It is a place geared toward planning for the future, but Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials took a moment Tuesday morning to preserve the past.

Airport and city leaders gathered at the top of a hill, as jet engines roared behind them, to bury a time capsule of the airport’s first 100 years, one of the final ceremonies of the institution’s centennial celebrations.

More than 20 items that tell the story of the airport's evolution are on display before they go into the time capsule on the airfield at Stogner Hill at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026. The event commemorates ATL’s 100th anniversary. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Encased in a light gray plastic composite box, and soon buried under the Georgia red clay, are nearly two dozen items that give a glimpse into the past 100 years of the airport’s history, including:

• A copy of the airport lease agreement. On April 15, 1925, the lease was signed to turn the land where Hartsfield-Jackson now sits from a racetrack to an airport.
• A copy of a piece of mail from the first airmail flight to Atlanta on Sept. 15, 1926.
• The hour and minute hands from the domestic terminal atrium clock tower, which was recently replaced by a new digital sphere.
• A COVID-19 care kit.
• A lighting device from the domestic terminal LED canopy.
• A View-Master, the stereoscopic device children often played with, that shows a runway project.
• A letter from the airport’s current general manager, Ricky Smith, and more.

“We’re hopeful that 100 years from now, the amazing people that will be leading this important institution will be able to look into that time capsule and get a peek into what was important to us during this time, what we tried to do to make this place a better institution for them when they arrived,” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The items in the capsule were chosen by people from throughout the airport, Smith said, some of whom have been working there for decades. They are both symbolic and informative about the airport’s milestones, where it has been and where it may be in the future.

Ricky Smith, airport general manager, delivers remarks during the time capsule’s burial at Stogner Hill at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026. The event commemorates ATL’s 100th anniversary. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

The capsule is buried on Stogner Hill, next to the airport’s massive navigational radar equipment. Officials chose that location because they felt it was unlikely the radar equipment would be moved, Smith said. A plaque will mark its spot, saying in part, “May it serve as a lasting reminder of where we began, who we are, and the future we continue to build.”

In his letter to his successors a century from now, Smith acknowledged that when the box is opened in 2126, he doesn’t know what the airport will look like, how people will be traveling and if it will still rank as the world’s busiest airport — or if that metric will even matter.

But he added he hopes the investments officials are making today are setting up the leaders of tomorrow.

“For a time, this airport was ours to care for, strengthen and prepare for what came next. Now it has reached you,” Smith read during the ceremony.

“I hope we served you well.”