Business and Industry

Kenan Research Center collections document a wide range of historical themes and topics about the history of the Atlanta region.

From Black professionals to the work of minority contractors, Atlanta History Center celebrates African American contributions to the establishment and growth of the institution.

From inventors to innovators, many remarkable Black Georgians have played a key role in changing the course of history through their pioneering work in science and technology. These brilliant minds have overcome obstacles and discrimination to make important contributions to society.

Long before workers at Starbucks and Amazon began fighting for the right to collectively bargain, workers at Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills fought to unionize, creating a blueprint for those in the present-day.

Norfolk Southern, one of the nation’s major railroad systems, recently relocated its headquarters to Atlanta. The company celebrated its move with a major donation of archival materials from predecessor company Southern Railway to Atlanta History Center. We look back on the history of Southern Railway and reflect on the importance of this iconic railroad to Atlanta and the Southeast.

Atlanta History Center online exhibition: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith

Atlanta History Center online exhibition: Responding Heroes: Remembering September 11, 2001

Explore how Atlanta History Center was founded and grew into a multi-faceted institution.

An unidentified woman swoons and shops at an Atlanta record store in November, 1952.

Linda Fay reacts to the first airport security instrument tested at Atlanta Municipal Airport (now Hartsfield-Jackson) ca. 1960.

Atlanta’s history of influential and entrepreneurial women includes Adelle Bartlett Harper, the first woman to own and operate a florist shop in Atlanta in 1921.

In 1919, Ernest Woodruff led a group of investors in purchasing the Coca-Cola Company from Asa Candler.

East of downtown Atlanta, African Americans established a vibrant business and entertainment district along Auburn Avenue.

In 1925, Atlanta leased an abandoned racetrack with the goal of turning it into an airfield.