Timeline of Atlanta

1950s-1990s

• 1950
• Population: 331,314; metro 997,666.
• Transit strike, Atlanta Transit Co. takes over transit from Georgia Railway and Power.
• 1952
• Georgia Board of Regents, votes to allow women into Georgia Tech.
• Buckhead annexed.
• 1953 - Links chapter established.
• 1956
• 1956 Sugar Bowl first black player to play in a college bowl game in deep south causes riots.
• Alexander Memorial Coliseum opens.
• 1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquartered in city.
• 1958
• October 12: Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing.
• Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam established.
• 1959 - Trolleybuses, buses, public library desegregated.
• Lenox Square mall opens.
• Metro population hits 1 million.
• 1960
• Population: 487,455; metro 1,312,474.
• March 15: An Appeal for Human Rights is released.
• Sit-ins at Rich's lunch counters during the Civil Rights Movement.
• Atlanta Inquirer newspaper begins publication.
• 1961
• Ivan Allen Jr. becomes mayor.
• Public schools begin token desegregation.
• Rich's desegregates restaurant.
• John Portman opens Merchandise Mart, kicking off transformation of downtown.
• One Park Tower built.
• 1962
• Peyton Road barricades built in Cascade Heights.
• 106 Atlanta art patrons die in Paris air crash.
• 1963
• Atlanta Marathon begins.
• Trolleybuses converted en masse to buses.
• 1964
• U.S. Supreme Court decides Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States.
• Atlanta Press Club and Atlanta Track Club established.
• 1965 – Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium constructed.
• 1966
• State of Georgia Building constructed.
• Both the relocated Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and the expansion Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League begin play at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
• 1967
• Atlanta Chiefs soccer team begins play.
• Sister city relationship established with Salzburg, Austria.
• 1968
• King Center for Nonviolent Social Change founded.
• Peach Bowl annual football game begins.
• Atlanta Hawks basketball team relocates to Atlanta.
• Equitable Building constructed.
• 1969
• Coronet Theater and Perimeter freeway open.
• Afro-American Police League chapter established.
• 1970
• Peachtree Road Race begins.
• Population: 496,973; metro 1,763,626
• 1971
• Atlanta Gay Pride Festival established.
• International flights begin at Hartsfield Airport.
• 1972
• Sister city relationships established with Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• The Atlanta Flames are established as an expansion team of the National Hockey League.
• The Omni Coliseum opens as the new home of the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Flames.
• 1973
• Maynard Jackson becomes first black mayor of Atlanta.
• GSU Sports Arena open.
• 1974
• Sevananda Natural Foods Market in business.
• Sister city relationships established with Lagos, Nigeria; Taipei, Taiwan; and Toulouse, France.
• Feminist Bookstore Charis Books & More opens in Little 5 Points.
• 1975 - Centennial Tower built.
• 1976
• Atlanta Botanical Garden established.
• Atlanta Film Festival begins.
• Georgia World Congress Center opens.
• National Conference of Black Mayors headquartered in city.
• 1977
• Atlanta Soto Zen Center founded.
• Sister city relationship established with Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
• 1979
• Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority begins operating.
• Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 begin.
• 1980
• Population: 425,022; metro 2,233,324.
• All-news television network CNN begins broadcasting; Turner empire takes off.
• Al-Farooq Masjid (mosque) and Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site established.
• Flames hockey team sold and relocated to Calgary, Alberta.
• 1981
• Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus founded.
• Sister city relationship established with Daegu, South Korea.
• 1982
• Andrew Young becomes mayor.
• Carter Center headquartered in Atlanta.
• 1983
• Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System established.
• Sister city relationship established with Brussels, Belgium.
• 1984 - Sweet Auburn Heritage Festival begins.
• 1986
• Jimmy Carter Library and Museum dedicated.
• Midtown Assistance Center established.
• 1987
• John Lewis becomes U.S. representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district.
• Sister city relationship established with Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
• 1988
• Democratic Convention.
• Sister city relationship established with Tbilisi, Georgia.
• 1990 - Population: 394,017; metro 2,959,950.
• 1991
• Atlanta Bicycle Coalition organized.
• Land bank established.
• Drepung Loseling Institute opens.
• 1992
• 6 September: Georgia Dome opens.
• SunTrust Plaza and Bank of America Plaza built.
• 1994 - Sister city relationships established with Bucharest, Romania; and Ancient Olympia, Greece.
• 1995
• October 28: Atlanta Braves baseball team wins 1995 World Series.
• Atlanta Downtown Improvement District established.
• Sister city relationship established with Cotonou, Benin.
• 1996
• Centennial Olympic Park opens.
• 18 May: Centennial Olympic Stadium opens.
• 19 July–4 August: 1996 Summer Olympics held.
• July 27: Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
• 16–25 August: 1996 Summer Paralympics held.
• 24 October: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium closed.
• Sister city relationship established with Salcedo, Dominican Republic.
• 1997
• Centennial Olympic Stadium reconstructed as Turner Field.
• 2 August: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium demolished and parking space built for Turner Field.
• 1998
• City website online (approximate date).
• Sister city relationship established with Nuremberg, Germany.
• 1999
• Philips Arena opens.
• Atlanta Thrashers ice hockey team begins play.
• 2000
• Freedom Park dedicated.
• Sister city relationship established with Ra'anana, Israel.
• Population: 416,474; metro 4,112,198.

21st century

2000s

• 2001 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in publication.
• 2002 - Shirley Franklin becomes mayor.
• 2003 - Fermi Project established.
• 2004 - Atlanta Rollergirls established.
• 2005
• Airport becomes world's busiest.
• Sister city relationship established with Fukuoka, Japan.
• 2008
• Delta becomes world's largest airline.
• March 14–15: 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak.

2010s

• 2010 - Population: 420,003; metro 5,268,860.
• 2011
• Thrashers hockey team are sold and relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets.
• Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal investigative report issued.
• Atlanta first US city to demolish all public housing projects.
• 2012 - Part of BeltLine path opens.
• 2014 - National Center for Civil and Human Rights opens.
• 2015 - Population: 463,875 (estimate).
• 2016
• Murder Kroger closes.
• Turner Field hosts its last baseball game, with the Braves moving to a new ballpark, SunTrust Park, in Cobb County.
• 2017
• Georgia Dome closes.
• Atlanta United FC begins play in Major League Soccer.
• Interstate 85 bridge collapse occurs.
• Turner Field reconstructed as Georgia State Stadium.
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens.
• 2018 - Hackers successfully breach the city's servers, encrypting files with ransomware and disrupting services.

2020s

• 2021
• The Atlanta spa shootings occur.
• The Atlanta Braves baseball team win the 2021 World Series.

See also

• History of Atlanta
• List of mayors of Atlanta
• Timeline of mass transit in Atlanta
• of other cities in Georgia: Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah
• Sister city timelines: Brussels, Bucharest, Cotonou, Fukuoka, Lagos, Nuremberg, Rio de Janeiro, Salzburg, Tbilisi, Toulouse

References

Bibliography

Published in 19th century

Published in 20th century

• ; v.2
• 1904
• 1908 ed.

• (fulltext via Open Library)
• Robert D. Bullard et al., eds (2000). Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Published in 21st century

• (About economic aspects of city)

External links

• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Atlanta, various dates.
• Europeana. Items related to Atlanta, Georgia, various dates.
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Utopian Literary Club (Atlanta, Ga.) records, 1927-2004