What Is the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant?
This was the first headquarters of the Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company and the oldest surviving property from the soda brand’s formative years!
What Makes It Historical?
Coca-Cola took some big steps from its humble origins to its status as a global enterprise! It started in 1888 when Asa Candler bought the formula for this 5-cent fountain soda and set out to build a business around it. In its soda fountain form, Coca-Cola grew from 9 sales a day in 1886 to being sold in soda fountains across the US by 1900. And yet, there was still room to grow!
A key part of that growth was in bottles! In 1900, two lawyers from Chattanooga named Joseph Whitehead and Benjamin Thomas, negotiated with Mr. Candler for rights to bottle the signature soda and distribute it even further! This first bottling plant opened as the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, which began to franchise bottling rights across the US. By 1920, there were over 1,200 Coca-Cola bottling plants across the country!
Speaking of bottles, early Coca Cola bottles were plain glass with paper labels, which invited a lot of imitators like Koka-Nola and Ma Coca-Co! To make their soda more distinctive, the Coca-Cola Bottling Association issued a challenge to 10 glass companies on April 26, 1915 to create a distinct bottle to hold a distinct brand. The winners were from the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, who modeled a new bottle after the shape of a cacão bean! This became known as a “hobbleskirt” or “Mae West” bottle!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Georgia Historical Society!
- Donate to the Georgia Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
125 Edgewood Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Visit the exterior any time you like, but this is now the Baptist Collegiate Ministries Student Center and not open for historical tours!
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