Title: Atlanta - A Twentieth-Century City
Author: Commerce, Atlanta Chamber of
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.


*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Atlanta - A Twentieth-Century City" ***


produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)



  ATLANTA

  A TWENTIETH-CENTURY
  CITY

  The Illuminated Cover of
  this Pamphlet is a reproduction
  of the Famous Picture
  "ATLANTA BY NIGHT"
  published by Harper's Weekly
  in the issue of October 10th,
  1903, and here presented by
  courtesy of Harper & Bros.

  ISSUED BY THE
  Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
  1904

  THE BYRD PRINTING CO., ATLANTA



[Illustration: UNION PASSENGER STATION.]



How Atlanta Grew.


[Illustration: Coat of Arms]

The Atlanta of to-day is a growth of thirty-eight years. Twice has the
upbuilding of a city on this site demonstrated its natural advantages.
Within a few years before the war Atlanta had become a bustling town of
11,000 inhabitants, and during the three years which intervened before its
destruction the place was the seat of varied and important industries,
whose principal object was to sustain the military operations of the
Confederacy. It was also a depot for the distribution of supplies to the
surrounding country and a forwarding station for the commissary department
of the army.

After its baptism of fire in November, 1861, when the inhabitants had been
dispersed by the exigencies of war, and of more than 2,000 houses only 300
remained, the city took a new start, and its great growth dates from that
time. It is therefore, a city of the new regime, erected on the ruins of
the old.

The coat of arms of Atlanta fittingly typifies this remarkable history. No
city on the continent has survived such destruction. No city has twice
attained prominence with such rapidity. Atlanta's foundation reaches back
to the forties, and far-seeing men recognized it then as the place of
promise, destined to be an important railroad-center and a seat of
commerce. This conception of the new city had been accepted as a true one
when it was destroyed by fire, and since its new birth in reconstruction
days the old spirit arose and lighted the new path of Atlanta to a greater
destiny.

The capital of the state was brought here from Milledgeville when the new
city was hardly out of the ashes of war, and this gave a great impetus to
its growth, which was further insured in 1877, when the people of Georgia
voted to make Atlanta their capital. Its rapidly developing business and
manufactures were brought to the attention of the whole country by the
Cotton Exposition of 1881 which was a point of departure for the
tremendous development of the Southeastern States during the decade
between 1880 and 1890. This development found a splendid illustration in
the great Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895.

The rapidity of the growth of Atlanta is illustrated by the fact that,
since it was blotted from the map, the city has spread over twelve square
miles of ground. Starting with no business in 1865, it received in 1903
four-tenths of the freight delivered in Georgia, and its post office
receipts were four-tenths of those of the State. Thirty-nine years ago
there was hardly a dollar to turn a trade; within the year just closed the
bank clearings aggregated $115,000,000. At the beginning of this period
there were only a few stragglers remaining in the wake of fire and sword.
To-day there is a great city of over 105,000 people, the business
headquarters of 125,000, with a floating population of many thousands
more. From bare ground covered with ashes and ruins in 1865, the city has
been built up to a value of $59,595,332, consisting largely of solid
masses of brick and mortar, stone and steel, which go to make up a
magnificent array of handsome business edifices. The number of houses has
increased from 300 to 22,600.

[Illustration: STATE CAPITOL.]

The question, wherefore Atlanta? naturally arises, for communities are not
effects without causes. Atlanta is the result of a combination of
advantages, on a commanding geographical location, turned to the best
account by a spirit of transcendent energy, which surmounts all obstacles
and builds even on disaster the fabric of success. The growth of this
unconquerable spirit has been promoted by a unity of purpose which has
prevented the domination of factions. Whatever local interests may clash,
the good of Atlanta is always a rallying cry. The Atlanta spirit, which
has accomplished so much in the upbuilding of the city itself, is happily
contagious, and has much to do with making Georgia the Empire State of the
South. The spirit of new life has spread from this to other Southern
States which are the most active in the development of their resources,
and the spirit of the Southeast is the spirit of Atlanta.

For this moral and material eminence Atlanta is fortunately situated on a
ridge which divides the watershed of the Atlantic from that of the Gulf,
and at a point where the natural barrier of the Appalachian chain is
broken by great gaps in the mountains. This is the natural point of
intersection for railway lines from the West with lines from the East.

This geographical vantage ground is accompanied by a topographical
eminence, from which the great climatic advantages of Atlanta are derived.
More than 1,000 feet above sea-level at its lowest point, and from eleven
to twelve hundred at other places, Atlanta enjoys a cool, bracing
atmosphere, with breezes that blow over the foot-hills of the Blue Ridge.
The exhilarating air is a kind of natural tonic, so different from that of
the coast and Gulf regions that an inhabitant of the low countries, coming
to Atlanta during the heated term, feels a stimulus as if he had been
drinking great draughts of aerial champagne. The rolling surface of the
country, which slopes in almost every direction from the city affords easy
drainage and keeps the surrounding region free from malaria.

Atlanta's public buildings typify the solid character of her institutions.
Most conspicuous among them is the State capitol, which was erected at a
cost of $1,000,000. This stately structure, the hotels, office buildings,
theaters, churches, the custom-house, the county court-house, and other
public edifices, make up an aggregate of ten millions invested in public
buildings.

Outside of public buildings, the architecture of Atlanta is of a pleasing
character and has steadily improved during the past thirty years. Few
cities in any part of the United States can show more attractive residence
streets or architectural designs indicating more culture and good taste.
Peachtree Street, the principal one for residences, has a number of
elegant homes which would be ornaments to any city.

Atlanta is a city of homes, and this is apparent not only in the
appearance of the houses, but in the statistics of the United States
census, by which Atlanta is credited with a larger percentage of
home-owners than any city of its size in the Southern States.

The water-supply for domestic and manufacturing purposes and for sanitary
use is hardly equaled in any city of Atlanta's size, and the rates per
thousand gallons for families or for manufacturing purposes are merely
nominal, and probably lower than any on record.

[Illustration: KIMBALL HOUSE.]

Conditions in Atlanta are highly favorable to manufacturing industries,
and this is attested by the great variety of articles made here. There
were in 1900 395 establishments, employing over 9,000 operatives at good
wages, and pouring into the channels of trade an annual pay-roll of
$3,100,000. The value of the raw material consumed was more than
$8,000,000 and the product between sixteen and seventeen millions. Since
then the product has increased to $27,000,000 and the number of wage
earners to 14,000.

The manufacturers of Atlanta in their variety have a guaranty of stability
not to be found in those of any city where industry is confined to one
family, as of iron or cotton, however important that may be, and the
extent of this variety is to some degree indicated in the chapter on this
subject. Among the articles made are many specialties, for which there is
a demand in almost every State in the Union, and concerns making them have
enjoyed prosperity through a long series of years.

The trade of Atlanta covers more or less all of the States between the
Ohio and Potomac rivers, the Gulf, the Atlantic ocean and the Mississippi
River, and in some lines extends to the far Southwestern States and into
Mexico, while in a few it covers the entire country. The tendency of the
jobbing trade of the Southeast is to concentrate in Atlanta, and little by
little the business of other centers gravitates to this city.

Atlanta's commanding geographical and topographical situation was, at the
outset, one of the causes which led to the development of a great railroad
center, at which powerful systems from the East, the West and the
Southeast regularly compete. As a distributing point Atlanta enjoys
facilities hardly equaled elsewhere in the Southeastern States, and as an
accessible place of rendezvous for all kinds of organizations and
interests, it is a favorite, and has come to be known as the Convention
City.

Atlanta's financial institutions are of the most solid character.

Atlanta is the third city in the United States in the amount of insurance
written and reported to agencies. It is the Southern headquarters for a
number of fire and life insurance companies, and agencies of old-line and
every other type of insurance are numerous.

[Illustration: ARAGON HOTEL.]

[Illustration: PIEDMONT HOTEL.]

The educational facilities of Atlanta are fully treated in a separate
chapter, in which it appears that this city is abreast of the times in
this as in other respects. Atlanta early established a system of public
schools, and before almost any city in the South, turned its attention to
technical education. The Technological School was established by the State
of Georgia upon inducements offered by the city of Atlanta, which bore
half of the cost of the original plant, and contributes regularly to the
support of the institution. There is ample opportunity here for technical
instruction of other kinds, and Atlanta has three medical colleges, whose
attendance averages 600, to say nothing of the students of the dental
colleges. Technical instruction in business methods is not neglected, and
several large and flourishing business colleges have maintained themselves
here for many years.

The religious and social atmosphere of Atlanta is wholesome and
invigorating. It is a city of churches and the home of church-going
people, and the community is honey-combed with fraternal organizations.

The social intercourse of the people, as well as the facility for doing
business, is greatly aided by an ideal system of rapid transit, not only
from the residence and suburban sections to the center, but from one
residence portion to another. The neighborly spirit is enhanced by the
nearness thus artificially created.

With all these advantages, and many which appear more fully in subsequent
chapters. Atlanta has a wholesome and inspiring public spirit which never
fails to respond when the interests of the city are at stake. This is
perhaps the most distinctive thing about Atlanta.

[Illustration: GRANT PARK.]



The New Atlanta.


Population, Area and Government.

Atlanta's population is estimated at 105,600. By the census of 1900 it was
89,872. The census of 1880 gave Atlanta a population of 39,000, and by the
city assessment of the next year the real estate was valued at
$14,721,883, and the personal property at $7,474,258. By 1890 the
population had grown to 65,000 and real estate was valued at $39,729,894.
In the same period personal property grew to $11,906,605. The decade
between 1880 and 1890 was a period during which Atlanta made remarkable
advance, but during the great depression through which the whole country
has passed since 1890 the progress of this city has been astonishing. In
spite of a somewhat lower scale of valuation for suburban real estate, the
assessor's report for 1903 showed realty valued at $49,728,034, and
personalty $13,628,201. This value was created in thirty-nine years, for
Atlanta came out of the Civil War naked and desolate.

By census taken in 1900 the population of Atlanta, by wards, was found to
be as follows:

  First Ward         15,596
  Second Ward        14,628
  Third Ward         12,943
  Fourth Ward        17,072
  Fifth Ward         12,415
  Sixth Ward         14,754
  Seventh Ward        2,464
                     ------
  Total              89,872

Since then the population has increased to 105,600.


Area and Expansion.

Atlanta is a city of magnificent distances, covering about eleven square
miles. With abundance of room and fresh air, the circular form of the city
makes it compact, and the residence portions are, as a rule, equidistant
from the business center. The corporate line is described by a radius of a
mile and three-quarters. In two places this circle is expanded to take in
suburban communities which had been formed with irregular boundaries
before the circular corporation line reached them. These are Inman Park
and West End, which extend from half a mile to a mile beyond the circle
which elsewhere forms the corporate limits.

Atlanta is situated on rolling ground, which gives every facility for
drainage and contributes materially to the effectiveness of the elaborate
system of sewers. This rolling country extends in every direction, and
suburban communities are rapidly extending. The electric lines reach out
for six or eight miles on all sides of the city, and afford quick and
cheap access for the outlying towns. As a result of this elaborate system
of rapid transit, there has been a remarkable expansion of the city within
the past ten years, and the pressure on the center has been greatly
relieved. It is estimated that the suburban trains and street-car systems
of Atlanta bring in and carry out 30,000 people a day.

[Illustration: CENTURY BUILDING.]

[Illustration: PRUDENTIAL AND EMPIRE BUILDINGS.]


City Government.

The city government of Atlanta is administered by a Mayor and General
Council and Executive Boards. The legislative body is composed of
councilmen from the different wards, elected by the whole city, and
aldermen who are elected in a like manner. The aldermen and councilmen
vote separately on matters involving the expenditure of money, and the
concurrence of both bodies is necessary to an appropriation. The Mayor has
the usual veto power.

The tax rate is one and a quarter per cent. and the ratio of assessment
to real value of property is about sixty per cent. The assessed value of
real and personal property is $63,356,235.

The city owns property valued at eleven millions, and has a bonded debt of
$3,481,500. Deducting the Sinking Fund of $274,997.68, the net debt is
$3,206,502.32. There is no floating debt, and the bonded debt is limited
by the State Constitution to seven per cent. on the taxable value of the
property. The net debt is therefore $1,000,000 under the limit.

The Charter requires the Mayor and General Council to carry over a balance
of $175,000 in cash from year to year. This keeps the Treasury in good
condition and the city is able to float three and one-half per cent. bonds
at par and above.

There is a Sinking Fund Commission, which was created by a special act of
the Legislature, and the Mayor and General Council are required to set
aside each year from the revenues of the city an amount sufficient to
retire the bonded debt within thirty years.

The expenditures of the city for the year 1903 were $1,646,888.49. In the
same period, the revenues and other receipts, including bonds, the
proceeds of which were expended, were $2,036,548.32. The difference is
accounted for by a balance carried over from the previous year.


Police.

Atlanta has a fine Police Department, divided into three watches of eight
hours each. It has valuable auxiliaries in the mounted men and the bicycle
corps, numbering forty men.

There is a fine central station, which cost $100,000, and a Police signal
system with telephone connections. The expenditures of the Department
during 1903 amounted to $151,151.23.


Fire Protection.

Atlanta has a model Fire Department, well equipped with modern apparatus,
and supplied with water at fire pressure from the pumping-station of the
waterworks. In 1903 the Department cost $123,235.00; the number of fires
was 502 and the value of buildings and contents at risk $3,070,777. The
damage was $142,050.

The average fire loss for eighteen years was $123,647.


Sanitary Department.

Atlanta spent $109,023.54 on sanitation in 1903, and about 250 men were
employed under the Board of Health in keeping the city clean. There are
the usual precautions in infectious and contagious diseases. The
sewer-system of the city was constructed on a plan designed by Rudolph
Hering, of New York.


[Illustration: EQUITABLE BUILDING.]


Mortuary Record.

The deaths from diseases in Atlanta during 1903 were 1,941, of which 926
were of white people and 1,015 of colored. The population within the
corporate limits in the census year was 89,872. In 1903 it was estimated
by the Sanitary Department at 110,000. This makes the rate of mortality
17.64. Of the population in 1903, it is estimated that 44,000 were colored
and 66,000 were white, which makes the rate of mortality 23.06 for colored
and 14.03 for white.


Waterworks.

The Waterworks Department of Atlanta has one of the best plants in the
country and furnishes pure water at the nominal price of ten cents per
thousand gallons for domestic consumption. Liberal rates are made to
manufacturers, and even at the low prices charged, the Department pays a
handsome net revenue to the city.

The works have a daily pumping capacity of 35,000,000 gallons, and the
actual consumption in 1903 was 9,136,277 gallons per day. The supply comes
from the Chattahoochee River, above the city, and above the mouth of
Peachtree Creek. The river flows down from the mountain section, which is
sparsely settled, and so far the supply is satisfactory. The water passes
through a settling basin, after which it is filtered, and comes to the
city as clear as crystal.


Sewers.

In addition to the amount disbursed by the Sanitary Department, the city
spent $55,765.43 the same year in constructing sewers.


Streets.

During 1903 Atlanta spent $70,913.08 on streets. Since 1880 the city has
spent $3,827,171 on streets, sewers and sidewalks. There are 64.34 miles
of paved streets, 233.04 miles of paved sidewalks, and 106.21 miles of
sewers. There are seven miles of asphalt streets and several miles of
vitrified brick. The rest is paved with granite blocks, chert and macadam.


Boulevards.

Atlanta has some beautiful streets for driving. Peachtree, Washington,
Whitehall and Peters Streets and Capitol Avenue are paved with asphalt,
and this smooth surface makes a fine speedway. Whitehall and Peachtree
Streets, connecting at the viaduct, form a continuous asphalt boulevard
three and one-half miles long. This is connected north of the city with a
macadam pike to Buckhead, and south of the city with a chert road to
College Park, six miles beyond the city limits. This forms a continuous
boulevard fifteen miles long in a north and south line, with a smooth
surface, which is well adapted to carriages, bicycles and automobiles.


[Illustration: GRAND OPERA HOUSE.]

Prominent Structures.

Atlanta has many handsome buildings, notable among which are the State
Capitol, the new Court-House, the Carnegie Library, of white marble, the
Grand Opera House, the nine great fire-proof office buildings, and the
beautiful Piedmont Hotel, which is also a fire-proof structure. The
Federal Prison, three miles out, is one of the most important in the
United States. There are several other large hotels, notably the Kimball,
the Aragon, the Majestic and the Marion.

The value of buildings erected in 1903 was reported by the City Building
Inspector as $3,161,445, and the number of permits issued was 3,441. A
marked increase in the average value of dwellings was noted. Following is
a list of the office-buildings for which Atlanta is famous. They make the
heart of Atlanta look like the lower part of Manhattan Island. Each has a
steel frame, with non-combustible partitions, every modern convenience,
and a costly interior finish of marble and hard-wood. The elevator and
janitor service is first-class, and lavatories, barber shops and
restaurants are well placed. The ground floor in a majority of these
buildings is occupied by banks, whose offices are superbly finished. The
population of these palatial hives of industry amounts to several
thousand, and the facilities they offer for doing business are unequalled
elsewhere in the Southern States.


List of Fire-Proof Office Buildings.

Equitable Building, eight stories.

English-American Building, eleven stories.

Austell Building, nine stories.

Prudential Building, ten stories.

Empire Building, fourteen stories.

Peters Building, eight stories.

Century Building, twelve stories.

[1]Fourth National Bank Building, sixteen stories.

[1]Candler Building, seventeen stories.

The aggregate cost of these nine structures, exclusive of the land on
which they rest, was $4,000,000. They are all occupied, except the two
under construction, in which space is being contracted for.

The Building Inspector's record shows that in the nine years since the
Exposition of 1895, buildings to the value of $15,256,169 have been
erected. In the same period 4,666 dwellings built house a new population
of 20,000. Since the census of 1900 new dwellings number 2,663.


Car Wheel Works.

The Atlanta Carwheel & Manufacturing Company has, on the Southern Railway
belt line near the waterworks pumping-station, an extensive plant for the
manufacture of steam-railroad and street-car wheels.

The site covers ten acres and the main building is 230 by 118 feet, with
several annexes. The works employ 100 to 150 men, and this is one of the
largest establishments of its kind in the country.



Business.

Atlanta's Business Grows Four Times as Fast as the Population, and the
Population Grows Twice as Fast as the Average of the United States. Posted
Receipts on its Newspapers Exceed those of Baltimore, Brooklyn, Buffalo,
Omaha, or New Orleans...


Atlanta is the business center of the Southeast. Almost all the great
concerns of national extent make this city their Southern headquarters,
and this has created the phenomenal demand for offices. As a result,
Atlanta has more tall fire-proof steel-frame office-buildings than any
other Southern City.

Atlanta's business is indicated by the bank clearings, which were
$145,000,000 for the year 1903. In 1894 they were $56,000,000. This shows
more clearly than words the rapid growth of the city as a business center.

From the latest available data, the trade of Atlanta is estimated as
follows:

  Wholesale                     $40,000,000
  Retail                         20,000,000
  Manufactures                   27,000,000
  Fuel                            2,000,000
  Horses and Mules                6,250,000
                                 ----------
  Total                         $95,250,000


Atlanta Manufactures in 1904.

In April 1904 the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce sent letters to most of the
manufacturers of the city, asking for a statement of the capital invested,
the number of wage earners, the total wages paid, the value of raw
material used and the product; also the percentage of increase in each
item since June, 1900, when the U. S. Census was taken. The returns show
an average increase of 53 1-4 per cent. in capital, 52 1-3 per cent. in
wage earners, 55 per cent. in wages paid, 56.7 per cent. in raw material
used and 62 per cent. in the value of the product. Applying these
percentages of increase to the Census figures of 1900, gives the following
for April, 1904 in contrast with 1890 and 1900:

                       Wage     Total         Raw          Value
        Capital.    Earners.    Wages.      Material.     Product.

  1890. $9,508,962    7,957   $3,206,285   $5,914,571   $13,074,037
  1900. 16,045,156    9,356    3,103,989    8,563,524    16,707,027
  1904. 25,309,937   15,267    5,079,385   14,185,935    28,985,476

[Illustration: CANDLER BUILDING.]

[Illustration: GRADY HOSPITAL.]

Atlanta's principal manufacturing establishments are in cotton, iron,
machinery, lumber, sheet metal, terra cotta, brick, fertilizer, wagons,
carriages, furniture, candy and crackers, cigars, coffins, chemicals,
printing, lithographing, electrotyping, stamping, paper and paper bags,
flour and meal, paints, varnish, cottonseed oil and cake, ice, harness,
belts, hosiery, underwear, neckwear, woolen goods, gins, engines, sash,
doors and blinds, mantels, iron beds, spring beds, trunks, desks, tables,
pickles, condiments, baking powder, bread and cakes, clothing, overalls,
millinery, suspenders, picture-frames and moulding.

In money value, cotton goods and fertilizers lead the list. There are
three large cotton factories, and Atlanta is headquarters for the
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, the largest producer of fertilizers in
the South. It is also the headquarters of several large sawmill
companies.


[Illustration: FOURTH NATIONAL BANK BUILDING.]

Atlanta Banks.

The clearings and deposits of the associated banks of Atlanta are reported
as follows by Mr. Darwin G. Jones, manager of the Atlanta Clearing House
Association:

CLEARINGS BY YEARS.

  1894         $56,589,228.04
  1895          65,318,254.71
  1896          69,026,033.17
  1897          72,005,161.52
  1898          71,964,809.03
  1899          83,058,397.11
  1900          96,375,251.22
  1901         111,755,849.98
  1902         131,200,457.25
  1903         144,992,037.59

These reports show that business has doubled in seven years.


Deposits December 1st Each Year.

The deposits of the Clearing House banks of Atlanta at the end of the week
nearest December 1st of each year, are reported by Manager Jones as
follows:

  1893        $3,977,930.98
  1894         4,779,640.99
  1895         6,672,006.87
  1896         5,957,634.51
  1897         6,385,336.51
  1898         6,756,991.36
  1899         7,764,990.85
  1900         9,011,902.85
  1901        11,080,127.68
  1902        12,935,639.60
  1903        13,080,098.35

[Illustration: SWIFT FERTILIZER WORKS.]

[Illustration: JEWISH ORPHANAGE.]


Government Receipts in the Southeast.

One of the facts indicating the greatness of the territory, of which
Atlanta is the center, is the Government receipts in the Southeast.

The receipts of the Federal Government through internal revenue, customs,
duties and Presidential Post offices is stated as follows, in the latest
official reports:

  Alabama                    $ 1,039,341.83
  Florida                      3,139,624.55
  Georgia                      1,812,239.10
  Tennessee                    2,942,593.17
  North Carolina               4,933,641.99
  South Carolina               1,063,063.17
                             --------------
  Total                      $14,930,503.81


Growth of Postal Business.

The growth of business is strikingly shown by the postal receipts for the
year ending June 30th, 1890, 1894 and 1903:

  1890                     $159,262.61
  1894                      201,649.92
  1903                      477,047.45

Comparison with other cities, by various barometers of trade and industry,
indicates that Atlanta does more business than any city of 100,000
population in the United States. As a newspaper center it is phenomenal.
The receipts from second-class mail matter at Atlanta were $55,658.83
during the year ending June 30, 1903. This shows that on newspapers and
periodicals Atlanta pays the Government more than Brooklyn, Baltimore,
Buffalo, Washington, Omaha, New Orleans, Louisville, or Indianapolis.

The receipts of the Atlanta Post-office for the year ending June 30, 1903,
were $477,047.45, an increase of fourteen and four-fifths per cent. over
the receipts of the preceding year.


Insurance.

Atlanta is the third insurance center of the United States, and easily
first in the South.

The receipts of premiums reported to agencies here are estimated at
$8,000,000, about equally divided between fire and life insurance.

Atlanta is the headquarters of the Southeastern Tariff Association. There
are no burdensome insurance laws in this State and taxes are reasonable.

[Illustration: JEWISH TEMPLE.]

[Illustration: FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.]


Cotton.

Atlanta is the center of large cotton operations, and receives about
115,000 bales annually. There are several large warehouses and compresses.
The 12 lines of railroads give ample facilities for collecting the crop
from adjoining territory and forwarding it overland to eastern mills or to
the coast for export. Both of the Round Bale Companies are represented in
this city.


Transportation.

Atlanta is the railroad center of the Southeast. Twelve radiating lines
furnish ample facilities for distribution of manufactures and merchandise
from this point. Five of these lines belong to the Southern Railway. Here
is a list of the lines:

  Southern to Washington.
  Southern to Knoxville.
  Georgia Railroad to Augusta.
  Southern to Birmingham.
  Southern to Fort Valley.
  Southern to Brunswick.
  [2]Seaboard Air Line to Birmingham.
  Seaboard Air Line to Portsmouth.
  Western & Atlantic to Chattanooga.
  Atlanta & West Point to Montgomery.
  Central of Georgia Railway to Savannah.
  Louisville & Nashville to Knoxville.

[Illustration: CARNEGIE LIBRARY.]

The connections of these make many more routes over which there are
through trains, as for example, to Columbus and Albany.

The Southern Railway, Central of Georgia Railway, and Atlanta and West
Point Railway have let the contract for a union passenger station at the
corner of Mitchell and Madison streets, and will spend about a million
dollars on the structure. Altogether they will spend two millions on the
station and terminal facilities connected with it.

Atlanta's hotel accommodations are superior to those of almost any other
city in the South. The Piedmont is a fire-proof building of the best
class, with steel frame. The Kimball, the Aragon, the Majestic, and the
Marion have long enjoyed an enviable reputation with the traveling public.
There are numerous smaller hotels and any number of boarding-houses.
Atlanta is the stop-over point for the Florida winter travel, both going
and coming, and is rapidly becoming a summer resort by reason of its
elevation, bracing atmosphere, and cool climate.


The Radius of Distribution.

Atlanta's advantages as a distributing point are shown by the central
location with reference to Southeastern towns. There are seventy-nine
towns of exceeding 4,000 population in Alabama, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The average distances of these towns by
States from Atlanta, Savannah and Nashville are as follows:

                     ATLANTA      SAVANNAH     NASHVILLE
  Alabama            195 miles    419 miles    269 miles
  North Carolina     400 miles    352 miles    629 miles
  South Carolina     239 miles    193 miles    526 miles
  Georgia            147 miles    233 miles    386 miles
  Mississippi        423 miles    606 miles    440 miles
                     ---------    ---------    ---------
                     1,404 miles  1,803 miles  2,250 miles

  Average distance
  of towns in five
  States             280.8 miles  360.6 miles    450 miles

[Illustration: COURT HOUSE--FROM THE SOUTH.]


Street Railways.

Atlanta has a fine system of street railways, with one hundred and
forty-two miles of track radiating from the heart of the city to the
residence portion and thence to the suburbs. In some directions they reach
out for eight miles, as in the case of College Park, Decatur and the
Chattahoochee River.

The service is excellent, and there are one hundred miles of tracks within
the city limits. The uniform fare is five cents, but there are transfers
from incoming lines to any part of the city. Almost any spot on a car
line, within the city limits, can be reached from any other point inside
the city for one fare.

There is ample service to all the parks and resorts, and an electric line
to Marietta is nearly completed.


Light and Power.

Atlanta is well supplied with gas at a low figure--$1.00 per thousand
cubic feet. It is so economical that gas stoves are very largely used for
cooking purposes and not a few for heating.

[Illustration: LAKE ABANA--GRANT PARK.]

[Illustration: NORTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.]

The Georgia Railway and Electric Company has two large plants for the
generation of electric current for light and power. The city is well
illuminated by arc lights and electricity is largely used by business
offices and residences.

The same company has a steam-heating plant, and pipes have been laid in
the principal streets for this service.


Great Power Plant.

The Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company has erected on a massive
masonry dam across the Chattahoochee River, at Bull Sluice shoals, fifteen
miles from Atlanta, and in a few months the plant will be completed and
equipped to deliver 11,000 horse-power of electric current in the city.
The total investment will be $2,000,000. The power plant will give a
tremendous stimulus to manufacturing.

As the steam and electric powers already in existence furnish 45,000
horse-power, which is in constant use, the addition of 11,000 horse-power
will increase the manufacturing industries of Atlanta by twenty-five per
cent. This is considered a very moderate estimate; for within the three
and three-fourths years following the census of June, 1900, the product of
Atlanta factories increased from $16,721,000 to $27,417,000, and the
number of wage earners from 9,368 to more than 14,000.

[Illustration: SOUTHERN FEMALE COLLEGE.]


Rapid Growth of Business

The business of Atlanta is growing four times as fast as its population,
although the population grows twice as fast as that of the country. The
rate of increase in population for the United States has been two per
cent. per annum during the past decade. In Atlanta, it has been
approximately four per cent. During the year 1903, the business of Atlanta
increased fifteen per cent. as measured by postal receipts. Since the
Exposition of 1895, bank clearings have more than doubled and bank
deposits have nearly trebled.


Chamber of Commerce.

During the thirty years of their existence the Chamber of Commerce, and
its predecessor, the Board of Trade, have been active in protecting and
promoting the interests of Atlanta. Meetings in the public interest have
usually been called at the Chamber of Commerce, and it was there that the
first meeting to organize the Cotton States and International Exposition
was held. All important questions affecting business have been discussed
there and a score or so of standing committees have been constituted by
the Chamber to look after the interests of Atlanta. The Chamber of
Commerce is the open forum for the discussion of all matters which affect
the general welfare of the community, and in this way the organization has
exerted a powerful influence.

The present officers are:

Robert F. Maddox, President; Samuel D. Jones, Vice-President; Walter G.
Cooper, Secretary, and Joseph T. Orme, Treasurer.


Daily Newspapers.

Atlanta has three daily newspapers. The Constitution, a morning paper,
acquired national reputation under the management of Henry W. Grady, and
has continued under the management of Clark Howell to hold a leading
position among the newspapers of America.

The Atlanta Journal is a large afternoon paper which acquired national
reputation under the management of Hoke Smith, and has continued to grow
under the management of James R. Gray.

The third daily newspaper is the Atlanta News, a penny afternoon paper
organized during the summer of 1902. It appeared August 4th and rapidly
acquired a large circulation. A bright future is predicted. Editors, John
Temple Graves and Charles Daniel; Business Manager, Chas. Daniel.

[Illustration: WATER WORKS PUMPING STATION.]



[Illustration: TECHNOLOGICAL SCHOOL.]

Educational Facilities.


Atlanta has an imposing array of educational institutions, extending from
the public school system to the great polytechnic institute known as the
Georgia Institute of Technology. There is a variety of technical schools,
including law, medicine, dentistry, handicrafts, business colleges,
industrial schools and divinity schools.

There are sixteen white and six colored Grammar schools, a Girls' High
School, a Boys' High School, and a night school. The total expenditure for
these institutions during the year 1903 was $184,286.20. The cost per
pupil was $16.75, and the number of pupils 11,000.

There is the usual organization of Superintendent, Assistant
Superintendent, principal and teachers, under a Board of Education.

The teachers meet in normal class once a week, and many of them spend
their vacations at summer schools of the great universities. There is a
fine esprit de corps, and excellent work is done.

Atlanta's great educational institution is the Georgia Institute of
Technology, supported by the State of Georgia, with an additional annual
appropriation from the city. It has about 500 students, and the work is
the best of its kind in the South. There are machine shops in wood and in
the metals, a blacksmith shop, a textile school, and department of
electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. In addition there is
excellent work in mathematics, chemistry, and the other scientific
schools, with a good education in English.

Graduates of this institution have been distinguished for the thoroughness
and the practical value of their education, which has enabled them to go
from the shops and recitation-rooms directly into manufacturing and
engineering pursuits.

A number of them hold very high and responsible positions in the
management of great enterprises, and almost without exception, the
graduates hold good positions in productive industry.

There are 600 students attending the medical colleges of Atlanta.

The Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons is one of the best equipped
in the country, and its course is very thorough. It has a very large
attendance from all parts of the Southern States, and some from beyond
that territory.

The Eclectic College of Medicine and Surgery is also well attended.

The Dental College holds a position of eminence among institutions of that
kind.

The members of the Medical and Dental professions of the city rank high.

There are several excellent institutions for the education of girls,
notably the Agnes Scott Institute, the Southern Female College and the
Washington Seminary.

The Southern Military College is an excellent institution for boys, and
Hunter's School for boys has a fine reputation.

In the institutions of higher education there are about 5,000 students,
nearly equally divided between whites and blacks.

The people of Atlanta have raised $250,000 which has been tendered the
Synods of the Southern Presbyterian Church, to secure the location of a
$1,000,000 University in the city or its immediate suburbs. Commissioners
from the Synods of the Southern States met in Atlanta in December, 1903,
and voted to accept the tender.

Of the amount subscribed, $150,000 comes from Presbyterians and $100,000
from the public, including all classes and almost all religious
denominations. Of the $100,000 contributed by the public, about $25,000
came from working men and salaried employees of business houses. In some
cases even domestic servants contributed. In all there are about 3,000
subscribers for amounts ranging from 10 cents to $25,000. At a great mass
meeting held in the Grand Opera House, Monday evening, March 30th, $50,000
was raised.


The Carnegie Library.

The Carnegie Library of Atlanta was organized May 6th, 1899, and received
all of the property and books of the Young Men's Library, which had been a
subscription library, and had 15,000 books and property worth $40,000,
when the city received a gift of $100,000 from Mr. Andrew Carnegie for a
building. Mr. Carnegie subsequently added $25,000 to the original gift for
the building, and $20,000 for stock and furniture. Total cost of the
Library equipped was $145,000. The lot, which was a gift of the Young
Men's Library Association, cost $35,000. For the year 1904 the City of
Atlanta has appropriated $10,100 for the maintenance of the Library.

There are in the Library 26,105 volumes classified and catalogued after
the most approved methods. There are 13,420 registered borrowers, and the
circulation for 1903 was 111,558 volumes for home use, about 400 volumes
daily being issued.

The State Library has a large collection of law books, and a rare
collection of colonial history of this and other Southern States.


Institutions for Negro Education.

Atlanta has some of the largest institutions for negro education in the
country. They are: Atlanta University, Clark University, Gammon
Theological Seminary, the Atlanta Baptist College, Morris Brown College,
and Spelman Seminary.

The Spelman Seminary has a fine training school for nurses, and industrial
training for women.

Clark University has industrial training for men.


Theatres.

Atlanta has two fine theatres--the Grand and the Bijou.

The Atlanta Lecture Association is one of the best in the United States,
and regularly brings the best talent of the country to the Atlanta
platform. Its membership is about 1,000. The Baptist Tabernacle has a
lyceum course.

[Illustration: AGNES SCOTT INSTITUTE.]



Residential Advantages.


It is hard to enumerate the advantages of life in Atlanta. They are so
many that it is impossible to catalogue them all in brief space. The
climate is the best enjoyed by any city in the country, the spirit of the
people makes anyone welcome who is worthy of a welcome anywhere, and the
opportunities for business, education, culture, enjoyment and social
pleasure unsurpassed. The institutions for the preservation of order,
sanitation and public comfort are excellent. The fraternities are
numerously represented, and fraternity life is a feature of the city's
many attractions.

[Illustration: W. P. INMAN'S RESIDENCE.]

Visitors from a distance are always charmed with the residence streets of
Atlanta. The homes are made attractive by grassy lawns, which beautify the
scene and avoid the heat of those cities where solid blocks of flats rise
directly from the sidewalk.

There are many beautiful suburbs which are easily and quickly reached by
the car lines, and these are constantly extending. Atlanta has a fine
market, supplied at all times with fish, game and vegetables, and an
abundance of fresh meats. The shops and stores are up-to-date, and
conducted in metropolitan style.


The Climate.

Atlanta is on the crest of the ridge dividing the watershed of the
Atlantic Ocean from that of the Gulf of Mexico, and its elevation of 1,052
feet gives a bracing atmosphere. The mean annual temperature, based on all
available records, is 60.8 degrees. The highest annual mean was 64.0 in
1871, preceded by the lowest, 56.9, in 1868. The mean temperature of the
winter months is 44.1, of the spring months, 60.5, of the summer, 77.0,
and of the autumn, 61.5. The highest monthly mean was 82.2, in July, 1875,
the lowest, 34.4, in February, 1895. The warmest winter month was
December, 1889, with a mean of 57.2; the coolest summer month was June,
1866, mean, 68.9. The highest temperature on record is 100, which
occurred on July 19, 1887, and is the only instance of its kind. The
lowest temperature on record is -8.5, on February 13, 1899. The
temperature has registered at zero, or below, but on three other dates in
the last twenty-six years, viz.:-- -1, January 6, 1884; -2, January 11,
1886, and zero February 8, 1895.

Summer nights are cool and the low percentage of humidity makes the days
comfortable. The average date of first killing frost is November 4th, and
of the last in spring, March 29th, leaving an average growing season of
219 days.


Monthly Mean Temperature.

The average monthly temperature for each month, as shown by the record of
many years, is given below:

  January    42.6    July        78.6
  February   45.7    August      76.9
  March      51.7    September   71.7
  April      60.9    October     61.5
  May        69.0    November    51.4
  June       75.6    December    44.1

  Annual average   60.8

[Illustration: WASHINGTON STREET.]

[Illustration: CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.]


Rainfall by Months.

The normal precipitation by months by the Weather Bureau:

January, 5.10 inches; February, 5.23; March, 5.65; April, 4.23; May, 3.38;
June, 4.04; July, 4.22; August, 4.58; September, 3.51; October, 2.36;
November, 3.49; December, 4.29.

The annual average rainfall is 50.08.


Parks.

Atlanta has several fine parks and places of resort.

The L. P. Grant Park, on the edge of the city near a battle-field of 1864,
is a sylvan retreat of rare beauty, with a Zoo and Cyclorama added to the
attractions of nature. It is the resort of picnic parties from the
surrounding towns for many miles.

Piedmont Park, the site of fairs and expositions, is in the suburbs, half
a mile beyond the city limits, on one of the battle-grounds of the Civil
War. It has a lake and a picturesque site, with a number of large
buildings.

Lakewood, as its name suggests, affords opportunity for aquatic sports.
The same is true of East Lake, where there is elaborate provision for
bathing. Ponce de Leon Springs, within the city limits, and the
Chattahoochee River, eight miles out, are places of resort.

The Kirkwood Land Company has in preparation one of the most beautiful
residence parks in America, and Atkins Park will be another place of
loveliness.

To all these parks and places of resort there is an excellent street-car
service. The exposition grounds at Piedmont Park also have connection with
the city by the Southern Railway.


Department of the Gulf.

In 1903 the Department of the Gulf, U. S. Army, was re-established and
headquarters located at Atlanta, and the following officers are in
command: Brigadier-General Thomas H. Berry, commanding; Major Millard F.
Waltz, Adjutant General; Major Lewis E. Goodier, Judge-Advocate;
Lieut.-Colonel Samuel R. Jones, Chief Quartermaster; Lieut.-Colonel Henry
B. Osgood, Chief Commissary; Lieut.-Colonel Edwin F. Gardiner, Chief
Surgeon; Major Elijah W. Halford, Chief Paymaster; Captain Manly B. Curry,
Paymaster; Lieut. H. H. Sheen, A. D. C.; Lieut. A. M. Ferguson, A. D. C.


Fort McPherson.

An Army post is always an attraction because of the parades and the music,
and its disbursements add materially to a city's income. Fort McPherson,
four miles out on the Central of Georgia Railway and two car lines, is one
of the best-constructed posts in the United States and much visited by
citizens.

It is a community in itself, with an independent waterworks system and a
complete system of sewerage. There are permanent barracks, ample for one
regiment, and during the Spanish War several thousand soldiers were
quartered here at one time by using wooden barracks in addition. The
officers' quarters are unusually good, and there is a well-appointed
hospital.

[Illustration: CAPITOL AVENUE--VIEW FROM WOODWARD AVENUE.]

[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF ASA G. CANDLER.]


Hospitals.

In the Grady Hospital Atlanta has a large and well-equipped institution
supported by the city. There are in addition, St. Joseph's Infirmary and
the Presbyterian Hospital, besides a number of excellent sanatoriums
conducted by physicians, notably those of Drs. Elkin and Cooper, Dr. Noble
and Dr. Robinson, the Halcyon and the National Surgical Institute.


Churches.

Atlanta has 141 churches and the attendance on religious services is one
of the noticeable features of the city's life. This city is headquarters
for several important denominational organizations, especially those of
missionary work. It is the home of the Bishop of Georgia, Right Reverend
C. K. Nelson (Episcopal), and of Bishop W. A. Candler of the Methodist
Church.

The Baptist Home Mission Board is located here, and there is a similar
organization of the Presbyterian Church represented. The Catholic Marist
College and a convent are located near the two leading churches of that
faith.

The colored people have two Bishops in Atlanta, Bishop W. J. Gaines and
Bishop H. M. Turner.


Orphan Asylums.

Atlanta has four orphan asylums. The Methodist Orphan Asylum is located at
Decatur, several miles east of the city, and the Baptist Orphan Asylum is
at Hapeville, nine miles south of Atlanta. The Jewish Orphan Asylum is
within the city limits.

The Carrie Steele Orphans' Home is an institution for colored children
about three miles east of the city.


Other Asylums.

The Home for the Friendless and the Florence Crittenden Home for
unfortunate women are charities of a high order, carefully managed under
the direction of some of the best women in Atlanta.

In addition there are numerous free kindergartens.

[Illustration: "REQUIESCAT IN PACE." GATE OF WEST VIEW CEMETERY.]



Footnotes:

[1] Now under construction.

[2] Under construction--nearly completed.





*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Atlanta - A Twentieth-Century City" ***

Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.