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Get the story behind the places, faces, and current events shaping the downtownATL district.
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The restored 1920s Regenstein's Department Store reopens as a six-concept vertical entertainment district, with dive bar American Dive and upscale Peachtree Sporting Club leading the June 17 debut.
Roughly 35 skybridges cross the streets of Atlanta, most of them concentrated in downtown. Designed by John Portman to let pedestrians move above the noise, they became part of the skyline — and a symbol of a city that built up instead of out.
Nick "Turbo" Benson reimagines Edward Hopper's iconic "Nighthawks" as a Waffle House scene starring Outkast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 — a three-week mural project commissioned for the World Cup on Andrew Young International Boulevard.
Portman Holdings announced the reacquisition of the iconic 73-story Westin Peachtree Plaza — the cylindrical landmark its founder designed and built in 1976 — with plans to renovate ahead of the 2028 Super Bowl.
The building that housed CNN for decades reopened on May 21 as The CTR — a reimagined mixed-use landmark that will serve as Atlanta's official World Cup volunteer headquarters this summer.
Ted Turner — the media maverick who launched CNN from downtown Atlanta in 1980, transformed the Braves into America's team, and became one of the nation's foremost conservationists — died May 6, 2026, at age 87.
Ted Turner, the entrepreneur who founded CNN and put downtown Atlanta on the global map, died on May 6, 2026. His decision to base a 24-hour news network in the city center changed Atlanta's identity forever.
The Museum of Design Atlanta hosts 16 free walking tours led by residents — not professional guides — who share deep, personal knowledge of downtown's letterforms, civil rights sites, and hidden architectural details.
The nearly five-mile bus rapid transit loop connects downtown, Summerhill, and Peoplestown in 15 minutes, running in dedicated red-painted lanes — MARTA's first rapid bus project and Georgia's first BRT line.
Atlanta's first open container district takes effect April 15. Smorgasburg draws 5,000+ every Saturday. El Tesoro and Glide Pizza confirmed opening before the World Cup. And historic streetcar #269, built in 1921, returns to downtown after nearly 80 years.
A.J. Robinson, the hat-wearing president and CEO of Central Atlanta Progress, announced his departure after 23 years leading downtown's most influential civic organization — just as the city enters a historic development boom.
The historic Odd Fellows building in Sweet Auburn reopened in April 2026 as Georgia Works Village — a transitional housing facility for approximately 160 men, backed by $50 million in state funding for chronic homelessness and attended by the Governor and Mayor at the ribbon cutting.
With the World Cup 80 days away, more than a dozen restaurants, MARTA's first new transit line in 25 years, and the 70,000-square-foot Cosm venue are all converging on South Downtown's 16-acre revitalization.
Thirty years after the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, a new documentary reexamines Izzy — the computer-generated mascot that the Associated Press called "the most maligned product to come out of Atlanta since New Coke."
Less than 100 days to the World Cup. The Junction sandwich shop returns after 30 years, Smorgasburg Atlanta debuts with 40+ vendors every Saturday, Founders Green takes shape, and crews unearth a 1910s Jacobs' Pharmacy bottle on Mitchell Street.
