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Building the Stadium

October 7, 1964: One of eight photographs of the stadium's construction.

All eight photographs can be found here on pages 43-58 in the complete PDF of the contents of Box 17 Folder 7: http://allenarchive.iac.gatech.edu/files/original/6b1fc634a3138771e7fba29f312f396f.pdf

October 24, 1964: A clipping of a photograph from an unidentified newspaper sent to Mayor Allen. While there is no return address on the accompanying envelope, it is possible to assume the sender is either a Milwaukee Braves fan protesting the team's move or a resident of Atlanta opposed to the new stadium construction.

Highlight: "This whole story stinks from the beginning to the end."

November 1964: One-page article in a bulletin published by Management Science Authority, Inc. about the use of a computer processing method hosted by computers at Georgia Tech to manage the construction schedule of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Highlight: "The network for the stadium contains 3240 activities drawn on 16 pages. The computer selected for the CPM processing was the Burroughs B-5000 at the Rich Electronic Computer Center at Georgia Tech. The B-5000 program has a capacity of 524,288 activities."

November 1964: "Atlanta Tries to Hit One Into the Stands," a clipping of a magazine story sent to Mayor Allen by a resident of Doraville, Georgia outlining Atlanta's acquisition of the Braves.

Highlight: "The answer, of course, is that the advent of a major league team brings with it a shower of gold--much from out of town--even if it peters out after a few years."

November 17, 1964: An advertisement in the New York Times announcing that "Atlanta [is] major league all the way...including newspapers" featuring an aerial photograph of the in-progress stadium early in its construction with a complete view of the stadium's location southeast of the new major highway interchage and downtown Atlanta. 

Highlight: "National Baseball League Braves' coming to Atlanta in 1966 is a natural progression for Amazing Atlanta."

November 23, 1964: A clipping from a Tampa, Florida newspaper about the construction of the new stadium in Atlanta. Of particular note are the descriptions in the "Change of View" section.

Highlight: "...the staggering complex, being built where there used to be slum and/or near slum housing. The story of this gtadium, yet without an ending, is one of bold courage, convlction and a handful of men of action."

Early 1965: Undated aerial photograph of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium under construction, likely in early 1965. This photograph is taken looking west with Interstate-85 directly behind the in-progress stadium.

Early 1965: Undated aerial photograph of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium under construction, likely in early 1965. This photograph is taken looking north toward downtown Atlanta with Interstate-85 to the left of the stadium and what is now Hank Aaron Drive SW to the right of the stadium. The bottom portion of the image shows a portion of Georgia Avenue SE that no longer exists and is now the northern section of Georgia State Stadium (formerly Turner Field).

Late January to early February 1965: A series of clippings from local Atlanta newspapers on naming the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and the Braves, with a particular focus on Hank Aaron's perception of Atlanta.

Additional clippings are available in Box 14 Folder 3 as documents 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 42.

Highlight: "'I'll say what I said earlier,' commented Aaron. 'I said it will be hard to leave Milwaukee where all our close friends are, but I never said I wouJdn't move to Atlanta. That's just one of the many stories some writers have twisted.'" 

March 2, 1965: Four drafts of the letter from Mayor Allen to President Lyndon B. Johnson inviting him to Atlanta for either the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium dedication or opening day of the 1966 baseball season to celebrate the Atlanta Braves' first game.

The featured letter is the final draft. The three previous drafts are available in Box 14 Folder 4 Documents 121, 122, and 123, which are accessible here: http://allenarchive.iac.gatech.edu/items/show/5284http://allenarchive.iac.gatech.edu/items/show/5285, and http://allenarchive.iac.gatech.edu/items/show/5286

Highlight: "It will mean so much more if you could join the people from all over our region to celebrate the South's ability to handle major league sports."

March 8, 1965: A letter to Mayor Allen from Jack Valenti, Special Assistant to the President, responding to Allen's invitation for President Lyndon B. Johnson to attend the dedication of the new stadium and opening day of the 1966 baseball season.

Highlight: "Thank you for your letter of the 2nd to the President inviting him to participate in two important events coming up in Atlanta..."

May 27, 1965: Memo from Mayor Allen about the city's current "Stadium-itis."

Highlight: "Atlanta is still suffering happily from "Stadium-itis," and the results range from picture postcards to paper placemats!"

February 23, 1966: "An Operations Manual on the Job to be Done Prepared for The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and The Atlanta Braves by Bell & Stanton, Inc.," a 32-page public relations plan developed for the city to successfully promote and utilize the first Braves game in Atlanta in April 1966.

Highlight: "Gaining momentum from all that is done, this operation is a prime generator of maximum favorable attention for Atlanta. Our major objective, then, is to pivot this exciting baseball team and its home city on a 360 degree swing of visibility surpassing any attention any city has received in the past."

March 10, 1966: A letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson to Mayor Allen expressing regret that he will not be able to attend the opening home game for the Atlanta Braves.

Highlight: "Many times what a President does is often decided by what he must do. Thus, I send you my warmest best wishes for a successful baseball season in Atlanta."

April 11, 1966: Statement by Mayor Allen encouraging the entire city to attend the parade on April 12 celebrating the Atlanta Braves first home opener at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Highlight: "Let's make it a parade they'll talk about for the next hundred years."

April 12, 1966: A telegram from "Urgently Concerned Citizens" to Mayor Allen stating that they are picketing the new stadium.

Highlight: "This is to advise that we are picketing the stadium to show outrage that money originally appropriated for needed parks in negro slum areas were reappropriated to pay interest bonds on new stadium."

April 1966A copy of the 1966 Braves Scorebook for opening day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The scorebook is signed by the entire Atlanta Braves team on page 30.