Sign in Using FacebookAtlanta Guide » More About Atlanta: Interesting Facts
Interesting Facts
- Boy, they're not slumming it, are they? Zoo Atlanta's most notable attractions are the giant pandas Xi Lan, Mei Lan, Lun Lun, and Yang Yang who live in a state-of-the-art, $7-million habitat. Shipped from Beijing aboard a specially equipped Boeing 767, the pandas are only one of the zoo's many attractions.
- Need a high-cal, comfort food fix? Head to the Varsity, the world's largest drive-in restaurant. The local favorite opened in 1928 at the corner of Spring Street and North Avenue, near Georgia Tech. The place now serves an average of two miles of hot dogs and a ton of onion rings each day.
- The world's best-selling soft drink Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta by pharmacist, John S. Pemberton. Formulated in his home on Marietta Street, the concoction was first served to the public in May 1886. Today, visitors can learn about the history of Coke at the World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta.
- How many stars twinkle in an Arabian sky? At the Fox Theatre, the answer is 96 at least as painted in the clear desert sky above the auditorium. This 1929 Moorish-themed Art Deco delight is one of only two such theater palaces in the nation. The ornate structure with its marble and velvet restrooms regularly hosts Broadway shows and performances by both the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera.
- Frankly, we're being frank. Rhett, Scarlett, and Tara, the white-columned plantation, are merely fictional creations of "Gone with the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell. Even so, visitors look forward to touring the modest home where Mitchell wrote the Civil War saga (Peachtree and 10th Street). The book has sold more than 28 million copies and is the best-selling novel of all time. The movie, which premiered in Atlanta in 1939, won ten Academy awards.
- Just how big is that horse? Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park is home to the world's largest bas-relief carving, a depiction of Confederate war heroes Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis. The project was conceived in 1912, but it took more than half a century to carve the 90-foot-high by 190-foot-wide sculpture into the mountain's granite wall. As portrayed on the mountain, Lee's horse, Traveler, is 147 feet long.
- General William T. Sherman burned Atlanta in the fall of 1864 as his Union army marched to the sea. Among the few buildings that survived are several of the storefronts in Underground Atlanta, a three-level shopping, entertainment, and dining complex in the heart of the city.
- What brings together 24-hour news, "Andy Griffith" reruns, and the world's largest freestanding escalator? Newsflash! It's the CNN Center in Atlanta, headquarters of media mogul Ted Turner's vast empire.
- Atlanta is the birthplace of civil rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated in 1968, his burial site is located at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The King Center, also in Atlanta, is home to historical King memorabilia.
- Shop till you drop! Atlanta is a top destination for shoppers throughout the South for good reason. The state's largest mall the Mall of Georgia opened in 1999 with more than 150 stores, five themed court areas, a performance amphitheater, and a 20-screen theater. But don't stop with this complex Atlanta offers plenty of other malls and retail outlets to explore too!
Eat Out and Save Money!
