PARK - Georgia World Congress Center Authority|website=www.centennialpark.com|access-date=2008-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819105643/http://www.centennialpark.com/about/park_history.html|archive-date=2010-08-19|url-status=dead}}

A famous part of the park is the Fountain of Rings, the world's largest interactive fountain utilizing the Olympic symbol of five interconnecting rings. The park hosts many events, such as music concerts and a fireworks display for the Independence Day holiday. Hurt Park with its lighted fountain was an attraction in the 1940s and 1950s, and is a reminder of a bygone time.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

File:Woodruff park atlanta.jpg

Attractions

Just north of Centennial Olympic Park is the Georgia Aquarium, the world's third largest aquarium, after Marine Life Park in Singapore built in 2012 and the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China built in 2010. The Georgia Aquarium remains the largest aquarium in the United States and in the Western Hemisphere, with more than {{convert|8|e6USgal|m3}} of fresh and marine water.{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/exploreTheAquarium/|title=Explore the Aquarium - The Georgia Aquarium|access-date=2008-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617234703/http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/exploreTheAquarium/|archive-date=2008-06-17|url-status=dead}} It is listed as one of the "1,000 Places to See Before You Die".{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitUs/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617110107/http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitUs/ |archive-date=2008-06-17 |url-status=dead }}

The World of Coca-Cola, situated near the Georgia Aquarium at Pemberton Place, is a permanent exhibition to the history of Coca-Cola. Downtown is in the process of bringing new attractions to the area, particularly in the area clustered around Centennial Olympic Park. In June 2008, Atlanta was selected for the future home of the National Health Museum. It will be near Centennial Olympic Park where it is estimated to attract between 1.1 and 1.4 million visitors per year.{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantadowntown.com/NewsMuseumOfHealth.asp|title=CAP/ADID- National Museum of Health|access-date=2008-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629194847/http://www.atlantadowntown.com/NewsMuseumOfHealth.asp|archive-date=2008-06-29|url-status=dead}}

Education

File:Centennial Hall, Georgia State University.jpg]]

Georgia State University, a four-year public research institution, has been a major force in Downtown's resurgence. Downtown has benefited from the flurry of GSU-related construction and land acquisitions as the institution undergoes its transformation from a commuter school to a traditional university. In the early 2000s, under then-president Carl Patton, the university undertook the creation of a master plan that would make GSU "a part of the city, not apart from the city." The resulting $1 billion master plan has led to 14 new or renovated university buildings, including academic structures, student dormitories, dining halls, and sporting facilities. The result is a reinvigorated Downtown, especially in the areas around Woodruff Park and Sweet Auburn.[http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2010/12/31/gsu-picks-site-for-business-law-schools.html?page=all "GSU picks site for business, law schools" Atlanta Business Chronicle]

Downtown Atlanta is in Atlanta Public Schools (APS). Zoned schools are: Centennial Place Academy (K-8 school),{{cite web|url=https://maps.apsk12.org/elementary.html?scode=33|title=Centennial Place Academy|publisher=Atlanta Public Schools|access-date=2024-07-17}} - Use the map to find where Downtown Atlanta is. and Midtown High School (formerly Henry W. Grady High School).{{cite web|url=https://maps.apsk12.org/high.html?scode=51|title=Midtown High School|publisher=Atlanta Public Schools|access-date=2024-07-17}} - Use the map to find where Downtown Atlanta is.

Transportation

File:Bright Atlanta.jpg]]

Downtown is a transportation hub for the entire region. The Downtown Connector runs north and south through the district. The Connector is the primary freeway artery for the city. Downtown is also served by Interstate 20, which creates the southern border of Downtown. Downtown also has many surface streets that serve as alternatives to the Downtown Connector.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

MARTA's east–west and north–south subway lines converge in the middle of Downtown at the Five Points station. The North-South Line has four additional stops at Garnett (in South Downtown), Peachtree Center, and Civic Center (in SoNo). The east–west line has two additional stops at Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center and Georgia State.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

See also

References

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