The CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world headquarters of CNN (Cable News Network). The building houses the main newsrooms and studios of several CNN news channels. The facility’s commercial office space is occupied by various divisions of the former Turner Broadcasting System, now part of ATT subsidiary WarnerMedia. The CNN Center is located in downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park.
The CNN Center is also home to the Omni Hotel and has a large atrium food court frequented by employees of local businesses, tourists, visitors to State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium events and conference attendees from the nearby Georgia World Congress Center.
CNN’s multi-channel output for the world is broadcast on large screens throughout the center. Studio tours are available that include demonstrations of technology such as Chroma key and teleprompters, as well as visits to viewing galleries overlooking the newsrooms and anchors of CNN International, HLN and CNN en Español.
The escalator in the atrium, used to transport visitors on the CNN tour, was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the longest freestanding (supported only when finished) escalator in the world; ” it is 196 feet (60 m) long. Built for the theme park that once occupied the building, this escalator is part of the building’s structure, so it cannot be removed. Rail service
On May 29, 2020, the CNN Center became the scene of riots in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, four days earlier, as the building also houses the Zone 5 police station for the Atlanta Police Department. The rioters painted the CNN logo on the front of the building and caused property damage to the curtain wall entry glass and APD vehicles; the front lobby was damaged, though the protesters never entered the main common area of the building, and repainted a sign with the logo shortly thereafter.
On June 29, 2020, WarnerMedia announced plans to sell the CNN Center. After the sale, WarnerMedia will continue to lease its existing space for several years until the Techwood WarnerMedia campus is expanded to accommodate CNN’s Atlanta operations.