The social intercourse of the people, as well as the facility for doing business, is greatly aided by an ideal system of rapid transit, not only from the residence and suburban sections to the center, but from one residence portion to another. The neighborly spirit is enhanced by the nearness thus artificially created. With all these advantages, and many which appear more fully in subsequent chapters. Atlanta has a wholesome and inspiring public spirit which never fails to respond when the interests of the city are at stake. This is perhaps the most distinctive thing about Atlanta. [Illustration: GRANT PARK.] The New Atlanta. Population, Area and Government. Atlanta's population is estimated at 105,600. By the census of 1900 it was 89,872. The census of 1880 gave Atlanta a population of 39,000, and by the city assessment of the next year the real estate was valued at $14,721,883, and the personal property at $7,474,258. By 1890 the population had grown to 65,000 and real estate was valued at $39,729,894. In the same period personal property grew to $11,906,605. The decade between 1880 and 1890 was a period during which Atlanta made remarkable advance, but during the great depression through which the whole country has passed since 1890 the progress of this city has been astonishing. In spite of a somewhat lower scale of valuation for suburban real estate, the assessor's report for 1903 showed realty valued at $49,728,034, and personalty $13,628,201. This value was created in thirty-nine years, for Atlanta came out of the Civil War naked and desolate. By census taken in 1900 the population of Atlanta, by wards, was found to be as follows: First Ward 15,596 Second Ward 14,628 Third Ward 12,943 Fourth Ward 17,072 Fifth Ward 12,415 Sixth Ward 14,754 Seventh Ward 2,464 ------ Total 89,872 Since then the population has increased to 105,600. Area and Expansion. Atlanta is a city of magnificent distances, covering about eleven square miles. With abundance of room and fresh air, the circular form of the city makes it compact, and the residence portions are, as a rule, equidistant from the business center. The corporate line is described by a radius of a mile and three-quarters. In two places this circle is expanded to take in suburban communities which had been formed with irregular boundaries before the circular corporation line reached them. These are Inman Park and West End, which extend from half a mile to a mile beyond the circle which elsewhere forms the corporate limits.