A landmark near a busy intersection in Midtown is Atlanta’s most visible connection to Britain’s Charles III.
In 1996, then-Prince Charles helped fund a massive statue at the intersection of Peachtree Street and West Peachtree at Pershing Point to honor the Centennial Olympic Games. The Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture held an international competition for the design of the monument, which is carved in limestone and topped with five bronze Atlas figures — representing the five continents — holding a globe.
“I asked the Prince of Wales to sponsor a monumental gift to our city and nation to commemorate the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996,” Rodney Mims Cook Jr. told the AJC’s Ernie Suggs. “He gave our people a 55-foot tall monument, the only thing he has built outside of Europe. And he doesn’t claim any credit for it. He is a gracious and humble person who helps people all of the time. He has no idea how many people he truly helped.”
Originally the “World Athletes Monument,” the Atlanta City Council changed the name to the “Prince of Wales Monument.”
In 1997, after Prince Diana was killed in a Paris automobile accident, an estimated 20,000 people were drawn to the monument. In 2004, mourners gathered there to honor the passing of President Ronald Reagan.
“It has been extremely well received,” Cook said.
Where is it?
The monument is near Peachtree Street and West Peachtree at Pershing Point, Atlanta, 30309
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
