Downtown Atlanta in the news.

City Briefings

Show Versus Tell V2M10: Smorgasburg Draws 10,000+, Village Books Opens, Glide Pizza Announced, and the Oldest Known Photo of Atlanta Surfaces

Smorgasburg's opening weekend drew over 10,000 attendees. Dr. Key opens Village Books on Hotel Row. Glide Pizza announces its fourth location with a DJ booth. Mayor Dickens walks the neighborhood. And Bryan Capps uncovers an 1850 daguerreotype — the oldest known photograph of Atlanta.

Nov 5, 2025

Historic

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Reopens at Double the Size

After four years of construction, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights on Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard reopened on November 8, 2025 — with $57 million in upgrades, 24,000 new square feet, and a renewed mission at the edge of Centennial Olympic Park.

Nov 5, 2025

City Briefings

Show Versus Tell V2M7: 100+ Cameras Deployed, Origin Hotel Opens, 85 Peachtree at 4.82% ROI, and a Civil War Bullet Surfaces

Over 100 Verkada and Flock Safety cameras now monitor South Downtown 24/7. Origin Hotel opens with 120 rooms. The 85 Peachtree apartments show a 4.82% expected return — barely above a T-bill. And excavation on Broad Street uncovers a Civil War-era bullet.

Aug 6, 2025

Historic

The Games in Black & White: How Civil Rights and Olympic Ideals United in 1996 Atlanta

A documentary examines how Atlanta leveraged its civil rights heritage to win the 1996 Olympics — inviting IOC members to experience the city's history firsthand and proving that the values of the movement and the Games were inseparable.

Jul 24, 2025

Historic

The 65th Anniversary of Atlanta's Beginning: The Lunch Counter Sit-Ins at Rich's

On October 19, 1960, student leader Lonnie C. King convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to join a lunch counter sit-in at Rich's department store in downtown Atlanta. Fifty-one people were arrested. The city — and the movement — were never the same.

Feb 13, 2025

Downtown Development

Downtown Atlanta's Redevelopment Has Big Shoes to Fill

SoDo Atlanta LLC's acquisition of 53 buildings across 10 blocks in South Downtown represents one of the most ambitious urban bets in Atlanta history — and the story of the Friedman Shoes building captures why the stakes are personal.

Jan 30, 2025

Downtown Development

Downtown's 115-year-old Sylvan Hotel reboots as startup incubator

The 115-year-old Sylvan Hotel at 235 Mitchell Street has reopened as ATV Sylvan — Atlanta Tech Village's South Downtown incubator — preserving original blue-and-gold tile mosaics and exposed brick while offering 30,000 square feet of month-to-month startup office space.

Jan 8, 2025

City Briefings

Show Versus Tell V1M12: ATV-Sylvan Opens, 222 Mitchell $97M Project Revealed, Forsyth Street Safety Upgrades, and Lock-Hide-Keep Campaign

Atlanta Tech Village opens its 30,000-square-foot Sylvan workspace with Mayor Dickens addressing a packed house. The $97 million, 215-unit 222 Mitchell project is revealed. Forsyth Street gets new lanes, bollards, and curb stops. And APD launches the Lock, Hide, Keep campaign after 1,100+ guns were stolen from vehicles in 2024.

Jan 3, 2025

City Briefings

Show Versus Tell V1M11: $8 Billion Downtown Investment, MARTA Five Points Renovation, SEC Championship Tailgate, and Empire Clothing Co. Tiles Uncovered

Metro Atlanta Chamber reports $8 billion being invested in downtown. MARTA's Five Points renovation is vital for a car-free South Downtown. A SEC Championship tailgate launches at Centennial Yards. And 100-year-old tiles spelling "Empire Clothing Co." are uncovered during demolition.

Dec 5, 2024

Historic

The Hail Mary Was Born in Atlanta: How a Prayer at Grant Field Became Football's Most Famous Play

On October 28, 1922, a Notre Dame lineman started praying on fourth down at Grant Field in Atlanta. When the play worked — twice — he said, "That Hail Mary is the best play we have." A century later, every desperate last-second throw in football carries the name that was born downtown.

Oct 18, 2024

Historic

The Hyatt Regency Atlanta: Downtown's Blue Dome and the Revolving Restaurant That Defined a Skyline

Since 1967, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta's blue dome has been a fixture of downtown's skyline. Inside, the Polaris revolving restaurant offers a 360-degree view that takes one hour to complete — along with rooftop beehives producing 600 pounds of honey a year.

Sep 19, 2024

Downtown Development

South Downtown owners add landmark shoe store's building to portfolio

Jon Birdsong and David Cummings paid $7.5 million to acquire the 37,000-square-foot building at 209 Mitchell Street — home to Friedman's Shoes since 1929 — adding the Atlanta institution's address to their growing South Downtown portfolio.

Aug 1, 2024

Downtown Development

This shuttered South Downtown office building could soon be a hotel

Hotel developer Thrash Group is converting a shuttered office building at 110 Mitchell Street into the 122-room Origin Hotel Atlanta — a boutique property near the Fulton County complex slated to open in summer 2024, adding momentum to South Downtown's revival.

Jun 5, 2024

Downtown Development

They bought 10 blocks of South Downtown Atlanta. Here's their game plan.

Jon Birdsong and David Cummings, the entrepreneurs behind Atlanta Ventures, acquired 53 historic buildings and acres of parking lots across 10 blocks of South Downtown with a bold vision: transform the area once known as "Hotel Row" back into the entrepreneurial capital of the Southeast.

Apr 18, 2024

Historic

Underground Atlanta Is Becoming an Arts District — From the Ground Up

Eight galleries, a relocated music venue, a sculptor's studio, and a growing community of artists are transforming Underground Atlanta from a shuttered retail complex into a grassroots creative hub in the center of downtown.

Jan 17, 2024