The Varsity Drive-In opened in 1928 along US 41 (North Street) at Hemphill street. North Avenue NW/US 41 was part of the old Dixie Highway.
The Varsity quickly grew to cover 2 city blocks across from the GA Tech University campus. Construction of modern I-75 claimed the Varsity's western parking lot, forcing this iconic drive-in to build a parking garage!
From The Varsity website: (
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"THE VARSITY ATLANTA
Established 1928
The Varsity in downtown Atlanta is our original, world famous location. This enormous restaurant sits on 2 city blocks and can accommodate 800 diners inside. Opened in 1928, this store quickly gained the reputation of being "the world's largest drive in". At The Varsity Atlanta we are dedicated to living up to our slogan "The FUN place to eat!" In Georgia, The Varsity is a family tradition, no trip to Atlanta is complete without a hotdog, some rings and an FO!
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FIND US
We are right across the I-75/85 Connector from Georgia Tech.
From Southbound 75/85: Get off at exit 249D, turn left and you will see The Varsity on the left immediately across the bridge.
From Northbound 75/85: Get off at exit 249D, go across Spring St. to West Peachtree St. and turn left. Go to North Ave. and turn left again. Follow North Ave. until you see The Varsity on the right."
From Wikipedia: (
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"U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. . . . . It closely parallels Interstate 75 (I-75) from Naples, Florida, all the way through Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee. . . .
Georgia
In Georgia, US 41 is paralleled by Interstate 75 all the way from Tennessee to Florida, and I-75 has largely supplanted US 41 as a major highway.
In Atlanta, Highway 41 was formerly carried on Spring Street near Five Points, but it has long been re-routed via Northside Drive around the downtown area. (It was a major truck route.) . . . "
And from the Encyclopedia of Georgia:
From the Encyclopedia of Georgia: (
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"The Dixie Highway, a network of roads connecting Canada to Florida in the early decades of the twentieth century, was an ambitious undertaking to build the nation's first north–south paved interstate highway. As the largest state in terms of area east of the Mississippi River, Georgia proved critical to the project's success, mainly because the state's size and location controlled access to Florida for anyone driving by car.
Signs marked "Dixie Highway" still exist on roadways throughout Georgia, particularly on old U.S. Highway 41. . . .
Launching of the Dixie Highway
On April 3, 1915, Georgia governor John M. Slaton and his counterparts (or their representatives) from five other states met in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the inaugural meeting of the Dixie Highway Association (DHA). While the new highway generated enthusiasm, selecting its route became a highly politicized task. Initially, Chicago, Illinois, was the northern terminus, but after Michigan joined the DHA in May, things became complicated. Fisher initially had conceived of a single route for the Dixie Highway from Chicago to Miami, but Michigan wanted Detroit included as well.
In the midst of this debate, Georgia's two members of the DHA played an important role. Macon Telegraph editor and owner William T. Anderson proposed that the DHA approve western and eastern divisions of the Dixie Highway where dual routes were warranted. Atlanta Constitution editor and owner Clark Howell also wanted to abandon the idea of a single highway and urged that the Dixie Highway be constructed as a system of roads in order to promote economic development in more communities.
As a result, the Dixie Highway became a network with Sault Ste. Marie on the Canadian border as the northern terminus. From there, the highway extended southward through upper Michigan and then via ferry to Mackinaw, where the highway split into a Western Division that included Chicago and an Eastern Division that included Detroit. Following roughly parallel paths southward, the two divisions reunited at Chattanooga.
. . . The DHA approved two routes south from Chattanooga—one through Dalton and one through Rome—with both routes converging near Cartersville, where they rejoined the Dixie Highway's Western Division. This division then followed a route south in Georgia to Atlanta, Macon, Americus, Albany, and then on to Tallahassee, Florida. In 1916 the DHA approved a new Eastern Division running southeast from Atlanta to Waynesboro to Savannah, before continuing on to Jacksonville, Florida. That same year, a new Central Dixie Highway was added linking the Georgia towns Perry, Waycross, and Folkston, and then heading southward to Jacksonville.
Two years later, the DHA authorized a new Carolina Division running from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Asheville, North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; and Augusta and Waynesboro, Georgia, where it connected with Georgia's Eastern Division. Instead of being a single highway, the Dixie Highway developed as a network of major divisions and connecting routes."