As an agent and relocation specialist I have driven clients all over Atlanta and its suburbs for many years, describing what I know and love about the city. I decided my tour-guide material needed a little refreshing so I consulted with my online expert 🙂 to come up with 10 (mostly verifiable) tidbits that will raise eyebrows. This stuff is even good enough to entertain the locals!
DID YOU KNOW THIS?
1. Shopping
With 130 retail centers, Atlanta has the second-most shopping center space in the US after Chicago.
2. Curb Your Dog But Not Your Giraffe
Although you certainly can own a giraffe lamp, it is illegal in Atlanta to tie your giraffe to one. Or keep a donkey in your bathtub. I’m sure they don’t like it either.
3. Coke Servings
The Varsity serves more Coca-Cola by volume than anywhere else in the world, approximately 3M servings annually. (gulp)
4. Not So Peachy
The ubiquitous Peachtree name probably began as “Pitch Tree,” a name the Creek native Americans gave to a large pine tree located in their village where Atlanta eventually became established. Settler mispronunciation is purportedly the reason “Peachtree” came about.
5. Underground Unintentionally
Underground Atlanta, the struggling underground shopping and entertainment complex downtown, began as a street-level freight depot. Several viaducts were erected over the tracks for better cross flow and eventually a linear mall was built between and at the height of the bridges. This ultimately became the new street level.
6. Rain Drains Both East and West
The Eastern Continental Divide runs through parts of the city separating the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean watersheds. It’s a not-so-obvious ridge line that divides the rivers draining west into the Gulf from those that drain east. Duluth recently erected a monument in its town square to recognize this rare geological feature.
7. From Stockings to Braves
The Atlanta Braves are the oldest continually operating professional sports franchise in the US, founded originally in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings.
8. A Great Ape
Atlanta’s zoo in Grant Park is home to the country’s largest population of orangutans in the US.
9. Fortune 500
Atlanta ranks third in the US for having the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies (although one reputable source says we are probably fifth – still a reason to boast).
10. Flaking Gold
The state capital dome in downtown Atlanta is covered in 43 ounces of Georgia gold that was milled into a gold foil the thickness of tinfoil used to wrap gum. Its vulnerability to the elements means that the dome is continuously re-gilded.
Posted on 06/21/2017 at 06:00 PM
