This story is part of “Atlanta Remembers: The 1996 Olympics,” WABE’s series on the impact of the 1996 Summer Olympics on Atlanta, 20 years later. For more stories, click here.
The Centennial Olympic Games have left a lasting impact on the city of Atlanta. Centennial Olympic Park is still a popular and frequently crowded park, full of families and young children playing in the iconic Olympic rings fountain constructed 20 years ago.
Many existing facilities were improved as a result of the 1996 Olympics, and many were built specifically for the event. Centennial Olympic Stadium was constructed to host the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies, and its temporary facilities were later removed to become the Turner Field we know today, according to the 1996 Olympic Games official report.
The legacy that the Olympics left is different from location to location. Some stadiums fell into disrepair. A massive tennis facility on Stone Mountain is now abandoned. At the same time, Olympic Village dormitories were given to local universities to house their students, and many other facilities used during the Games continue to enrich Atlanta’s community and skyline today.
Facilities used during the Olympics stretched as far as Washington, D.C., and within Georgia could be found as far as the coast of Savannah and Columbus, Ga., although most of the Olympic Games were held locally.
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