Know Before You Go & Ticket FAQs
Admission to Cyclorama: The Big Picture is included with general admission to Atlanta History Center. Access to the platform is on a first come, first served basis.
Advance tickets are not required to view Cyclorama: The Big Picture.
Members can secure advanced tickets by visiting our member tickets webpage, entering their member number, and selecting the date and time of their timed experience.
The centerpiece of this new multi-media experience is the fully restored The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting, which is under a 75-year license agreement with the City of Atlanta. There will be plenty of time to visit again, and again!
Please plan to arrive 30 minutes before your preferred experience time. Parking is free. After entering Atlanta History Center, visitors must present their printed ticket(s), or check-in, at the ticketing desk in the main atrium.
The line to enter The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting experience will form in the exhibition’s lower gallery.
Due to limited capacity on the viewing platform, we are unable to ensure immediate admission to view the Cyclorama painting. Guests may spend time exploring other exhibitions or our historic houses and gardens while they wait for the next available experience.
Yes. Your ticket includes access to all offerings on our 33-acre campus, from exhibitions to historic houses to beautiful gardens. Before or after you visit Cyclorama: The Big Picture, we invite you to look around Atlanta History Center’s gardens and grounds or visit the Museum Shop during our regular operating hours.
Cyclorama: The Big Picture exhibition includes two levels of galleries that look at truths and myths of the Civil War; explore the untold stories of the painting; examine the role movies and visual entertainment have on shaping perspectives of the Civil War; and provide a look at the fleeting entertainment sensation of cycloramas.
In the lower level, guests enter the painting rotunda through a 7-foot-tall tunnel entry—passing underneath the diorama—before ascending an escalator to the 15-foot-tall stationary viewing platform. Here visitors get a full 360-degree view of the painting, enhanced by technology and a theatrical, larger-than-life presentation projected onto the painting. In addition to the escalator, there are two lifts to access the platform to ensure full accessibility to the experience.
The Cyclorama experience includes a 12-minute film about the history and changing interpretations of The Battle of Atlanta painting. This presentation is similar to a movie theater setting in that the room completely darkens and the film is projected onto the painting. The film includes short depictions of war with battle sounds, such as gunfire, shelling, and explosions. Closed captioning in English and Spanish as well as audio descriptions are available. The film will be shown every hour beginning at 10:00am Tuesday–Sunday. The last presentation is at 3:00pm daily.
In addition to the viewing experience and audio-visual presentation in the painting rotunda, there are two levels of the exhibition to explore. Depending on the level of detail you are interested in, you could spend up to 120 minutes in the galleries. And don’t forget that your ticket includes access to all offerings on our 33-acre campus, from exhibitions to historic houses to beautiful gardens. You could spend anywhere from a half day to a full day exploring Atlanta History Center.
The viewing platform has a capacity of 60 people for each timed audio-visual presentation.
Re-entry is permitted if the next experience is not at capacity.
Yes, non-flash photography is encouraged. Video and accessories, such as selfie sticks, tripods, grip stabilizers, etc., are not permitted.
Yes, there is! Feel free to use #atlantacyclorama as well as #atlantahistorycenter. You’re welcome to tag us, too.
Facebook: /AtlantaHistoryCenter
Instagram: @atlantahistorycenter
Twitter: @ATLHistCenter
Parking is free! You read that correctly, parking is free. There is an onsite parking deck at Atlanta History Center.
Please print your tickets at home and present the ticket(s) at the ticketing desk, located at the main entrance, on the day of your scheduled visit.
Please note: Atlanta History Center staff reserve the right to ask for ID.
Tickets are not eligible for exchange or refund.