ATLANTA — The Atlanta '96 exhibit at the Atlanta History Center tells a story of how the Olympics came to Atlanta and the legacy the Games left behind.
"Atlanta getting the Olympics didn't just happen in a vacuum," said Paul Crater, the vice president of collections and research services at the Atlanta History Center. "City leaders had been promoting the city for a long time as a national and international destination."
The exhibit features artifacts from more than a century of competition, including autographed balls, Olympic and Paralympic medals, and every torch since 1936.
It's designed to show how far the Olympics have evolved over the years.
"Izzy, the (1996) Olympic mascot, was the first computer-generated Olympic mascot," Crater said. "Looking back 28 years ago, the technology involved not only in putting on the Games but putting on the bid for the games shows how far countries and organizing committees have gone."
In addition to the memorabilia on display, the history center has an extensive Olympic collection in its archives — including two century-old medals from Paris that they took out of storage for 11Alive to see.
"Participation medals are something that have been given out since the beginning of the Olympics," Crater said. "The Atlanta History Center has dozens of examples of these participation medals, including two from Games held in Paris in 1924 and 1900."
The Atlanta '96 exhibit is on display year-round at the Atlanta History Center.
