Georgia Tech campus tour: Tech Tower, the stadium and Midtown Atlanta

The Georgia Institute of Technology, better known as Georgia Tech, was founded in 1885 as part of an effort to build an industrial economy in the American South, and it welcomed its first students in 1888. Today it is a public research university with a surprisingly green campus in the middle of Atlanta, pressed up against the office towers of Midtown. This guide walks through the campus from its Victorian core to its newest quarter, and covers the practical side of a visit to a big, busy city.

The shape of the campus

The campus is a rough rectangle just north of downtown Atlanta, with a wide interstate running along its eastern edge. Four areas are worth knowing:

• East Campus: the historic buildings on the Hill, the football stadium and a cluster of older residence halls.
• Central Campus: Tech Green, the Kessler Campanile, the student centre, the library and most teaching buildings.
• West Campus: more student housing, playing fields and the Campus Recreation Center.
• Technology Square: the business school and innovation district on the far side of the interstate, in Midtown proper.

Walking from the stadium to the recreation centre takes about twenty minutes.

Tech Tower and the Hill

The oldest part of campus is a small rise known as the Hill, lined with red-brick Victorian buildings and old trees. At the top is Tech Tower, finished in 1888 and still the main administration building. The word TECH is spelled out in lights on each of its four sides and can be seen from the interstate at night.

Those letters have a history. Over the decades, students made a sport of stealing one of the giant Ts, and several attempts succeeded. The university now forbids it, but the story remains part of campus lore. Listen, too, for the steam whistle nearby, which has long marked the class day.

The Campanile, Tech Green and Clough Commons

Central Campus was reshaped in the years around the Olympics and after. The Kessler Campanile, a slender spire of stacked steel plates rising from a fountain, was built in 1996 and stands beside the student centre, with a small amphitheatre around it.

A few steps away is Tech Green, the main lawn, and next to that the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons. Clough is where many first-year science classes and labs are held, and it is open for study at almost any hour. Its rooftop garden has one of the best views of the Midtown skyline. The main library is connected to it.

East Campus and where first-years live

Many first-year students live on East Campus, in older brick residence halls between the Hill and the stadium. They eat at Brittain Dining Hall, a Gothic-style hall from 1928 with a tower, arched windows and a beamed ceiling. Other first-years are housed on West Campus, which has its own dining hall and is closer to the recreation centre.

Bobby Dodd Stadium and the Ramblin' Wreck

Football has been played on the site of Bobby Dodd Stadium since 1913, which makes it one of the oldest stadium sites in major college football. It sits right on campus, with downtown's skyscrapers behind the stands.

Before each home game, the team is led onto the field by the Ramblin' Wreck, a gold and white Model A coupe from 1930 that has done the job since the early 1960s and is looked after by a student club. Georgia Tech's teams are the Yellow Jackets, and the mascot is a yellowjacket called Buzz.

The Olympic legacy

When Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics, the campus served as the athletes' village. Several residence halls were built for the Games, and the swimming and diving events were held in a new aquatic centre on West Campus. That pool is now the heart of the Campus Recreation Center.

Technology Square

A broad, landscaped bridge on Fifth Street carries the campus over the interstate to Technology Square, opened in 2003. Here the business school, a conference hotel, the campus bookshop, research labs and start-up offices share a few blocks with restaurants and cafés. Large companies have opened innovation offices nearby to be close to students and researchers, and many undergraduates alternate terms of study with paid work through the co-operative education programme, which dates back to 1912.

Midtown and the rest of Atlanta

Midtown is Atlanta's arts district. The Fox Theatre, a lavish 1920s cinema palace, is a short walk from Tech Square; the High Museum of Art and Piedmont Park, the city's main park, are a little further north. Downtown, with Centennial Olympic Park, begins just south of campus.

Arranging a visit

Like most universities, Georgia Tech typically offers campus tours and admission presentations for prospective students, and the grounds are open to walk on your own. Schedules vary through the year, so check the university's official visitor page for what is currently available.

Getting there and around

• By air: Atlanta's airport, south of the city, is one of the busiest in the world, with flights from almost everywhere.
• By rail: the city's rail system runs directly from the airport to Midtown. Two stations are within walking distance of the east side of campus.
• By car: the campus is just off the interstate through central Atlanta. Use the signposted visitor parking, and avoid rush hour if you can.
• On campus: walking is simplest, and campus shuttle buses usually circulate between the main areas and Midtown.

Areas families usually choose

• Midtown: the most convenient, with hotels around Tech Square and along Peachtree Street within walking distance.
• Downtown: a wide choice near Centennial Olympic Park, one or two rail stops away.
• Buckhead: further north, with shopping and a large selection of hotels, reached by rail or car.

Tips for a smoother day

• Start at Tech Tower, walk west to the Campanile and Tech Green, loop back past the stadium and finish at Technology Square for lunch.
• Atlanta summers are hot and humid; carry water and plan indoor stops.
• If you are comparing technical universities, see our Carnegie Mellon campus tour and MIT campus tour.
• Check the university's visitor page again shortly before you travel, as arrangements change.

Bloiq is reader-supported. Some links may earn us a commission; it never affects what we write. How we make money.

Cover photo: Mistercontributer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons