Welcome to ‘Hotlanta’
From Coke to CNN to puppets, plenty to see in Georgia’s capital
ATLANTA — It’s been 152 years since General William Tecumseh Sherman burned his way through this lovely southern city.
The flames have long been doused — but Atlanta’s still hot. Hipsters call it “Hotlanta.” One of the best ways to navigate around the city’s many mustsee attractions is with a CityPass, a multi-ticket pass that provides a 43 per cent savings on regular admission prices and allows you to skip lineups at popular places such as the CNN Studio Tour, the World of Coca-Cola, Center for Human and Civil Rights and the Georgia Aquarium. Here are some highlights from a recent trip:
World Of Coca-Cola
Things to do at this popular place: Discover pharmacist Dr. John Pemberton’s secret formula for the drink he invented in 1886.
Pemberton sold the potion — made up of one oz of special syrup and five oz of carbonated water — for five cents. The price stayed the same until it was hiked a massive one cent in 1956.
In 1888, Pemberton sold the company to Asa Griggs Candler, who became sole owner and incorporated the company three years later. In 1919, the company was sold to a group of bankers led by Ernest Woodruff. Check out Coca-Cola memorabilia — from the polar bear to pop culture ads inspired by the ruby-coloured soda and featuring everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Santa.
Learn the history of the disastrous launch of the New Coke, which for 78 days in 1985 created an uproar among dedicated Coke drinkers. In what became a legendary marketing fail, the company was forced to back down and restore the traditional formula. There’s a tasting room where you can check out various soda brews from around the world. See world-of-coca-cola.com.
Georgia Aquarium
Go behind-the-scenes and watch the feeding of the whale-sharks.
Workers in small dinghies move up and down in a massive tank scooping food into the two-footwide mouths of these gentle giants. Don’t miss the belugas. The Aquarium works with federal and state agencies to study these exquisite creatures. Housed in a two-storey tank, you can get up close and personal with them.
See georgiaaquarium.org.
College Football Hall of Fame
I’m no football fan. I don’t even understand the game — but I loved this place. It has loads of interactive exhibits — from fight song karaoke to introducing your fave college football team on a fake TV set.
Real fans can check every tiny statistic of every team, or check how far you can throw the ball.
See cfbhall.com.
Center for Human and Civil Rights
Atlanta doesn’t bury its segregated past. Instead, it uses it to educate about civil rights at this moving exhibit, where man’s history of inhumanity to fellow human beings will bring you to tears.
One powerful exhibit allows you to experience what it was like for an African-American to sit at an allwhite lunch counter in the ’50s.
Atlanta is the hometown of Martin Luther King.
One exhibit relates how after King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the city’s white elite boycotted a reception in his honour, despite similar events selling out elsewhere in the world.
In response, Coca-Cola CEO J. Paul Austin — with Woodruff’s backing — made it clear that while Atlanta needed Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola didn’t need Atlanta.
“Coca-Cola cannot stay in a city that’s going to have this kind of reaction and not honour a Nobel Peace Prize winner,” Austin told the city.
The reception sold out shortly afterwards.
See civilandhumanrights.org.
CNN Studio tour
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the CNN newsroom when breaking news happens? Take a 50-minute walking tour that will explain who sits where in the main newsroom.
You’ll learn how to read a teleprompter without having your eyes move from side to side.
And just how do those weather people track storms in front of a green screen? See cnn.com/tour.
Center for Puppetry Arts
Check out Jim Henson’s beloved puppets, including a life-size Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters. See puppet.org.