AJC Flashback Photos: It happened in 1975 Atlanta

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Flashback Photos: It happened in 1975 Atlanta

Photos: Take a look at the Atlanta of 40 years ago -- its people, places and events -- through the lenses of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution's photographers. Gallery created May 2015.

In 1975, the Civil War-era cannons at Fort Walker in Grant Park near downtown Atlanta were besieged by vandals stealing its spokes and the ravages of time on its wooden supports. But 40 years ago, the cannons were sent to Piedmont Park for restoration and were slated to return to Grant Park. After years of vandalism by park visitors, though, the cannons were removed in the late 1980s, and one was stolen. Today, only a state historic marker remains at the site. This Guy Hayes AJC photo details the striking difference between Atlanta's past and the present it was busily crafting in the '70s. Following are more of the events, people and places that marked the year 1975 and that have influenced our city's growth and development ever since.

Knuckleballer Phil Niekro was the pitching ace for your Atlanta Braves.

Elvis Presley bends down from the stage to kiss a fan during an Atlanta show on April 30, 1975.

In June 1975, Atlanta Landmarks purchased the legendary Fox Theatre after a 1974 movement to repair and restore the old venue swelled up when the building fell into serious disrepair and was targeted for demolition. The Fox Theatre, opened in 1929, is now fully restored and is Atlanta's only remaining vintage movie palace. Every year since Atlanta Landmarks took over management in 1975, the Fox has generated an operating surplus and is among Atlanta's most beloved structures.

Legendary Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Lewis Grizzard left Atlanta in 1975 for a sports editor job in Chicago, but he came home two years later and never left again. Grizzard, who also enjoyed a career as a popular author of humorous books and a stand-up comedian, remained with the newspaper his death at age 47 in 1994...

... and a TV news legend came on the local scene in 1975 when Monica Kaufman (married name: Pearson) made history as the first African-American to anchor an Atlanta newscast for WSB-TV. Generations of Atlantans dutifully tuned in the longtime WSB anchor team of "John and Monica" -- veteran anchorman John Pruitt (left) and Kaufman -- until Pruitt's retirement in 2010 and looked forward to Kaufman's ever-changing hairstyles. Kaufman, who later went by Monica Pearson on-air, retired in 2012.

A March 1975 tornado ripped off the front porch and front columns of the Georgia Governor's Mansion in northwest Atlanta, just one week after Governor George Busbee moved in. The weather event became known locally as the "governor's tornado," which was the worst to hit Atlanta until a 2008 storm that heavily damaged the downtown area.

In 1976, the John Portman-designed circular Peachtree Plaza Hotel would become the landmark building that set Atlanta's skyline apart from all other U.S. cities. But in 1975, the dynamic structure was still under construction.

Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson is declared the winner over Muhammad Ali by referee Julian Bond in this 1975 photo. The mayor and Ali were "boxing" as part of a fundraiser for a local charity.

MARTA General Manager Alan Kiepper is shown at one of the transit authority's construction sites as the system broke ground on its rail system in 1975. By July 1979, the first rail service had started.

In 1975, Tom Lysiak of the Atlanta Flames showed off his long, curly locks for local hockey fans. (Players weren't required to wear helmets then.)

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., affectionately known as Daddy King, is shown at the pulpit. King Sr. served as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church until 1975.

Female demonstrators show their support for the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by picketing in front of the Georgia State Capitol in January 1975.

Sonja Scott is crowned Little Miss Dogwood for 1975 by the 1974 titleholder, Twilla Priutt.

The century-old Southern Mills on Big Creek in Roswell was closed in 1975.

Air traffic controllers in Hampton were on the job, tracking airliners approaching what was then just known as the Atlanta Municipal Airport in its pre-international expansion days.

A slew of Georgia dignitaries, including then-Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller, attended the March 1975 opening of Six Flags Over Georgia but the 'Log Ride,' formally known as the Log Jamboree, was where the REAL elite met to get wet. Six Flags started operations here in 1967.

Here in Atlanta, Falcons fans were cheering on a young quarterback named Steve Bartkowski (10), who would be the face of the franchise from 1975-85. Bartkowski was the No. 1 pick in the 1975 NFL draft.

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In 1975, the Civil War-era cannons at Fort Walker in Grant Park near downtown Atlanta were besieged by vandals stealing its spokes and the ravages of time on its wooden supports. But 40 years ago, the cannons were sent to Piedmont Park for restoration and were slated to return to Grant Park. After years of vandalism by park visitors, though, the cannons were removed in the late 1980s, and one was stolen. Today, only a state historic marker remains at the site. This Guy Hayes AJC photo details the striking difference between Atlanta's past and the present it was busily crafting in the '70s. Following are more of the events, people and places that marked the year 1975 and that have influenced our city's growth and development ever since.

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