Culture of Atlanta, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The city of Atlanta, Georgia has a vibrant and lively culture.
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[edit] Tourism
- See also: Atlanta attractions
Atlanta hosts a variety of museums on subjects ranging from history to fine arts, the Olympics, natural history, and beverages. Prominent among them are sites honoring Atlanta's participation in the civil rights movement. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in the city, and his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Meetings with other civil rights leaders, including Hosea Williams and Congressman John Lewis, often happened at Paschal's, a diner and motor inn which was a favorite for "colored" people, banned from "white" restaurants in an era of racial segregation and intolerance. King's final resting place is in the tomb at the center of the reflecting pool at the King Center.
Other history museums and attractions include the Atlanta History Center; the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum (a huge painting and diorama in-the-round, with a rotating central audience platform, that depicts the Battle of Atlanta in the Civil War); the Carter Center and Presidential Library; historic house museum Rhodes Hall; the Wren's Nest, former home of Brer Rabbit author Joel Chandler-Harris; and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum.
The arts are represented by several theaters and museums, including the Fox Theatre. The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony, and High Museum of Art. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is the city's home for challenging contemporary art and education geared toward working artists and collectors of art. Museums geared specifically towards children include the Fernbank Science Center and Imagine It! Atlanta's Children's Museum. The High Museum of Art is the city's major fine/visual arts venue, with a significant permanent collection and an assortment of traveling exhibitions. The Michael C. Carlos Museum, located at Emory University, houses the Southeast's largest collections from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, and the ancient Americas. The Atlanta Opera, which was founded in 1979 by members of two struggling local companies, is now one of the fastest growing opera companies in the nation and garners attention from audiences around the world.[1]
Atlanta features the world's largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, which officially opened to the public on November 23, 2005. The aquarium features more aquatic life than can be found in any other aquarium, in tanks holding approximately eight million gallons of water.[2] Adjacent is the World of Coca-Cola which opened in May 2007, featuring the history of the world famous soft drink brand and its well-known advertising. Pemberton Place, the 20 acre site which houses the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola is within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, the CNN Center and other downtown Atlanta tourist attractions. Underground Atlanta, a historic shopping and entertainment complex is situated under the streets of downtown Atlanta. In addition Atlantic Station, a huge new urban renewal project on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, officially opened in October 2005. While not a museum per se, The Varsity is the main branch of the long-lived fast food chain, featured as the world's largest drive-in restaurant.[3]
Piedmont Park hosts many of Atlanta's festivals and cultural events.[4] 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, made famous by Booker T. Washington's "Fingers of the Hand" speech.[4] In 1904, the city council purchased the land for US$98,000,[5] and today it is the largest park in metro Atlanta, with more than 2.5 million visitors each year.[6] 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.
Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world.[7] On its face are giant carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. It is also the site of laser shows in the summer. A few miles west of Atlanta on I-20 is the Six Flags Over Georgia Theme Park, which opened near the city in 1967, and was the second theme park in the Six Flags chain.
[edit] Entertainment and performing arts
Atlanta has a thriving music industry and is home to many famous hip-hop and R&B musicians. Jermaine Dupri's 2001 hip hop single "Welcome to Atlanta" (feat. Ludacris) declares Atlanta the "new Motown", referencing the city of Detroit, Michigan, which was known for its contributions to popular music, fertile job market and affordable urban housing in the 1950s to 1980s. The Dirty South style of hip-hop emerged in part from Atlanta artists such as Outkast and Goodie Mob. More recently, rapper/producer Lil Jon has been a driving force behind the party-oriented style known as crunk.
Record Producers L.A. Reid and Babyface founded LaFace Records in Atlanta in the late-1980s; the label has eventually become the home to multi-platinum selling artists such as Toni Braxton, TLC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Monica, Usher and Ciara, many of whom are Atlantans themselves. It is also the home of So So Def Records, a label founded by Jermaine Dupri in the mid-1990s, that signed acts such as Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Xscape and Dem Franchise Boyz. The success of LaFace and SoSo Def led to Atlanta as an established scene for record labels such as LaFace parent company Arista Records to set up satellite offices. Atlanta is also home to multi-platinum rappers Ludacris and T.I., among others. Artists such as Keyshia Cole, Bow Wow, B5, Phife Dawg, T-Pain, and Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys, and Elton John have moved to the city and made it their home. Atlanta is also a well known place for producers and artists trying to get into the music business.
Atlanta has also produced rock and pop music singers, such as The Black Crowes, alternative metal band Sevendust, sludge metal band Mastodon, ska/punk band Treephort, rock bands Swimming Pool Q's, Uncle Green (a.k.a 3 Lb. Thrill), Light Pupil Dilate, Big Fish Ensemble, Collective Soul and Third Day, the folk-pop Indigo Girls, Butch Walker, and was a proving ground for Connecticut-born pop-rock-blues musician John Mayer. Mayer, as well as India.Arie and Shawn Mullins, all performed pre-fame at Eddie's Attic, an independent club in the intown suburb of Decatur. The "Open Mic Shootout" at Eddie's Attic consistently draws singer-songwriter talent from across the nation, and is held every Monday night.
The city has a well-known and active live music scene. In the early 1980s, Atlanta was the home of a thriving new wave music scene featuring such bands as The Brains and The Producers, closely linked to the new wave scenes in Athens, Georgia and other college towns in the southeast. Historically there have been a variety of live music traditions going back to Cabbagetown country music pioneer Fiddlin' John Carson, also including a thriving scene in the 90's, also in Cabbagetown, centered on a bar called Dotties, now known as Lenny's and relocated a few blocks away. Video Concert Hall, precursor to MTV, was founded in Atlanta. Atlanta hosts several annual events that include live music: the Jazz Festival, Music Midtown, the Montreux Festival, Gay Pride Festival, On the Bricks, the Dogwood Festival, and the National Black Arts Festival, just to name a few.
Atlanta's classical music scene includes well-renowned ensembles such as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, period-instrument ensemble New Trinity Baroque, Atlanta Boy Choir, and many others. Classical musicians include renowned conductors such as the late Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony's Robert Spano.
Atlanta is home to over 100 theater, dance, and film arts companies. Actor's Express, Dad's Garage, Screen on the Green, Atlanta Dance Theater, Lionheart Theater Company, Image Film and Video, the Ballethnic Dance Company, the Center for Puppetry Arts, IKAM Productions, PushPush Theater Company, and many others offer a wide variety of entertainment options. There are dozens of world-class theaters and venues, including the Fox Theater, Rialto Theater, Atlanta Civic Center, the Tabernacle, Alliance Theater, 7 Stages, 14th Street Playhouse, the Ferst Center for the Arts, Chastain Amphitheater, Callanwolde, the Shakespeare Tavern, etc.
[edit] Sports
| Club | Sport | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | Football | National Football League | Georgia Dome |
| Atlanta Braves | Baseball | Major League Baseball, NL | Turner Field |
| Atlanta Hawks | Basketball | National Basketball Association | Philips Arena |
| Atlanta Thrashers | Ice Hockey | National Hockey League | Philips Arena |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | Soccer | USL First Division | Silverbacks Park |
| Georgia Force | Arena Football | Arena Football League | Philips Arena |
| Gwinnett Gladiators | Ice Hockey | ECHL | Arena at Gwinnett Center |
| Atlanta Vision | Basketball | ABA:Blue Conference | The Sampson's Center |
| Atlanta Rollergirls | Roller Derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | All American Skating Center |
Atlanta has a rich sports history, including the oldest on-campus Division I football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between the A&M College of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Piedmont Park in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Bowl (Formerly known as The Peach Bowl) and the Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics. Centennial Olympic Park, built for 1996 Summer Olympics, sits adjacent to CNN Center and Philips Arena. It is now operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority.
The city is also host to four different major league sports. The Atlanta Braves baseball team has been the Major League Baseball franchise of Atlanta since 1966; the franchise was previously known as the Boston Braves (1912–1952), and the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965). The team was founded in 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts as a National Association club, making it the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North American sports. The Braves won the World Series in 1995 and had a recently ended unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005. Before the Braves moved to Atlanta, the Atlanta Crackers were Atlanta's professional baseball team from 1901 until their last season in 1965. They won 17 league championships in the minor leagues. The Atlanta Black Crackers were Atlanta's Negro League team from around 1921 until 1949.
The Atlanta Falcons American football team plays at the Georgia Dome. They have been Atlanta's National Football League franchise since 1966. They have won the division title three times, and a conference championship once, going on to lose to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. Super Bowl XXVIII and XXXIV were held in the city. In the Arena Football League, The Georgia Force has been Atlanta's team since the franchise relocated from Nashville in 2002. The 2005 National Conference champions play in Philips Arena.
The Atlanta Hawks basketball team has been the National Basketball Association franchise of Atlanta since 1969; the team was previously known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946–1951), Milwaukee Hawks (1951-55), St. Louis Hawks (1955-68). The team's sole NBA championship was in 1958, when they were the St. Louis Hawks.
From 1992 to 1996 Atlanta was home to the short-lived Atlanta Knights, an International Hockey League team. Their inaugural season was excellent for a new team, and was only bested by their sophomore season in which they won the championship Turner Cup. In 1996 they moved to Quebec City and became the Quebec Rafales. In 1999 the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team became Atlanta's National Hockey League franchise. They replaced the Atlanta Flames which had departed for Calgary, Alberta in 1980, becoming the Calgary Flames. The Thrashers made it to their first playoffs in 2007. Both the Thrashers and the Hawks play in Philips Arena.
In golf, the final event of the PGA Tour season, The Tour Championship, is played annually at East Lake Golf Club. This golf course is used because of its connection to the great amateur golfer Bobby Jones, an Atlanta native.
From 2001 to 2003 Atlanta hosted the Atlanta Beat soccer team of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. They appeared in two of the three Founders Cup championships held, losing to the Bay Area CyberRays in 2001, and the Washington Freedom team in 2003. Atlanta is the home of the Atlanta Silverbacks of the United Soccer Leagues First Division (Men) and W-League (Women). In 1968 the Atlanta Chiefs professional soccer team won the NASL championship, playing their home games at the now demolished Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
The Atlanta Kookaburras are a successful Australian rules football club that compete in men's and women's divisions in the MAAFL and SEAFL and USAFL National Championships.
Other nearby sports facilities include Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) NASCAR race track in Hampton, Georgia. Road Atlanta is another famous local race track, located in Braselton, Georgia. In 2005 Atlanta competed with other major U.S. cities for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In March 2006, Atlanta lost to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Atlanta also was the home to the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling organization and events.
Atlanta hosted the NCAA Final Four Men's Basketball Championship in April 2007.
[edit] Media
- See also: List of newspapers in Atlanta
- See also: List of broadcast stations in Atlanta
Atlanta's only major daily paper is The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Weekly papers include Creative Loafing, The Sunday Paper and Atlanta Nation. A monthly newsprint publication Stomp And Stammer features local music news, indie rock record reviews, and cultural commentary. A handful of other publications exist.
International medical, law, and business publisher NewsRx is headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Vinings.
The Atlanta Arts community is connected through the ARTNEWS (list serve).
The Atlanta metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the ninth largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 2,059,450 homes (1.88% of the total U.S.). All of the major networks have stations in the market, along with two PBS stations and some independent ones.
Several cable television networks also operate from Atlanta, including TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and TNT. These stations are owned by Turner Broadcasting System (now a subsidiary of Time Warner). The Weather Channel (owned by Landmark Communications) also broadcasts from the Atlanta area. According to Billboard, the first nationwide music video programming on cable television, Video Concert Hall was created in Atlanta.
There are also numerous local radio stations serving many genres of music, sports, and talk. The nationally syndicated Neal Boortz and Clark Howard shows are broadcast from Atlanta radio station AM 750 WSB.
Cox Enterprises, which owns the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV, and WSB-AM-FM, is headquartered in Atlanta.
Cumulus Media, Inc. engages in the acquisition, operation, and development of commercial radio stations in mid-size radio markets in the United States and is also headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. As of December 31, 2005, it owned and operated 307 radio stations in 61 mid-sized U.S. media markets; and a multimarket network of 5 radio stations in the English-speaking Caribbean; as well as provided sales and marketing services for 2 radio stations under local marketing agreement.
Nintendo's American Division has its distribution center based in Atlanta, the primary location from where imported games and products arrive to United States and are often inspected and shipped to stores nationwide.
[edit] Religion
There are over 1,000 places of worship within the city of Atlanta.[8] A large majority of Atlantans profess to following a Protestant Christian faith, the city being a major Southern Baptist center. A number of black megachurches are located in the Atlanta area, including New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, and World Changers Ministries, led by Creflo Dollar, and Greenforest Baptist Church.
Atlanta is also home to a large, vibrant Jewish community estimated to include 120,000 individuals in 61,300 households.[9] This study places Atlanta's Jewish population as the 11th largest in the United States, up from 17th largest in 1996.[9] The Temple, a reform synagogue, located on Peachtree Street, and its then-rabbi, Alvin Sugarman, were featured in the film Driving Miss Daisy.[10]
As the see of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta, Atlanta serves as the Provincial See for the Province of Atlanta. The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the King and the current archbishop is the Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory.
Atlanta is also the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. This Diocese is headquartered at Saint Philip's Cathedral and is lead by the Right Reverend J. Neil Alexander whose voice within the Church made him a candidate for Primacy at the 2006 General Convention.
The city is the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, with Annunciation Cathedral and Metropolitan Alexios presiding. In total, there are eleven Orthodox parishes in Atlanta, including Greek, Orthodox Church in America, Antiochian, Serbian, Ukrainian and Romanian.
The Southeast Conference, United Church of Christ, is also headquartered in Atlanta and serves the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and central and eastern Tennessee. There are eight United Church of Christ congregations in the Atlanta metro area.
The headquarters for The Salvation Army's United States Southern Territory is also located in Atlanta.[11] There are eight churches, numerous social service centers, and youth clubs located throughout the Atlanta area.
[edit] References
- ^ Cason, Caroline (2005-09-30). Atlanta Opera. Internet Encyclopedia. The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ Georgia Aquarium. Georgia Aquarium. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ The Varsity: What'll Ya Have. The Varsity. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ a b Park History. Piedmont Park Conservancy. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ PIEDMONT PARK APARTMENTS. City of Atlanta. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ Piedmont Park - Great Public Places. Project for Public Spaces, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ Stewart, Bruce E. (2004-05-14). Stone Mountain. The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ "Atlanta, Ga.. Information Please Database. Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved on 2006-05-17.
- ^ a b Jewish Community Centennial Study 2006. Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Titles with locations including: The Temple, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
- ^ About The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
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