Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it is consolidated. According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau (2013), Columbus has a population of 202,824 residents in the city and 316,554 in theColumbus-Phenix City metropolitan area. The metro area joins the nearby Alabama cities ofAuburn and Opelika to form the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika Combined Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 501,649. Situated at the heart of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus is Georgia's second-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area.

Columbus lies 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Atlanta. Fort Benning, a major employer, is located south of the city in Chattahoochee County. The city is home to museums and other tourism sites. The area is served by the Columbus Airport. The current mayor is Teresa Tomlinson, who was elected in November 2010. In 2007, Best Life magazine ranked Columbus #4 on the Top 100 Places To Raise A Family. In 2013, Livability.com ranked Columbus #74 on the Top 100 Best Places to Live in America. In 2011, The Daily Beastranked Columbus #1 on the list of the 30 Brokest Cities in America. Security companySafemart rated Columbus the most dangerous city in 2013, while a  Gallup well-being poll, published in 2014 on Yahoo!, ranked the Columbus area as the seventh-most miserable city in the U.S

Columbus, Georgia
Consolidated city
City of Columbus
Top: Downtown Columbus. Left to right, descending: Chattahoochee RiverWalk, Columbus Consolidated Government Center, Springer Opera House, Columbus Civic Center, Church of the Holy Family, Downtown Columbus in the early 1950s
Seal
Nickname(s): The Fountain City or The Lowell of the South
Motto: What Progress Has Preserved
Location in Muscogee County and the state of Georgia

Arts and culture

Points of interest

Museums

• Founded in 1953, the Columbus Museum (accredited by the American Alliance of Museums) contains much artifacts on both American art and regional history, displayed in both its permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions.
• Columbus is home to the National Civil War Naval Museum, a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) facility that opened in 1962 and features two original American Civil War military vessels, uniforms, equipment and weapons used by the Union and Confederate navies.
• The Coca-Cola Space Science Center opened in 1996 for the purpose of public education in science, physics, and astronomy. It includes four flight simulators and a planetarium.
• The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center opened in June 2009 and honors the service of Infantry forces in the United States Army. The museum includes displays related to the history of the Infantry from the founding of the nation to the present. It also has its own IMAXtheatre.

Shopping

Columbus is served by one major indoor shopping mall, Peachtree Mall, which is anchored by major department stores Dillard's, Macy's, and J.C. Penney. The total retail floor area is 821,000 square feet (76,300 m2). Major strip malls include Columbus Park Crossing, which opened in 2003, and The Landings, which opened in 2005. Columbus is also served by The Shoppes at Bradley Park, a lifestyle center.

MidTown contains two of the city's early suburban shopping centers (the Village on 13th and St. Elmo), both recently renovated and each offering local shops, restaurants, and services.

Major venues

Below is the list of major venues in the city of Columbus:

• A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium, a football stadium. It was the site of the football games between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers (the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) from 1916 to 1958. It became the home of college football's Pioneer Bowl in December 2010, and hosts annual rivalry games between Tuskegee University and Morehouse College as well as between Albany State University and Fort Valley State University.
• The Bradley Theater, a performance theatre that opened in mid-1940 by Paramount Pictures.
• Columbus Civic Center, a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena that opened in 1996 and is home to theColumbus Cottonmouths (SPHL, and the Columbus Lions (SIFL). It is also the primary arena used for concert events in Columbus.
• Golden Park, a 5,000 seat baseball stadium, is the former home to the Columbus Catfish. It was also the site of the softball events of the 1996 Summer Olympics that were held in the city of Columbus. It opened in 1926, making it the oldest baseball park in the city.
• RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, a 2,000-seat modern performance theatre that first opened in 2002 and is operated by the Columbus not-for-profit organization RiverCenter Inc. The theatre is commonly frequently used for local events, but occasionally, it is used for nationally recognized performances.
• Springer Opera House, a historic live performance theater located in Downtown that opened in early 1871. Former United States President Jimmy Carter proclaimed it the State Theatre of Georgia for the 1971-72 season. The legislature made the designation permanent in 1992.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_Georgia

Classifieds in Columbus