Permanent Features of the Centennial Olympic Park
Presented by AT&T
The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) will lease the state of Georgia's new, 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park for use during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Afterwards, the state's Georgia World Congress Center Authority will complete the Park master plan.
AT&T joined with ACOG to present the Games-time appearance and activities in Centennial Olympic Park as an expression of the company's mission to bring the world together. AT&T will be the presenting sponsor of the Park during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Though many of the Park's Games-time structures will be temporary in nature, visitors will also have the opportunity to experience many beautiful permanent features in the Park, as outlined below.
Centennial Plaza
Centennial Plaza lies on the south end of Centennial Olympic Park. Intersected by International Boulevard, the space is roughly the size of two football fields, or 100 meters square.
- Bricks: Centennial Plaza will be paved with more than 230,000 commemorative engraved bricks to be installed prior to the Olympic Games. ACOG and The Home Depot will continue to sell bricks during the Games to be installed as part of the Park master plan.
Five free-standing directory kiosks will help visitors locate their inscribed bricks within Centennial Plaza and throughout the Park.
Granite paving bands inlaid with sandblasted "Look of the Games" graphics will divide the commemorative bricks into 100 quilt squares.
- Fountain: A water display in the shape of the five interlocking Olympic Rings will be prominently featured in the center of Centennial Plaza. Stretching 82.5 feet in length from East to West, each ring will measure 25 feet in diameter.
 | Dancing waters come to downtown Atlanta, as workers put the finishing touches on Centennial Park. Carmen Burns reports. (2.3mb AVI) -- (4.0mb Quick Time) |
The computer-synchronized fountain will be programmed with a number of displays including low-pressure, walk-through "water curtains", and rings that hover momentarily above the plaza using air and water. Fog and misting effects can also be created.
Five songs are currently programmed with timed sequential light and water displays: Fresh Air Toccata, by Mannheim Steamroller; Summon the Heroes, by John Williams; 1812 Overture Finale, by Tchaikovsky; Chariots of Fire, by Vangelis; and Santorini, by Live at the Acropolis. Five additional musical compositions will be chosen after the Olympic Games.
A vault, 17 feet beneath the fountain will measure 102.6 by 37 feet and house three rooms: the fountain mechanical room, the electrical control room and the computer control room for all audio and visual choreography systems. The start up, maintenance and shut down systems will be operated and maintained by remote control inside of the adjacent Georgia World Congress Center.
Water height during normal operation is 4 to 12 feet. During special effects or air bursts, when a stream of water will be launched up into the air, the display will shoot up to 35 feet through its more than 250 jets. The fountain will also contain more than 480 clear, amber and red lights.
Five 20-horsepower hydraulic pumps will provide water to the rings, circulating approximately 2,500 gallons per minute to be recycled in a reflecting pool directly north of International Boulevard.
When the Park opens in July of 1996, the fountain will be the most technically advanced in the world.
- Trees: Forty-eight willow oak trees will be planted in square, cast iron grates lining the Plaza's outer perimeter in a double row. The first 23 grates will contain engraved plaques commemorating cities that have hosted the Modern Olympic Games. The remaining 25 grates will be embedded with blank plaques to be engraved as the next 25 cities are selected to host future summer Olympic Games.
- Flags: Arranged around the Plaza's inner court, 24 flagpoles will fly the flags of the 23 previous summer Olympic Games host nations, as well as the International Olympic Committee flag.
- Light Towers: Eight light towers, each standing 65 feet tall, will punctuate the corners and outer perimeter of the Olympic Plaza. The towers will be divided into three parts: a base of pre-cast Fiberglas concrete with the quilt of leaves patterns; a shaft of rolled, perforated aluminum, radiating light; and an aluminum and glass beacon radiating light.
- Donor Wall: Situated in the center of Centennial Plaza, a 60-foot-long donor wall made of granite will tell the story of the Park's development and recognize its contributors.
- Reflecting Pool: Just off the north end of Centennial Plaza will be a multi-level water basin, and reflecting pool measuring approximately 50 feet x 150 feet. After the 1996 Olympic Games, as part of the Park's planned second phase construction, this water feature will be expanded and connected to a meandering water path that will run the entire north-south length of the Park.
AT&T Global Olympic Village Athlete Tribute
Representing the "quilt of leaves" design rendered in granite, major elements of the memorial will stand south of the AT&T Global Olympic Village for visitors to enjoy during the Olympic Games. After the Games, a permanent hardscape will be built on the site of the AT&T Global Olympic Village that will incorporate the names of all National Olympic Committees participating in the Centennial Olympic Games plus each medalists' name, sport, country and medal won. The "quilt of leaves" pieces will be installed permanently on the engraved base to create a permanent tribute to the athletes who excelled in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Amphitheater
Located on the southern tip of Centennial Olympic Park, this natural, outdoor amphitheater will accommodate up to 3,000 people sitting and standing. During the Olympic Games, the facility will be called the "Southern Music Amphitheater", presented by General Motors.
100 Year Old Pecan Tree
On 4 December 1995, a 100-year-old pecan tree was moved from the northwest corner of Centennial Olympic Park to the Park's center, near Centennial Plaza's reflecting pool. It is one of the largest trees to ever be moved in terms of root ball mass, weight and trunk diameter. The tree is symbolic of the 1996 Olympic Games' Centennial celebration. Standing approximately 65 feet tall, the tree's trunk is 42 inches in diameter at chest height. It weighs approximately 300,000 pounds or 150 tons.
TRIBUTE Sculpture, from AHEPA
The TRIBUTE sculpture can be seen during the Games near the perimeter of Centennial Olympic Park, between AT&T's Global Olympic Village and the SWATCH pavilion, where Harris Street intersects Techwood Avenue. The piece was donated to the Park by the AHEPA Centennial Foundation, Inc.
Sitting on top of an arched 4 foot base, a giant fan-like surface will contrast three 9 foot Olympic athletes representing different time periods: 1) a nude male runner competing in the first Games, 2) a male runner, with knee-length pants, a high neck shirt, and sash, competing in the first Modern Games, 3) and a female runner, in modern dress, striving for the gold in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
At its tallest point, the bronze statue will stand 24 feet 4 inches high. Its width will span 24 feet 8 inches at base and on each edge of the fan. Both the arch and the fan will rest on a stone foundation cut from the mountains surrounding Olympia, Greece.
TRIBUTE was created by sculptor, Peter Calaboyias.
Gateway of Dreams Sculpture
Donated to the state of Georgia by the United States Pierre de Coubertin Committee (USPCC), a commemorative statue of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Movement, will stand adjacent to the west end of Centennial Plaza's reflection pool.
The statue depicts Coubertin stepping up into the gateway of ancient Greek columns, with seven doves descending out of the Olympic Rings - which serve as a unifying pediment of the structure - to place a wreath of olive leaves on his head. Coubertin approaches the moment of honor in the posture of an Olympic athlete about to receive a gold medal. The gateway will rise approximately 15 feet high and the figure of Coubertin will be approximately 9 feet tall.
Gateway of Dreams was created by famed sculptor, Raymond Kaskey of Washington, D.C.
Androgyne Planet Sculpture
Created by artist Enric Pladevall, this piece was commissioned by ACOG's Cultural Olympiad to be given to the state of Georgia for Centennial Olympic Park. Standing approximately 26 feet tall, the sculpture will be temporarily located on the southeast end of Centennial Olympic Park. After the Games, the sculpture will be permanently relocated in the north end of the Park.
The Androgyne Planet was fabricated in Vic, Spain (a city outside of Barcelona) and will be shipped and installed in the Spring of 1996. It is made of matte-finish stainless steel, African teak wood and bronze.
Georgia Agriculture '96 Marble Hardscape
During the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, a 28 foot x 28 foot all-marble hardscape will be featured as the centerpiece of Georgia Agriculture 96's Centennial Olympic Park exhibition. Centered on the northern perimeter of the Park, the plot will contain a pink map of Georgia, surrounded by gray tiles. All marble for the hardscape comes from Tate, Georgia.
Perimeter Landscape
- Sidewalks: Twenty-one foot wide sidewalks will line the perimeters of the northern and southern sections of Centennial Olympic Park. The sidewalks will be comprised of granite curbs, six foot bands of Mulberry Brick at the curb line, and 15 feet of concrete. The sidewalk will stretch 3,830 feet in the northern part of the Park, and 1,889 feet in the southern part.
- Street Lights: Two types of steel street lights will be used to illuminate the perimeter of Centennial Olympic Park.
During the Games, there will be 29 tall lights, designed with a gooseneck stem reaching 25 feet in height. After the Games, an additional 10 of these lights will be added. The tall lights have frames for banners.
Also during the Games, there will be 73 shorter lights standing 13 feet, 6 inches tall. After the Games, another 23 will be added. Both types of "Atlanta Green" lights will be made of steel.
- Trees: Four different types of trees will line Centennial Olympic Park's perimeter:
1. Green Vase Zelkova (33 trees, approximately 28 feet tall)
2. Legacy Sugar Maple (40 trees, approximately 28 feet tall)
3. October Glory Maple (37 trees, approximately 28 feet tall)
4. Willow Oaks (20 trees, approximately 30 feet tall)
Olympic Factoid |
Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park. |