Stuart Wade, Envision Virtual Tours Envision Virtual Tours is a group of professional photographers who specialize in high resolution photography in The Athens Georgia Area. Athens, a unified city-county with Clarke County is located in the northeastern part of Georgia. This college town is where the University of Georgia is located. The university, which was founded in the 1800s, was responsible for the city's initial growth. Athens is the fifth largest city in the state of Georgia and in 2009 had an estimated population of 114, 983. Athens is located in a place that was once a trading settlement along the banks of Oconee River, called the Cedar Shoals. College and Universities There are three prominent colleges in Athens: the University of Georgia (UGA), the Athens Technical College (ATC) and the Piedmont College. The University of Georgia is the oldest and the largest of all the state's higher learning institutions and is a public research university. UGA had its first building made from logs. Additional funds for school construction were raised from the money they got by selling the adjacent lots to the college, which was then made to help the town grow. It was 1804 when the first class graduated from the university. Athens by that time consisted of three stores, three homes, and few buildings all facing Broad Street, previously known as the Front Street. Another college was completed in 1806 and was named to honor Benjamin Franklin, Franklin College, which is the University of Georgia and Athens' first stable structure. Currently, the brick building is known as Old College. Athens Technical College is a public college in Athens offering diplomas, certificates as well as associate degrees in health, business, manufacturing and technical related fields. Piedmont college on the other hand is an institution for private liberal arts founded in 1897 in service to the residents of Appalachian area in the northeast part of the state. Athens: In & Around Town Culture is coexisting with students from the university with the creation of a music scene, an art scene and an intellectual environment. The city has lots of unusual treasures. One remarkable aspect is the remains of one of the two double barreled cannons which were produced from the American Civil War. Another is the famous "Tree That Owns Itself," which is currently the original tree's offspring. The city has two public gardens: the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum. Being a college town, there is an abundance of night life and eateries in Athens. But giving class to the city's night lights are two notable bars: Allen's, which is the oldest bar and the Glob Bar, which ranks third in Esquire magazine's top bars in America in 2007. A great contribution to the city's blossoming economy is Network Translations, Inc, the manufacturer of PIX firewall, which was then purchased by the Cisco Systems' company. The thousands of jobs created by the presence of the university and local colleges also keep the Athens's economy strong.