‘Atlanta in 50 Objects’ at Atlanta History Center

The result is a wildly diverse collection of artifacts including a Chick-Fil-A billboard, Skip Carey’s Atlanta Braves World Series ring and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech manuscript.

Here are six items that will be on exhibit.

1969 Delta Air Lines stewardess uniform

Atlanta has been a travel hub since it was founded in 1837 as the “terminus” of the Western & Atlantic rail line. When air travel took over as a spur to growth, Atlanta continued to serve as a nexus for travelers, thanks largely to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which has grown to become one of the largest air carriers in the world.

In 1955, Delta pioneered the hub-and-spoke system of connecting flights — with Atlanta as the hub. The company entered the jet age in 1959 with the introduction of the Douglas DC-8 into service along with their new triangular red, white and blue “widget” logo representing the jet’s swept wing.

Stewardesses (now called flight attendants) were added to the flight crew prior to World War II. For many decades, stewardesses were required to be unmarried females and had to meet specific height, weight and age restrictions. The earliest stewardesses had to be registered nurses.

The uniform for flight attendants has changed over the years. This colorful outfit hails from the spring and summer of 1969.

Ramblin’ Wreck

The Georgia Tech was founded in 1885 on a 400-acre campus on the northern edge of the city.

In 1948 Tech changed its name from the Georgia School of Technology to the Georgia Institute of Technology, and in 1961 it became the first university in the deep south to admit African-American students without a court order.

The best-known of Georgia Tech traditions is the Ramblin' Wreck, a 1930 Model A Ford donated to the school in 1961. It appears on the football field at all home games.

A second Model A was purchased and restored by the alumni association in the 1980s, and is used at alumni events. This official Ramblin’ Wreck was purchased and restored by the Georgia Tech Foundation.

Maynard Jackson campaign button

In 1973 Maynard Jackson became the first African American to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. He created the Neighborhood Planning Unit system, giving neighborhoods a voice in city planning, and strove to provide minority-owned businesses a share in city contracts.

His leadership encouraged the growth of Atlanta’s black middle class and signaled the beginning of the city’s black power structure. Jackson, who served eight years and returned for a third term in 1990, helped turn Atlanta’s airport into the busiest in the world and was part of the team that won Atlanta the right to host the 1996 Olympics.

The grandson of John Wesley Dobbs and the great-grandson of slaves, Jackson was a graduate of Morehouse College and an eloquent public speaker. Following his death in 2003, the airport was renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in his honor.

1923 WSB microphone

The South’s first radio station went on the air March 15, 1922, with the call letter WSB, which stood for “Welcome South Brother.” Originally owned by the Atlanta Journal, WSB initially broadcast from the Journal’s building on Forsyth Street. In 1925, the station moved to the top floor of the Biltmore Hotel, where it remained for 30 years.

Early broadcasts included music, church services and educational programs. Many celebrities made their first radio broadcasts over WSB’s microphones, including Rudolph Valentino, who appeared in 1923. WSB became affiliated with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in 1927. In 1939, Ohio Governor James M. Cox bought WSB and it remains part of Cox Broadcasting Company. (WSB is part of the Cox Enterprises, which also owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)

WSB established a television station in 1948, and in 1955 both operations moved to a facility known as White Columns on Peachtree Street. Local celebrity Aubrey Morris left the Atlanta Journal to join WSB in 1957 and became Atlanta’s first radio newscaster.

UPI teletype machine from Atlanta Daily World

East of downtown Atlanta, African Americans established a vibrant business and entertainment district along Auburn Avenue at the beginning of the last century. By 1900, 10 black businesses and two African-American physicians operated on the street. Auburn Avenue received the designation “Sweet Auburn” from John Wesley Dobbs due to the street’s association as a place of African American community achievement.

Included in the Sweet Auburn landscape was the nation’s first African-American daily newspaper, the Atlanta Daily World, founded in 1928 by W.A. Scott. The Scott family eventually grew a syndicate of 50 newspapers resulting in one of the largest black-owned businesses in the nation.

This UPI teletype machine, from around 1940, supplied the Daily World with information from around the globe.

Michonne’s katana from ‘The Walking Dead’

Since 2008, when the state began offering tax incentives for film and television productions, Georgia has become third behind Hollywood and New York and fifth worldwide in the number of productions. In 2014, 248 films and television shows were produced in Georgia, and the industry generated $5.1 billion for the state economy.

Major motion pictures filmed in Atlanta in recent years include Marvel’s “Ant Man,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Anchorman 2,” “Selma,” “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, “The Hunger Games” franchise and most Tyler Perry productions.

A distinctive view of the Atlanta skyline has become familiar to viewers of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” filmed in and around the city. These katana swords are used by the show’s fearless zombie killer, Michonne, played by Danai Gurira.