Flashback Photos: It happened in 1964 Atlanta

Politics

Flashback Photos: It happened in 1964 Atlanta

Join us now for this trip into the AJC photo archives as we reminisce about the events, large and small, that marked the year 1964.

Join us now for this trip into the AJC photo archives as we reminisce about the events, large and small, that marked the year 1964. We start in January -- Atlanta Journal editor Jack Spalding looks over the day's news.

Feb. 21 -- During a 1964 speech on re-apportionment, Rep. Denmark Groover (D-Macon) nearly fell over the state House railing trying to adjust the hands of the clock to keep it from reaching the mandatory hour of adjournment. The clock ended up falling.

March -- The Children's Zoo at Grant Park awaited youthful visitors prior to the opening ceremonies. The mill (right) could grind corn. The addition of the zoo for kids brought Atlanta one step closer to having one of the finest zoo complexes in the nation, then-mayor Ivan Allen said.

April 12 -- Arnold Palmer swings his putter in glee after dropping in a birdie putt at the 18th hole during the final round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta. Palmer became the first four-time winner of the Masters on this day. (Obviously, this happened in 1964 Augusta, but we couldn't resist.)

April 14 -- Ground was broken for Atlanta's new stadium, which would house the Braves, who had announced they were moving from Milwaukee. Pictured left to right: Gov. Carl Sanders, Arthur Montgomery; his children, Monty and Jeannette; Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr.; Harold McCart.

May 12 -- First Lady Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson tours the U.S. Public Health Service Communicable Disease Center. She is standing next to Dr. Robinson (at right). She was there to break ground for a new auditorium.

May 28 -- State Sen. LeRoy Johnson, right, confers with colleague Sen. James Wesberry at the State Capitol in Atlanta. The quiet-spoken Johnson was the first African-American elected to the Senate in 92 years.

June 11 -- In April, ground had been broken for improving runways at the modern Atlanta Airport.

July -- Piedmont Avenue commuters in Atlanta welcomed a new bridge.

July 2 -- President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on this date, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Here, Senator Richard B. Russell (D-Ga.) shows off civil rights bills pending in Congress in 1963. Russell was one of a number of senators who launched a filibuster in a failed attempt to prevent the law's passage. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. of Atlanta was among those who attended the bill's signing ceremony.

Sept. 10 -- Newsroom members of WSB-TV gear up for their "Primary 64" coverage of state elections.

Sept. 14 -- President Lyndon Baines Johnson shakes hands with Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Ralph McGill as General Chester Clifton adjusts the medal. McGill was editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution.

Sept. 18 -- Five p.m. traffic moves smoothly over the downtown Expressway Connector which had been recently opened.

October 1964 -- Atlanta Airport firemen drill in special uniforms with foam hoses and nozzles ready to spray oil or gasoline fires. Modern trucks, equipment and trained men give Atlanta exellent rescue and crash fire-fighting ratings.

Oct. 21 -- Pimiento Festival Queen Bonnie Anderson waves to Woodbury residents watching the parade during the annual Woodbury Pimiento Festival.

Nov. 1964 -- Look familiar? It's traffic congestion on Interstates 75 and 85 looking south towards downtown Atlanta. (Note: The Varsity's white-lettered sign is at middle left center of the photo.)

December 10 -- Martin Luther King Jr. was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Join us now for this trip into the AJC photo archives as we reminisce about the events, large and small, that marked the year 1964. We start in January -- Atlanta Journal editor Jack Spalding looks over the day's news.

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