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Nestled in Grant Park next to Zoo Atlanta is one of the world’s largest oil paintings, known to many Atlantans as simply The Cyclorama. The panoramic painting, weighing over 9,000 pounds, depicts the Civil War Battle of Atlanta, fought July 22, 1864.
German artists brought the painting to life in 1885-86 in Wisconsin. After changing ownership several times, George V. Gress, founder of the Grant Park Zoo, purchased the painting and asked the City of Atlanta for park space to display it. Atlanta agreed and constructed a building just a few hundred feet from the zoo where it stands today.