Atlanta Sports and Concert Events

Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital and largest city of the state of Georgia, a state of the United States of America. It is the county seat of Fulton County, although a portion of the city (the 1909 annex) is located in DeKalb County (East Atlanta). As of the 2000 census, the city proper had a population of 416,474; greater metropolitan Atlanta had a population of 4,247,981 (a 38.4% increase since 1990), making it the 11th largest metro area in the US. CNN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have reported that the city's explosive growth, both in geographic size and number of inhabitants, is the fastest of any metropolitan area in the history of the world. Among Atlanta's nicknames is "the phoenix city", as its rise from the ashes of the Civil War resembles that of a mythical phoenix. It is also called the "New York of the South". Due to its focus on commerce and role as birthplace to civil rights leaders, Atlanta is often referred to as "the city too busy to hate". Locals sometimes affectionately call the city "Hotlanta". The city of Atlanta operates the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of two airports considered the busiest in the world. MARTA is the public transit agency, operating the subway and bus system. The region where Atlanta and its suburbs were built was originally Creek and Cherokee ("indian") territory. After they were deported to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears by the Federal government, white settlement in this area increased rapidly. After briefly being named Marthasville, the city was renamed "Atlanta" in 1847. In 1864, the city became the target of a major Union invasion in the American Civil War and scene of the Battle of Atlanta, later immortalized in the novel and film Gone With the Wind. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta after a four month siege mounted by Union General William T. Sherman, and ordered all public buildings and possible union assests destroyed. Forces under General Sherman entered Atlanta the next day and Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate on September 7. General Sherman ordered Atlanta burned to the ground on November 11 in preparation for his punitive march south. Because of a plea by Father Thomas O'Reilly of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sherman did not burn the city's churches or hospitals. The remainder of war resources were then destroyed in the aftermath and in Sherman's March to the Sea. The fall of Atlanta is seen as a critical point in the Civil War, giving the North more confidence, leading to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy. Atlanta was gradually rebuilt after the war, and soon became the industrial and commercial epicenter of the "new South". Atlanta is home to numerous institutions of higher education, including: Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, Oglethorpe University, Reformed Theological Seminary as well as the Atlanta University Center, a cluster of historically black institutions including Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Morehouse School of Medicine. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics. The city is also host to four different major league sports: Major League Baseball: Atlanta Braves, American football, National Football League: Atlanta Falcons, Basketball, National Basketball Association: Atlanta Hawks, Hockey, National Hockey League: Atlanta Thrashers.