Its staff has featured notable writers such as Hollis Gillespie, Anne Rivers Siddons, and William Diehl, and it has included contributions from Pat Conroy, Rebecca Burns, Terry Kay, and Melissa Fay Greene.

[5] The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce founded the magazine "City Builder" in 1916 which ran until 1960.

[8] Metrocorp bought the magazine in 1987,[9] and in 1989 sold it to American Express for an estimated $8 million.

[10] Since 2005, the magazine has also been hosting an annual Awards segment commemorating the success of Atlanta.

[11] On March 1, 2017, Emmis Publishing announced that it has sold four of its magazines, including Atlanta, to Hour Media Group, LLC for $6.5 million.