The Women Of Atlanta

It's no surprise that the seal of the city of Atlanta features a phoenix under the motto Resurgens. More than any other American town, the Big Peach is forever rising and revising. Atlanta has given us cotton and peanuts, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gladys Knight, CNN and Coca-Cola. It has brought us Georgia Tech football and the world champion Braves. It has given us Rhett and Scarlett, Ted and Jane and Designing Women. And, of course, this summer, Atlanta hosts the 100th Olympiad, a first not only for the city but also for the American South. Naturally, we couldn't let the occasion pass without doing what we do best: celebrating the city's glorious women. Atletes toss javelins—we shoot rolls of film. Let the games begin.

This past March, Playboy sent Contributing Photographer Stephen Wayda to Atlanta—a city that was founded 159 years ago as a railroad terminus. We had to beg him to come home. Over several days, Wayda met and photographed nearly 100 women, all of them bona fide belles. Featured on these pages are the 13 who best capture the excitement, charm and sensuality of Atlanta. Ladies, you get the gold.