Atlanta in 50 Objects
A pink pig and a renegade cow. A movie prop and a Coke bottle. A Pulitzer Prize–winning book and a Nobel Prize–winning icon.
How do you tell the story of Atlanta in 50 objects? We decided the best experts were Atlantans themselves—residents who cheer the Braves and rue I–285 rush-hour traffic, who understand how Civil War losses and Civil Rights victories together helped forge the city’s unique identity. Atlanta History Center asked the public to submit what objects they think best represent their town. The parameters were broad: an object could also be a person, a place, an institution, or an idea. After receiving hundreds of submissions, History Center staff assembled a collection of fifty pieces that represent the themes identified by the public. In addition to items from our own collections, we have partnered with many local institutions and individuals to gather artifacts from around the city to tell this community–driven story.
Phoenix Rising
In 1887, Atlanta adopted a new city seal prominently featuring the mythical Phoenix.
Like the Phoenix, Atlanta had risen from its own ashes following its destruction in 1864. Many times during the city’s history, Atlanta has redefined and reinvented itself, rising again as the city slogan, Resurgens, suggests. The “Atlanta Spirit” is another oft-referenced slogan describing an entrepreneurial and ambitious attitude that has shaped the city’s historical identity.
The sculpture, Atlanta from the Ashes, was given to the city by Rich’s department store on the occasion of their one-hundredth anniversary. The statue was originally located adjacent to the Rich’s store on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. In 1995, it was restored and moved to its current location in Woodruff Park.
It is difficult to imagine or predict what new image and vision the Atlanta Spirit will invent for this new age, but if it succeeds in meeting these challenges, Atlanta may become as Mayor Maynard Jackson once described it, “a gateway to a new time, a new era, a new beginning for the cities of our land.”
Atlanta from the Ashes, Woodruff Park, 2011. Courtesy Jason Riedy, photographer