Atlanta Georgia GA Warrant Search

Atlanta Atlanta (pronounced /ətˈlæntə/, /ætˈlæntə/, locally /ætˈlænə/) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2009[update] Atlanta had an estimated population of about 540,922 people. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with more than 5.4 million people, is the second largest in the Southeastern United States and the ninth largest in the country. The Atlanta Combined Statistical Area, a larger trade area, has a population approaching six million and is the largest in the Southeast. Like many urban areas in the Sun Belt, the Atlanta region has seen increasing growth since the 1970s, and it added about 1.1 million residents between 2000 and 2008.Atlanta is considered to be a top business city and is a primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States—via highway, railroad, and air. Atlanta contains the world headquarters of such large corporations as The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, Delta Air Lines, and Turner Broadcasting. Atlanta has the country's fourth-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies and more than 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have business operations in the metropolitan area, helping Atlanta realize a gross metropolitan product of US$270 billion, accounting for more than 2/3 of the Georgian economy. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been the world's busiest airport since 1998.Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County and the location of the seat of government of the State of Georgia. A small portion of the City of Atlanta corporate limits extends eastwards into DeKalb County. Residents of Atlanta and its surroundings are known as 'Atlantans'. History A small part of land of the City of Atlanta was once an American Indian village whose name translates into English as 'Standing Peachtree'. The land that became the Atlanta Metropolitan Area was obtained from the Cherokee Indians and Creek Indians by white settlers and their armies in 1822, with the first white settlement established in the area being Decatur.On December 21, 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad to provide a trade route to the Midwestern United States. Following the Trail of Tears exile of the Cherokee Nation to Oklahoma between 1838 and 1839, this depopulated area was opened up for the construction of railroads. The area around the eastern terminus of the town to the railroad began to develop first, and hence the settlement was named 'Terminus' in 1837. It was nicknamed Thrasherville, for John Thrasher, a merchant who built homes and a general store here. By 1842, the settlement had six buildings and 30 residents and the town was renamed 'Marthasville'. The Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, J. Edgar Thomson, suggested that the area be renamed 'Atlantica-Pacifica' after the Western and Atlantic Railroad, but this name was quickly shortened to 'Atlanta'. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847. By 1854, another railroad connected Atlanta to LaGrange, and the town grew to 9,554 by 1860.During the Civil War, Atlanta served as a vital nexus of the railroads and hence a hub for the distribution of military supplies. At this time, railroads from Atlanta extended eastward to Augusta and Savannah, northward to Chattanooga, southward to Macon, southwest to Columbus, Ga., and Montgomery, Alabama, and due west to northern Alabama. Following the Union Army's capture of Chattanooga in 1863, that army followed the general route of the railroad southwards (via Kennesaw and Marietta) in 1864, in order to attack Atlanta. The Atlanta region then became the target of the major invasion of northern Georgia by the Union.The region now covered by Metropolitan Atlanta became the location of several major army battles, including the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Battle of Jonesborough (now Jonesboro, Ga.), and the Battle of Atlanta. On September 1, 1864, the Confederate General John Bell Hood decided that his army must evacuate Atlanta—following a four-month-long siege laid on Atlanta by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. General Hood ordered that all public buildings and possible assets to the Union Army be destroyed. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun of Atlanta surrendered the city to the Union Army, and on September 7, General Sherman ordered the city's civilian population to evacuate. Sherman's army next torched the buildings of Atlanta to the ground, beginning on November 11, in preparation for the march of his army to the southeast—though sparing the city's churches and hospitals.The rebuilding of Atlanta following the end of the Civil War in 1865 was gradual. From 1867 until 1888, U.S. Army soldiers occupied the McPherson Barracks in southern Atlanta to ensure that the Reconstruction era reforms were carried out. To help the newly-freed slaves of the State of Georgia, the Federal Government's newly-established Freedmen's Bureau worked in tandem with a number of civilian freedmen's aid organizations, especially the American Missionary Association.Also, in 1868, the Georgia State Capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta because of Atlanta's superior rail transportation network, and hence Atlanta became the fifth location of the capital of the State of Georgia. The Confederate Soldiers' Home was built to house disabled and elderly Georgia veterans from 1901 to 1941. Henry W. Grady, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper, promoted Atlanta to potential investors as a city of the 'New South', one to be built on a modern economy, less reliant on agriculture. As a focal point of this change, the Georgia Institute of Technology (its future name) was established in Atlanta in 1885 (with its first classes held in October 1888).However, as Atlanta grew, ethnic and racial tensions mounted. The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 left at least 27 people dead and over 70 injured.On December 15, 1939, Atlanta hosted the film premiere of Gone with the Wind, the epic film based on Atlanta's Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel Gone with the Wind. Several stars of the film, including Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, and its legendary producer, David O. Selznick, attended the gala event, which was held at Loew's Grand Theatre, now demolished. The film's fourth-billed star, the British actor Leslie Howard, had returned to his home in Great Britain in September 1939 to help with its defense during World War II. The reception for the film's premiere was held at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, which still exists.During World War II, manufacturing industries such as the Bell Aircraft Company's large factory in the northwestern suburb of Marietta, a massive growth in railroad traffic—and the manufacture of railroad cars—for the war effort, and great growth at Ft. McClellan, Fort Gillem (est. 1941), and Rickenbacker Field forced a large growth in the population and economy of Atlanta. Shortly after the war, the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was founded in Atlanta.In the wake of the landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, Brown v. Board of Education, which helped bring about the Civil Rights Movement, racial tensions in Atlanta began to express themselves in isolated events of violence. On October 12, 1958, the Reform Jewish temple on Peachtree Street was bombed. The rabbi of the synagogue, Jacob Rothschild, had been and continued to be an outspoken advocate of desegration. A group of white supremacists calling themselves the 'Confederate Underground' claimed responsibility.During the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing center of the Civil Rights Movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and students from Atlanta's historically Black colleges and universities playing major roles in the movement's leadership. Two of the most important civil rights organizations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, had their national headquarters in Atlanta. Despite some racial protests during the Civil Rights era, Atlanta's political and business leaders labored to foster Atlanta's image as 'the city too busy to hate'. In 1961, Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of his city's public schools.African-American Atlantans demonstrated growing political influence with election of the first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, in 1973. They became a majority in the city during the late 20th century but suburbanization, rising prices, a booming economy and new migrants have decreased their percentage in the city from a high of 69 percent in 1980 to about 51 percent in 2009. The addition of new immigrants such as Latinos and Asians is altering city demographics, along with an influx of white residents.In 1990, Atlanta was selected as the site for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation. Atlanta became the third American city to host the Summer Olympics. The games themselves were marred by numerous organizational inefficiencies, as well as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.Contemporary Atlanta is sometimes considered to be an archetype for cities experiencing rapid growth and urban sprawl. Unlike most major cities, metropolitan Atlanta does not have any natural boundaries, such as an ocean, lakes, or mountains, that might constrain growth.The city has recently been commended by bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency for its eco-friendly policies. In 2009, Atlanta's Virginia-Highland became the first carbon-neutral zone in the United States. Verus Carbon Neutral developed the partnership that links 17 merchants of the historic Corner Virginia-Highland shopping and dining neighborhood retail district, through the Chicago Climate Exchange, to directly fund the Valley Wood Carbon Sequestration Project (thousands of acres of forest in rural Georgia). Topography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 132.4 square miles (342.9 km2). 131.7 square miles (341.1 km2) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) of it is water. The total area is 0.54% water. At about 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level the airport is at 1,010 feet (308 m), Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River.The Eastern Continental Divide line enters Atlanta from the south, proceeding to the downtown area. From downtown, the divide line runs eastward along DeKalb Avenue and the CSX rail lines through Decatur. Rainwater that falls on the south and east side runs eventually into the Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide runs into the Gulf of Mexico via the Chattahoochee River. That river is part of the ACF River Basin, and from which Atlanta and many of its neighbors draw most of their water. Being at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is still preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Downstream however, excessive water use during droughts and pollution during floods has been a source of contention and legal battles with neighboring states Alabama and Florida. Climate Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate, (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with hot, humid summers and mild winters that are occasionally cold by the standards of the southern United States. January averages 42.7 °F (5.9 °C), with temperatures in the suburbs slightly cooler. Warm, maritime air can bring springlike highs while strong Arctic air masses can push lows into the teens (−11 to −7 °C). High temperatures in July average 89 °F (31.7 °C) but occasionally exceed 100 °F (38 °C).Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, though spring and early fall are markedly drier. Average annual rainfall is 50.2 inches (1,280 mm). Temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C) occur more than 40 days per year; overnight freezing can be expected over 45 days, but high temperatures that do not climb above the freezing mark are rare. Snow is not seen every year and averages 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) annually. The heaviest single storm brought around 10 inches (25 cm) on January 23, 1940. True blizzards are rare but possible; one hit in March 1993. Ice storms usually cause more trouble than does snowfall; the most severe such storm may have occurred on January 7, 1973. In 2010, Atlanta had its first white Christmas since 1882.Extremes range from −9 °F (−23 °C) in February 1899 to 105 °F (41 °C) in July 1980. More recently, a low one degree away from the record, was observed on January 21, 1985. In 2007, the American Lung Association ranked Atlanta as having the 13th highest level of particle pollution in the United States. The combination of pollution and pollen levels, and uninsured citizens caused the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America to name Atlanta as the worst American city for asthma sufferers to live in.On March 14, 2008, an EF2 tornado hit downtown Atlanta with winds up to 135 mph (217 km/h). The tornado caused damage to Philips Arena, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center, and the Georgia World Congress Center. It also damaged the nearby neighborhoods of Vine City to the west and Cabbagetown, and Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills to the east. While there were dozens of injuries, only one fatality was reported. City officials warned it could take months to clear the devastation left by the tornado. Architecture Atlanta's skyline is punctuated with highrise and midrise buildings of modern and postmodern vintage. Its tallest landmark—the Bank of America Plaza—is the 42nd-tallest building in the world at 1,023 feet (312 m). It is also the tallest building in the United States outside of Chicago and New York City.Unlike many other Southern cities such as Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, and New Orleans, Atlanta chose not to retain its historic Old South architectural characteristics. Instead, Atlanta viewed itself as the leading city of a progressive 'New South' and opted for expressive modern structures. Atlanta's skyline includes works by most major U.S. firms and some of the more prominent architects of the 20th century, including Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Marcel Breuer, Renzo Piano, Pickard Chilton, and locally based internationally known Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam Architects. Atlanta's most notable hometown architect may be John Portman whose creation of the atrium hotel beginning with the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (1967) made a significant mark on the hospitality sector.Through his work, Portman—a graduate of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture—reshaped downtown Atlanta with his designs for the Atlanta Merchandise Mart, Peachtree Center, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and SunTrust Plaza. The city's highrises are clustered in three districts in the city—Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. (there are two more major suburban clusters, Perimeter Center to the north and Cumberland/Vinings to the northwest). The central business district, clustered around the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel—one of the tallest buildings in Atlanta at the time of its completion in 1967—also includes the newer 191 Peachtree Tower, Westin Peachtree Plaza, SunTrust Plaza, Georgia-Pacific Tower, and the buildings of Peachtree Center. Midtown Atlanta, farther north, developed rapidly after the completion of One Atlantic Center in 1987. Urban development The Atlanta metropolitan area is one of the country's fastest growing areas. The suburbs continue to expand while intown neighborhoods experience rapid gentrification.Atlanta saw an exodus of middle and upper class families to the suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s. This trend shifted major shopping venues to areas like Buckhead and suburban malls. However, Downtown has remained one of the main centers for office space in the region.Meanwhile, the exodus sent previously well-to-do neighborhoods in east-central Atlanta into decay, neighborhoods such as Inman Park and Candler Park, typified by their craftsman bungalows and Victorian mansions. In the 1970s, neighborhood opposition blocked two freeways from being built through the area. Since then, these neighborhoods have become examples of renewal and are now considered hip urban neighborhoods, appealing to young residents who wish to be in the middle of entertainment, shopping and transportation options.The late 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s saw rapid infill development in and around the old streetcar suburbs north and northeast of Downtown, in Midtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Kirkwood, Cabbagetown and along the BeltLine. Condos, apartments, and retail space were built into former industrial and warehouse spaces, and urban villages were renovated. October 2005 marked the opening of Atlantic Station, a former brownfield steel plant site redeveloped into a mixed-use urban district. While the infill growth has slowed somewhat during the Great Recession, it still continues at a steady pace, expanding into areas such as Midtown West.Midtown has taken this position only in recent years with booming growth in office space. Businesses continue to move into the Midtown district. In early 2006, Mayor Franklin set in motion a plan to make the 14-block stretch of Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta (nicknamed 'Midtown Mile') a street-level shopping destination envisioned to rival Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive or Chicago's Magnificent Mile.The city's northern district, Buckhead, is eight miles (13 km) north of downtown Atlanta. It grew up as a wealthy suburban area but is now of regional importance. Lenox Square mall was developed as suburban mall, but many skyscrapers have been built around it and the area has developed into a major commercial center. Immediately surrounding the skyscrapers are wealthy neighborhoods of single-family houses. There is also a great deal of infill development—condos and apartments—where possible, especially near the Lindbergh MARTA station, west and east along Lenox Road, and north and south along Peachtree Road.Southwestern Atlanta contains a number of suburbs popular with the wealthy and elite African-American population of the city, such as Collier Heights, which features neighborhoods such as Cascade Heights and Peyton Forest.Atlanta has been in the midst of a construction and retail boom, with over 60 new highrise or midrise buildings either proposed or under construction as of April 19, 2006. As in many cities, new development has slowed drastically with the beginning of the world-wide recession of 2007-2009.In spite of civic efforts such as the opening of Centennial Olympic Park in downtown in 1996, Atlanta ranks near last in area of park land per capita among cities of similar population density, with 8.9 acres (36,000 m2) per thousand residents (36 m²/resident) in 2005. The city has a reputation, however, as a 'city of trees' or a 'city in a forest'; beyond the central Atlanta and Buckhead business districts, the skyline gives way to a sometimes dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs. Founded in 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed over 75,000 shade trees. BeltLine projects will increase Atlanta's park space by 40%, including two new parks: the Westside Reservoir Park and the Historic Fourth Ward Park. Culture Atlanta, while very much in the South, has a culture that is no longer strictly Southern. With migrants from all over the United States and the world, Atlanta is a diverse, international city, home to many different ethnic groups. A random Atlantan is more likely to have been born in Indianapolis, Bangalore, or Seoul than in Atlanta. Thus, although traditional Southern culture is part of Atlanta's cultural fabric, it serves more as the backdrop of a multicultural city with a thriving international community. Entertainment and performing arts Atlanta, as the cultural capital of the Southeast, is home to a thriving entertainment and performing arts industry. In 2010, American Style Magazine ranked Atlanta as the ninth-best city for the arts.The classical music scene in the metropolitan Atlanta area includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, New Trinity Baroque, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Georgia Boy Choir and the Atlanta Boy Choir. Classical musicians have included renowned conductors Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony's Robert Spano.The Fox Theatre is an historic landmark and one of the highest grossing venues in the world. The city also has a large collection of highly successful music venues of various sizes that host top and emerging touring acts. Popular local venues include the Tabernacle, the Variety Playhouse, The Masquerade, The Star Community Bar and the EARL.Atlanta is also a major hub for the marching arts. The city is home of Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps, who competes in Drum Corps International, and both Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps and the CorpsVets Drum and Bugle Corps, both of which participate in the Drum Corps Associates circuit.Significant museums and galleries in the city include the renowned High Museum of Art, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (the Contemporary), the Art Institute of Atlanta, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.Atlanta is home to a flourishing theater community. Major Theater groups include the Tony award winning Alliance Theater (part of the Woodruff Arts Center), The internationally known Center for Puppetry Arts, Seven Stages Theater, The Horizon Theater Company, improv group Dad's Garage, Actor's Express, the Shakespeare Tavern, and the suburban Theatre in the Square in Marietta.Atlanta is the home of many aspiring and upcoming hip-hop artists, and major recording studios/companies such as So So Def Recordings, Grand Hustle Records, BME Recordings, Block Entertainment, Konvict Muzik, 1017 Brick Squad. It was announced earlier this year that Atlanta will host WWE Wrestlemania 27 in March 2011. Tourism In 2009, National Geographic Traveler ranked Atlanta a 'Places of a Lifetime', citing Atlanta's lush trees—magnolias, dogwoods, Southern pines, and oaks—as well as its paradoxical and unique mix of antebellum architecture and glass high-rises. This could explain why Atlanta attracts the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States, with more than 847,000 foreign visitors arriving in the city in 2007. That same year (according to Forbes), it was estimated that Atlanta attracted 37 million visitors into the city. The city features the world's largest indoor aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, which officially opened to the public on November 23, 2005. The new World of Coca-Cola, opened adjacent to the Aquarium in May 2007, features the history of the world-famous soft drink brand and provides visitors the opportunity to taste different Coca-Cola products from around the world. Underground Atlanta, a historic shopping and entertainment complex lies under the streets of downtown Atlanta. Atlantic Station, a huge new urban renewal project on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, officially opened in October 2005.Atlanta hosts a variety of museums on subjects ranging from history to fine arts, natural history, and beverages. Museums and attractions in the city include the Atlanta History Center; the Carter Center; the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site; the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum; the Wren's Nest; historic house museum Rhodes Hall; and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum. Children's museums include The Fernbank Science Center and Imagine It! Children's Museum of Atlanta. Future museums planned for the city include the National Health Museum, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Center of Civil and Human Rights, all to be constructed in the emerging tourist district surrounding Centennial Olympic Park.Piedmont Park hosts many of Atlanta's festivals and cultural events, including the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival and Atlanta Pride. Atlanta Botanical Garden sits next to the park. Zoo Atlanta, in Grant Park, features a panda exhibit. Just east of the city rises Stone Mountain, the largest piece of exposed granite in the world.During Labor Day weekend each year, Atlanta hosts the popular multi-genre convention Dragon*Con, held downtown at the Hyatt Regency, Marriot Marquis, Hilton and Sheraton hotels. The event attracts an estimated 30,000 attendees annually. The entire month of August is dedicated to filmmaking when Atlanta hosts the month-long celebration of independent film known as Independent Film Month And in October the Midtown Atlanta area is host to the popular Out on Film gay film festival, attracting film makers and fans from around the world. Religion There are over 1,000 places of worship within the city of Atlanta. Protestant Christian faiths are well represented in Atlanta, the city historically being a major center for traditional Southern denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). There are a large number of megachurches in the area, especially in suburban areas.In contrast to other Southern cities, Atlanta contains a large, and rapidly growing, Roman Catholic population. The number of Catholics grew from 292,300 members in 1998 to 900,000 members in 2010, an increase of 207 percent. The population is expected to top 1 million by 2011. The increase is fueled by Catholics moving to Atlanta from other parts of the U.S. and the world, and from newcomers to the church. About 16 percent of all metropolitan Atlanta residents are Catholic. As the see of the 84 parish Archdiocese of Atlanta, Atlanta serves as the metropolitan see for the Province of Atlanta. The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the King and the current archbishop is the Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory. Also located in the metropolitan area are several Eastern Catholic parishes which fall in the jurisdiction of Eastern Catholic eparchies for the Melkite, Maronite, and Byzantine Catholics.The city hosts the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral, the see of the Metropolis of Atlanta and its bishop, Alexios. Other Orthodox Christian jurisdictions represented by parishes in the Atlanta area include the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America.Atlanta is also the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, which includes all of northern Georgia, much of middle Georgia and the Chattahoochee River valley of western Georgia. This Diocese is headquartered at the Cathedral of St Philip in Buckhead and is led by the Right Reverend J. Neil Alexander.Atlanta serves as headquarters for several regional church bodies also. The Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America maintains offices in downtown Atlanta; ELCA parishes are numerous throughout the metro area. There are eight United Church of Christ congregations in the Atlanta metro area, one of which, First Congregational in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, is noted for being the church with which former mayor Andrew Young is affiliated.Traditional African American denominations such as the National Baptist Convention and the African Methodist Episcopal Church are strongly represented in the area. These churches have several seminaries that form the Interdenominational Theological Center complex in the Atlanta University Center.One 'mega church' is the Anglican Church of the Apostles, located on US-41 between West Paces Ferry and Mt. Paran RoadsThe headquarters for The Salvation Army's United States Southern Territory is located in Atlanta. The denomination has eight churches, numerous social service centers, and youth clubs located throughout the Atlanta area.The city has a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the suburb of Sandy Springs, Georgia.Metropolitan Atlanta is also home to a Jewish community estimated to include 120,000 individuals in 61,300 households. This study places Atlanta's Jewish population as the 11th largest in the United States, up from 17th largest in 1996. Atlanta also has a considerable number of ethnic Christian congregations such as Korean Baptist/Methodist/Presbyterian Churches, Tamil Church Atlanta, Telugu Church, Hindi Church, Malayalam Church, Ethiopian, Chinese, and many more traditional ethnic religious groups.The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta in adjacent Lilburn, Georgia is currently the largest Hindu temple in the world outside of India. It is one of approximately 15 Hindu temples in the metro Atlanta area.There also are an estimated 75,000 Muslims in the area and approximately 35 mosques. Sports Atlanta is home to several professional sports franchises, including teams from all four different major league sports in the U.S. The Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, have played in the city since 1966. The Braves began playing in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, and is the oldest continually operating professional sports franchise in America. The Braves won the World Series in 1995, and had an unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005.The Atlanta Falcons are an American football team in the National Football League and have played in Atlanta since 1966. The team currently plays at the Georgia Dome. They have won the division title three times (1980, 1998, 2004) and one conference championship—going on to finish as the runner-up to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999. Atlanta hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.The Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association have played in Atlanta since 1968. The team's history goes back to 1946, when they were known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, playing in the area now known as the Quad Cities (Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa). The team then moved to Milwaukee in 1951, and to St. Louis in 1955, where they won their sole NBA Championship as the St. Louis Hawks. In 1968, they came to Atlanta. In October 2007, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced that Atlanta would receive an expansion franchise, that commenced their first season in May 2008. The new team is the Atlanta Dream, and plays in Philips Arena. The new franchise is not affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks.From 1972–1980, the Atlanta Flames played ice hockey in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1980, due to financial difficulties of the owner, and became the Calgary Flames. On June 25, 1997, Atlanta was awarded an NHL expansion franchise, and the Atlanta Thrashers became the city's newest ice hockey team. The Thrashers play at Philips Arena. The team began play on September 18, 1999, losing to the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime in a preseason game. The Thrashers first home victory came on October 26, 1999, defeating the Calgary Flames.Atlanta was, and currently is, home to the professional women's soccer team the Atlanta Beat. The original Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA, 2001–2003) was the only team to reach the playoffs in each of the league's three seasons. The new Atlanta Beat made its debut in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in April 2010, and the following month played its first game in the new soccer-specific stadium that it shares wi