Atlanta mayor supports keeping Olympic cauldron in Summerhill
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The Olympic rings bridge, tower and cauldron at the corner of Fulton Street and Hank Aaron Drive. Photo: Courtesy of David Mitchell/Atlanta Preservation Center
Mayor Andre Dickens is backing Summerhill residents in their fight to keep the cauldron from the 1996 Summer Olympics game in their community.
Why it matters: A letter written Thursday by Dickens could — at the least — encourage those who want to relocate the cauldron to take stock of residents' concerns.
The latest: Moving the cauldron to Centennial Olympic Park "does not reflect the collaborative approach these communities deserve," Dickens wrote in the letter to Jeff Cravens, president of Atlanta Legacy '96, the committee that wants to move the cauldron.
What they're saying: The mayor also said Summerhill and its neighbors in Mechanicsville and Peoplestown served as the world's "living room" when Atlanta hosted the games.
- "A city's greatest moments should belong to its people first," he said. "The Olympic cauldron should remain in the neighborhood it has called home for the past 30 years — just as thousands of residents have."
- John Helton, president of the Organized Neighbors of Summerhill, told Axios in a statement the group was "very excited to receive such a resolute letter of support" from Dickens.
Flashback: The cauldron, its tower and the Olympic rings bridge are world-famous landmarks that cement Summerhill's role in the 1996 games.
- Muhammad Ali lit the cauldron at the stadium in Summerhill during the opening ceremony.
The other side: Georgia World Congress Center Authority spokesperson Holly Richmond said the organization is "committed to honoring the communities, individuals, and organizations that have shaped and preserved the legacy of the 1996 Games for the past 30 years."
- The authority's role, she said, has been to respond to the Legacy '96 organization's petition to move the cauldron and "serve as its caretaker on behalf of the organization."
- "We have approached that responsibility with great respect for all those who made the Centennial Olympic Games possible," Richmond told Axios.
Catch up quick: The authority in June issued a request for proposals to relocate the cauldron from the tower and bridge at the corner of Hank Aaron Drive and Fulton Street to Centennial Olympic Park, which it owns.
- Georgia State University, which purchased Turner Field in 2017 and later opened the stadium for its football team, previously said in a statement that it will enhance the tower and bridge to "celebrate the deeply intertwined legacies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Georgia State and the Summerhill community."
What we're watching: If Dickens' letter will propel GSU and the Atlanta Legacy '96 committee to convene public meetings with the Summerhill community.