Five Points

​The name "Five Points" refers to the convergence of Marietta Street, Edgewood Avenue, Decatur Street, and two legs of Peachtree Street. As described above, the south-southwestern leg was originally Whitehall Street, before a section of Whitehall was renamed as an extension of Peachtree Street. This is, literally, where Atlanta began! Thrasherville, Atlanta's first settlement, was located a few thousand feet west of this intersection. The Zero Mile Post is located just a few thousand feet to the east. The monument in the middle of the intersection was erected to commemorate the location of an Artesian well and water storage tank that were located here. The well was drilled in 1884 and was utilized until 1893. Please refer to the Interactive Map for details on the buildings and historic markers located in this area.

Artesian well and water storage tank drilled in 1884 and was utilized until 1893.

Aerial view of Five Points looking north circa 1940s. Photo likely taken from the former Kimball House Hotel.

INTERACTIVE MAP

Artesian well and water storage tank drilled in 1884 and was utilized until 1893.

Historic buildings at this intersection include the Olympia and William-Oliver. Former buildings that were located here include Jacob's Pharmacy, the Kimball House Hotel, Atlanta's first Post Office and Thomas Kile's Store. The latter, located on the NW corner of this intersection (Kile's Corner) was [according to this plaque on the William-Oliver Building] the site of the City's first election, which was held on January 29, 1848. 

​In 1870, "Cousin John" Thrasher moved northeast of the city along the Richmond and Danville Railroad and founded the town of Norcross, named after Thrasher's good friend, Jonathan Norcross, the fourth mayor of Atlanta. He was also elected the city's first mayor. Thrasher quickly turned Norcross into a vacation destination with a resort hotel he built. He was an active philanthropist in Norcross, a founder of First Baptist Church, a donor of houses to clergy and land for a park, now called Thrasher Park in downtown Norcross. A daily train ran between Norcross and Atlanta, perhaps the first commuter train in Georgia.

Birthplace of Coca Cola

On the southwest corner of the intersection (Marietta Street, between the curb and sidewalk) you will find a historical marker, entitled, "Birthplace of Coca Cola." Here, in Jacob's Pharmacy, the first glass of Coca Cola was poured on May 8, 1886. As of January 2020, the 33-foot Coca Cola sign on top of the Olympia Building (site of first post office) was undergoing an 'extreme makeover' of sorts. Speaking of the pause that refreshes, Coca Cola celebrated its 100th anniversary as a public company in 2019. Please see the Interactive Map for details on all of these historic buildings and markers. ​

​Birth of a Salesman 
Robert Winship Woodruff (1889-1995) was an entrepreneur who made possible the success of the Coca-Cola Company. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1889, he worked as a truck salesman for the White Motor Company, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and quickly rose to the position of general sales manager. Three years earlier in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. John Pemberton had invented a new carbonated soft drink flavored with malt syrup, dubbed Coca-Cola by his partner Frank M. Robinson. Sold for 5 cents a glass, "Coke" was first distributed in syrup form and sold only at soda fountains. When Pemberton died in 1888, Asa Candler purchased his secret formula and elevated Coca-Cola to a national brand. By 1895, just seven years after he bought the company, Coca-Cola was available in every U.S. state. Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company of Georgia, recognized the company's potential and persuaded his son to invest in the Coca-Cola Company. In 1923, Woodruff became president of the now publicly traded company.

​The video below features the unveiling ceremony of the "Birthplace" marker.

​EXPLORER'S TIP: Stand on the NW corner of the Five Points intersection (corner of the William Oliver building) face the "Birthplace of Coca Cola" marker across the street and watch this 90-second video.

​BACK STORY: Coca-Cola celebrated its 130th birthday on May 16, 2016 at this location where its flagship beverage was first served in 1886. They made a $1.8 million grant to improve support improvements in and around downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park District. Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent announced that grant with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed at a celebration hosted at this location. Mayor Reed and Kent were joined by Georgia Historical Society President and CEO Todd Groce to dedicate a new historical marker at the original location of Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where the first Coca-Cola was poured. 

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