Atlanta, Georgia

### Status

Overrun by the undead and abandoned; partly destroyed; pockets of survivors scattered in some areas

### Series Lifespan

Days Gone Bye - Present
S01E01 -

**Atlanta, Georgia** is the capital city of the state of Georgia. The Metro-Atlanta area's population was over 5.5 million people before the outbreak occurred. It was a major location in the The Walking Dead.

## Pre-Apocalypse

### Location History

Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the state of Georgia. It is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,359,205 people and the ninth largest metropolitan area in the country. Atlanta is the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States, via highway, railroad, and air, as it has the busiest airport in the world.

Before the apocalypse, Atlanta was a large and densely populated city with tall buildings and several stores. It was a nice city to tour through.

## Post-Apocalypse

### The Walking Dead

#### "Days Gone Bye"

Before Rick Grimes awoke from his coma and as the local safe zones were overrun, the government, under presidential orders, mobilized and deployed the National Guard and attempted to create safe zones in large cities, like Atlanta. In order to get the message out about the safe zones, the government then broadcasted via radio and other media outlets for any survivors from more rural regions to come to the large cities, where they could be protected; this led to presumably hundreds, if not thousands, of refugees flocking to the already densely-populated metropolis, which attracted large hordes of the dead to the city. Within only a few weeks at most before Rick awoke, the city was overrun within a span of a week, with the authorities unable to contain the spreading infection in the city. After Rick awakes and Morgan tells Rick about the supposed government-sanctioned safety of Atlanta, Rick travels there in search of his family. Upon entering the city, he initially finds it deserted, but eventually runs into a large group of zombies and is quickly surrounded by the dead. While his horse is devoured.

## Locations

### The Walking Dead

#### Interstate 85

One of the main highways leading to and from the city of Atlanta was Interstate 85. People attempting to flee the city jammed the outbound lanes of the highway, and with the highway blocked, people became more easily infected. Rick Grimes uses this stretch of highway (the inbound side) to enter the city by horse.

#### Main Street

Upon navigating the lifeless streets, Rick encounters a crowd of zombies, forcing him to flee. Unfortunately, he is knocked off his horse and seeks refuge in a tank as his horse is eaten alive by dozens of zombies. (Days Gone Bye) While avoiding the roamers, Rick drops his bag of guns on the street in order to survive.

#### Bradbury's

Glenn, along with several other survivors, are held up in the building during a run. After Rick enters the building, the survivors are trapped inside, and begin to figure out a way to escape. Though most make it out, Merle Dixon is left on top of the building. The building was over run with roamers as the survivors escaped.

### Atlanta Construction Site

After the Apocalypse, the site was abandoned with several of the vehicles left there. Some of the vehicles may have been used in an attempt to escape as the site's key box was almost empty. Rick and Glenn are forced to rush through a horde of Roamers to make it to a cube van at the site.

## Inhabitants/Residents

### The Walking Dead

* Lori's parents
* Numerous counts of unnamed people
* U.S. Military *(Temporary)*

#### Deaths

* Rick Grimes' Horse
* Numerous counts of unnamed people
* Numerous counts of zombies

## Appearances

### The Walking Dead

#### Season 1

* "Days Gone Bye"
* "City of the Damned"