Editing Atlanta (section)

==== Architecture ====
{{Main|Architecture of Atlanta}}
Most of Atlanta was burned in the final months of the American Civil War, depleting the city of a large stock of its historic architecture. Yet architecturally, the city had never been traditionally "southern": Atlanta originated as a railroad town rather than a southern seaport dominated by the planter class, such as [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] or  [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]. Because of its later development, many of the city's landmarks share architectural characteristics with buildings in the Northeast or Midwest, as they were designed at a time of shared national architectural styles.<ref name="Gournay" />
[[File:Atlanta Skyline - Piedmont Park.png|thumb|The skyline of Midtown (viewed from [[Piedmont Park]]) emerged with the construction of modernist [[Colony Square]] in 1972.]]
During the late 20th century, Atlanta embraced the global trend of [[modern architecture]], especially for commercial and institutional structures. Examples include the [[State of Georgia Building]] built in 1966, and the [[Georgia-Pacific Tower]] in 1982. Many of the most notable examples from this period were designed by world renowned Atlanta architect [[John C. Portman Jr.|John Portman]]. Most of the buildings that define the downtown skyline were designed by Portman during this period, including the [[Westin Peachtree Plaza]] and the [[Atlanta Marriott Marquis]]. In the latter half of the 1980s, Atlanta became one of the early homes of postmodern buildings that reintroduced classical elements to their designs. Many of Atlanta's tallest skyscrapers were built in this period and style, displaying tapering spires or otherwise ornamented crowns, such as [[One Atlantic Center]] (1987), [[191 Peachtree Tower]] (1991), and the [[Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta]] (1992). Also completed during the era was the [[Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta)|Bank of America Plaza]] built-in 1992. At {{convert|1023|ft|m|0}}, it is the tallest building in the city and the 14th-tallest in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=World's Tallest Buildings |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001338.html |access-date=June 26, 2007 |website=Infoplease.com}}</ref>

The city's embrace of modern architecture has often translated into an ambivalent approach toward historic preservation, leading to the destruction of many notable architectural landmarks. These include the [[Equitable Building (Atlanta 1892)|Equitable Building]] (1892–1971), [[Terminal Station (Atlanta)|Terminal Station]] (1905–1972), and the [[Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System#The Carnegie Library|Carnegie Library]] (1902–1977).<ref name="Guardian preservation">{{cite web |last1=Van Mead |first1=Nick |date=October 23, 2018 |title=The lost city of Atlanta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/lost-city-of-atlanta-historic-building-parking-lot |access-date=May 16, 2020 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> In the mid-1970s, the [[Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia)|Fox Theatre]], now a cultural icon of the city, would have met the same fate if not for a grassroots effort to save it.<ref name="Gournay" /> More recently, preservationists may have made some inroads. For example, in 2016 activists convinced the Atlanta City Council not to demolish the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library, the last building designed by noted architect [[Marcel Breuer]].<ref name="Central Library Saved">{{cite news |last1=Jason |first1=Sayer |date=July 21, 2016 |title=Marcel Breuer's Central Library in Atlanta to be renovated and NOT demolished |url=https://archpaper.com/2016/07/marcel-breuer-central-library-atlanta-saved/ |access-date=May 16, 2020 |work=The Architect's Newspaper |publisher=The Architect's Newspaper, LLC}}</ref>