Georgia State Capitol Rotunda & Dome

From Wikipedia:
The Georgia State Capitol, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, is an architecturally and historically significant building. It has been named a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the main office building of Georgia's government. The offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state are on the second floor, while the General Assembly meets on the third floor from January to April. There are also visitors' galleries and a museum on the fourth floor.

Like many U.S. state capitols, the Georgia State Capitol is designed to resemble the Classical architectural style of the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C.. Completed in 1889, the building was designed by architects Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin P. Burnham, of Chicago, Illinois. The building was constructed by Miles and Horne, of Toledo, Ohio. Sculptor George Crouch executed all the ornamental work on the building. The commission that oversaw the planning and construction of the building included former Confederate general Phillip Cook.
The front of the capitol faces west on Washington Street. The façade features a four-story portico, with stone pediment, supported by six Corinthian columns set on large stone piers. Georgia's coat of arms, with two figures on each side, is engraved on the pediment. The Capitol's interior represents the 19th century style of its time. It was among the earliest buildings to have elevators, centralized steam heat, and combination gas and electric lights. Classical pilasters and oak paneling are used throughout the building. The floors of the interior are made of marble from Pickens County, which still produces marble products today.

The open central rotunda is flanked by two wings, each with a grand staircase and three-story atrium crowned by clerestory windows. The Capitol building has undergone frequent renovations to adapt to the growth and change of government. Originally constructed from terra cotta and covered with tin, in a 1958 renovation[3] the present dome was gilded with native gold leaf from near Dahlonega in Lumpkin County, where the first American gold rush occurred during the 1830s. For this reason, legislative business is often referred to as what is happening "under the gold dome" by media across the state. The statue Miss Freedom has adorned the dome since the building's opening.

Atlanta's not-the-offical-Olympic-torch

In honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, we look back to when Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics.



Everyone remembers the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta. The Olympic Stadium is now Turner Field, home of the Braves. The official Olympic Torch Tower is just across the parking lot from Turner Field.

And then, there's this. I just assumed this was also an Official Olympic Torch. So did my brother who took me to see this. I would also assume tens of thousands of motorists riding in the passenger seat of northbound traffic of Interstate 75 have photographed it with their smartphones. It's north of Downtown (I guess in Midtown) and really close to Georgia Tech.

So, it's not the official Olympic torch. I did a bit of Internet searching to figure out the who, when and why of this structure, only to have no results. What I did see is that it used to be painted red until five years ago. Recently, I had lunch with my best friend from high school who moved to Atlanta and he didn't know who made it either. If you know, please help me out.

From here, my brother took me to see what I now know is the real one, but my picture of that didn't come out well.

UPDATE: I found this article which explains it better:
http://patch.com/georgia/midtown/spring-spruce-up-for-olympic-landmark

Atlanta's not-the-offical-Olympic-torch

Everyone remembers the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta. The Olympic Stadium is now Turner Field, home of the Braves (although only for a couple more years). The official Olympic Torch Tower is just across the parking lot from Turner Field.

And then, there's this. I just assumed this was also an Official Olympic Torch. So did my brother who took me to see this. I would also assume tens of thousands of motorists riding in the passenger seat of northbound traffic of Interstate 75 have photographed it with their smartphones. It's north of Downtown (I guess in Midtown) and really close to Georgia Tech.

So, it's not the official Olympic torch. I did a bit of Internet searching to figure out the who, when and why of this structure, only to have no results. What I did see is that it used to be painted red until a year ago. Today, I had lunch with my best friend from high school who moved to Atlanta and he didn't know who made it either. If you know, please help me out.

From here, my brother took me to see what I now know is the real one, but my picture didn't come out well.

Burger Free Zone - Chik-Fil-A Water Tower

The Fast Food chain Chik-Fil-A is very popular in and around Atlanta, where they got their start. In addition to numerous eye-catching billboards with 3d cows is this advertising water tower seen along the I-75/I-85 Corridor.

The Pipe Corner of the South Neon Sign - Atlanta

One of my favorite vintage neon signs I've ever seen was placed by the Royal Cigar Company in downtown Atlanta. It's located at the corner of Forsyth St. and Walton St. at a place now called the Forsyth-Walton Building. Apparently, the Pipe store closed in the early 1990s. When it was working, the neon tubes represented smoke rings rising from the end of the pipe.

The day I took this photo, I saw the same sign on TV! It was the day after Thanksgiving and I was visiting my brother's family in GA. We started a family tradition by watching a Walking Dead marathon. In the very first episode when Rick goes into downtown Atlanta, he goes through this intersection while chased by zombies.

Atlanta Biltmore Hotel Neon Sign Radio Mast at dusk

Located in Midtown Atlanta is the 11-story Biltmore Hotel which opened in 1924. The most distinguishing faeture is the two towering radio masts, one on each end of the building, with vertical illuminated letters that spell out "BILTMORE". The top floor and radio masts broadcasted WSB-AM from 1925 until 1956. The hotel closed in 1981 and after sitting vacant for nearly a decade the interior was gutted and converted into office space. Even still, it's good to see the tower still standing and working.