The 55’ tall statue, carved in Indiana limestone topped by bronze statues of Atlas, evokes Olympic symbols. It has a conical base circled by 5 stone bands which have 2 aedicules on the Peachtree Street axis, within which are plaques honoring the patrons who built the building. Above the base is a tholos circled by 5 Doric columns, representing the 5 continents, which support 5 bronze Atlases who together carry a globe. Within the tholos, a cauldron emits a fire evoking the Olympic torch. The monument was intentionally aligned with the tower of the 19th century Gothic Peachtree Christian Church creating a visionary ensemble of urban planning, for which King Charles III is considered a world expert. The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, coordinated by American trustee Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., held an international competition for the monument’s design. Anton Glikin, a St. Petersburg, Russia architect and Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture student, won. Martin Dawe of Atlanta and Dick Reid of York, England were chosen to create the Atlas bronzes. Cook supervised and shepherded the project to completion with the assistance of Architect of Record Peter Polites. The stone was carved by Jonathan Krieg and constructed by van Winkle Company. The land was donated by Georgia DOT Commissioner Wayne Shackelford through the efforts of Mayor Sam Massell and was dedicated by Lord Morris officially representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during the Centennial Olympic Games. When Diana, Princess of Wales, died in Paris on August 31, 1997, CNN estimated thousands of people came here to grieve and pay their respects. Traffic was rerouted around the monument because of the massive crowds of people sleeping around the plaza. Mementos and flowers enveloped the monument’s base, much like what was happening at British Royal palaces. It is now happening again for Queen Elizabeth. Princess Diana’s funeral was broadcast live from England, and so will Her Majesty's. The New Yorker Magazine pronounced the World Athletes Monument to be a unique work of art that the citizens of Atlanta have embraced unlike any other in their history.
