Consulates and Trade Offices.....Oh my!

Earlier this week I posted a history column at Douglasville Patch regarding the Douglasville/Douglas County Cultural Arts Center as well as the history of the home the organization inhabits.

Currently the CAC is exhibiting Japanese block prints spanning the 1840s to 1910. The prints are on loan from the Japanese Consulate in Atlanta.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember Atlanta is home to over 50 different consulates, trade offices and chambers of commerce representing foreign nations, but we graciously welcome our foreign friends from Cyprus, Monaco, Nicaragua, Japan and many, many others you can see here.

It’s only natural Atlanta would have an abundance of international ties since we are home to one of the nation’s busiest airports, two deep water ports, and Georgia has access to over 80 percent of the U.S. industrial market with a two-day trip by truck. There are direct flights every day to Europe, South America, and Asia making Atlanta assessable to the more than 1,000 international businesses located in our city. In recent years Atlanta has become a major banking center and 13 Fortune 500 companies designate Atlanta as their headquarters.

We have most certainly come a long way since 1837 when Atlanta was known as Terminus and was the end of the line for the Western & Atlantic railroad line.