ACOG - Venues - IBM

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.

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



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.