The 1996 Atlanta Olympics: How the Games Shaped the City You See Today

The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games were more than a few weeks of sports. For Atlanta residents and visitors, they reshaped downtown, transformed transportation, added green spaces, and put the city on the global map. You can still see, walk, and even ride through the legacy of the Games every day.

This guide walks through what happened in 1996, where you can still see Olympic sites in Atlanta, and how the Olympics continue to affect life in the city today.

Quick Overview: What Were the 1996 Atlanta Olympics?

Atlanta hosted the Centennial Olympic Games from July 19 to August 4, 1996, followed by the Paralympic Games later that summer. Events were held across the metro area and throughout Georgia, but the heart of the Games was downtown Atlanta.

Key points locals and visitors often care about:

• Atlanta beat out cities like Athens and Toronto to host the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics.
• The Games accelerated major downtown revitalization projects.
• Many well-known Atlanta landmarks today either came from the Olympics or were heavily upgraded because of them.

If you live in Atlanta or are exploring the city, you are constantly interacting with Olympic legacy sites—even if you don’t realize it.

Major Olympic Sites You Can Still Visit in Atlanta

Centennial Olympic Park

Location: 265 Park Ave W NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

Built as the central gathering space for the Games, Centennial Olympic Park is now a major public park and event space.

What you can see and do today:

• Fountain of Rings – The iconic Olympic Rings fountain still operates and offers regular water shows. Families often bring kids here in warmer months.
• Olympic bricks – Many walkways are made from engraved donor bricks purchased in the 1990s. You’ll still see names and messages from that era.
• Olympic monuments and sculptures – Various plaques and sculptures around the park reference the 1996 Games and the athletes.
• Events and festivals – The park regularly hosts concerts, festivals, and holiday celebrations, continuing its role as a gathering place.

If you want to physically stand in a spot that defined Atlanta’s Olympic experience, this is the most important place to go.

Former Olympic Stadium (Now Center Parc Stadium / Georgia State’s football stadium)

Location: 755 Hank Aaron Dr SE, Atlanta, GA 30315

The Olympic Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and many track and field events. After the Games:

1. It was partially reconfigured into Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves.
2. The Braves later moved to what is now Truist Park.
3. The stadium was converted again and is now Center Parc Stadium, primarily used by Georgia State University for football and other events.

Evidence of the Olympic past:

• The overall bowl shape and location are direct holdovers from the 1996 design.
• Around the stadium area, you’ll find markers, plaques, and some Olympic-themed references to its earlier life.

If you’re an Atlanta resident near Summerhill or a Georgia State student, you’re walking through a former Olympic venue almost every time there’s a home game.

Georgia Tech Campus – Olympic Village and Aquatic Center

Main campus address: 225 North Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30332

Georgia Tech played a major role in the 1996 Olympics, and the Games permanently upgraded the campus.

Olympic Village (now dorms and student housing)
During the Games, Tech’s campus served as the Olympic Village, housing thousands of athletes. Afterward, the village buildings became student residences. For anyone visiting campus, most of the modern housing complexes trace back to the Olympic buildout.

McAuley Aquatic Center (formerly Georgia Tech Aquatic Center)

• Hosted Olympic swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming events.
• Today it serves students, teams, and special events.
• The building has been renovated, but it still stands on the same site used during the Games.

Living, studying, or visiting Georgia Tech means interacting daily with infrastructure that was justified and funded in part because Atlanta hosted the Olympics.

Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) & Nearby Venues

Address: 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

The Georgia World Congress Center, already a major convention site, was heavily used during the Games for things like:

• Olympic press operations
• Competition venues (for certain indoor sports)
• Organization and logistics

Nearby facilities, like what is now State Farm Arena and the Georgia Dome site (the Dome has since been replaced by Mercedes-Benz Stadium), were part of the broader Olympic infrastructure.

When you attend a conference at GWCC or a game or concert nearby, you’re in a district that was tightened and polished for global visibility in 1996.

Stone Mountain Park Olympic Sites (Near Atlanta)

Location: 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Just outside Atlanta, Stone Mountain Park hosted several Olympic events, especially in outdoor sports. Today, you can still find remnants of Olympic facilities, trails, and plaques.

Residents often combine a visit to Stone Mountain with a bit of Olympic history spotting: some of the infrastructure and references to the Games remain incorporated into the park experience.

How the 1996 Olympics Changed Atlanta’s Downtown

Hosting the Games dramatically changed downtown Atlanta, shaping what residents and tourists see today.

From Parking Lots to Public Spaces

Before the Olympics, much of what is now Centennial Olympic Park and the surrounding attractions was parking lots and underused commercial space.

Because of the Games, the area was transformed into:

• A central urban park
• A magnet for museums and attractions, including:
  • World of Coca-Cola
  • Georgia Aquarium
  • College Football Hall of Fame

These institutions didn’t all open in 1996, but the park’s creation made the area attractive for long-term destination development.

If you’re planning a day out downtown, your typical route—park, aquarium, dinner nearby—probably wouldn’t exist in its current form without the Olympics.

Transportation and Infrastructure Upgrades

To handle Olympic crowds, Atlanta invested in:

• Road improvements in and around downtown and key corridors.
• Enhancements to MARTA rail and bus operations to support increased passenger volumes.

Today, residents still benefit from:

• Better MARTA access to downtown attractions and stadiums.
• Road alignments and signage shaped during the Olympic preparation period.

If you’re riding MARTA to a game or convention today, you’re taking advantage of capacity and planning decisions that were heavily influenced by 1996.

Housing and Campus Development

The Olympic Village at Georgia Tech moved the campus forward by decades in terms of housing and facilities. That set a pattern for:

• More modern student housing.
• Upgraded athletic and academic buildings.
• A stronger, more connected campus footprint near Midtown.

For Atlantans, this played a part in the rise of Midtown as a denser, more vibrant live-work-study neighborhood.

Remembering the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing

No discussion of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is complete without acknowledging the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

• The bombing occurred during a concert in the park on July 27, 1996.
• It caused deaths and many injuries and deeply affected both local and global perceptions of the Games.

For Atlanta residents, this event is often remembered as a painful moment in the city’s history. Today, memorial markers and quiet spaces in and around Centennial Olympic Park offer places for reflection.

If you’re visiting, you may encounter references to this event in park signage or local historical discussions. Many locals see it as part of a broader story of resilience and recovery.

Olympic Legacy in Everyday Atlanta Life

Sports Culture and Facilities

The Games helped reinforce Atlanta’s identity as a major sports city. Since 1996, the metro area has seen:

• Continued investment in stadiums and arenas
• Growth of youth and collegiate sports programs
• More frequent hosting of national and international events (like Super Bowls, college championships, and big tournaments)

Residents benefit from:

• Access to high-level sporting events year-round
• Facilities originally upgraded or justified by the visibility Atlanta gained in 1996

Tourism and International Identity

For many around the world, the first time they heard about Atlanta in a major way was during the 1996 Olympics. That recognition still shapes tourism patterns:

• Travelers often include Centennial Olympic Park on their itineraries.
• Convention organizers choose Atlanta partly because it proved it could handle huge global crowds.
• International visitors sometimes come with pre-existing awareness of the city from Olympic broadcasts.

If you run a local business, work in hospitality, or drive rideshare, some of your customers are here because Atlanta’s name stuck in people’s minds in 1996.

Neighborhoods Touched by the Games

Some neighborhoods that felt direct Olympic impact include:

• Downtown – Park creation, hotels, restaurants, and attractions.
• Summerhill – Stadium area redevelopment, now mixed-use with restaurants, retail, and housing where Turner Field and the Olympic Stadium once dominated.
• Midtown/Georgia Tech area – Expanded student housing, improved streetscapes, and more connected urban fabric.

If you’re choosing where to live, work, or explore in Atlanta, you’re moving through areas whose current form is strongly shaped by decisions made in the Olympic run-up.

Simple Guide: Key 1996 Olympic Sites in Atlanta Today

Tips for Exploring the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Legacy Today

If you’re interested in experiencing the Olympic history as a resident or visitor:

1. Start at Centennial Olympic Park

   • Walk the entire park.
   • Look for markers, statues, and the Fountain of Rings.
   • Plan extra time for nearby attractions that owe their location to the park.

2. Visit the former Olympic Stadium area in Summerhill

   • Walk around Center Parc Stadium.
   • Explore the Summerhill commercial district, which has grown significantly as the stadium redeveloped.

3. Take a self-guided stroll through Georgia Tech

   • Focus on central and north campus housing areas that formed the Olympic Village.
   • Stop by athletic facilities, including the aquatic center.

4. Use MARTA like an Olympic visitor would have

   • Ride to GWCC/CNN Center, Peachtree Center, or Midtown.
   • Notice how stations are positioned to serve the stadiums and convention areas.

5. Look for Olympic symbols and references

   • You’ll find Olympic rings, plaques, and memorials scattered throughout downtown and on campus.

What the 1996 Olympics Mean for Atlanta Today

For someone living in or visiting Atlanta, the 1996 Olympics are not just a distant historical event. They’re visible in:

• The design of downtown public spaces
• The evolution of Georgia Tech and Summerhill
• The city’s sports culture, tourism patterns, and infrastructure

Understanding the 1996 Atlanta Olympics gives you a deeper appreciation of why the city looks and feels the way it does today—and helps you navigate and enjoy some of Atlanta’s most significant places with a bit more context and meaning.