Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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 fraternities are numerously represented, and fraternity life is a feature of the city’s many attractions.
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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 31] 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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 5] prevented the domination of factions. ”

“ The Technological School was established by the State of Georgia upon inducements offered by the city of Atlanta, which bore half [Pg 9] 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ Comparison with other cities, by various barometers of trade and industry, indicates that Atlanta does more business than any city of [Pg 24] 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 11] suburban communities are rapidly extending. ”

“ 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 [Pg 6] per thousand gallons for families or for manufacturing purposes are merely nominal, and probably lower than any on record.
KIMBALL HOUSE.
Conditions in Atlanta are highly favorable to manufacturing industries, and this is attested by the great variety of articles made here. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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:
Since then the population has increased to 105,600. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The highest [Pg 36] 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. ”