Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s (ATL) award-winning art program is currently hosting an exhibition that recognizes both the utilitarianism and nostalgia of an everyday item. Lunch Box Time Capsule, located near Gate E-14, features over 80 lunch boxes that cover almost every decade from the 1920’s to the 2000s.  The items in the exhibit are on loan from the Lunch Box Museum in Columbus, Georgia

The lunch box was a necessity for laborers during the Industrial Revolution. Eventually those sturdy metal boxes morphed into lithographed tin (and later, plastic and vinyl) emblazoned with comic book characters, sports stars, and film and television icons. From Hopalong Cassidy in the 50’s, to the Six Million Dollar Man of the ‘70s, to NFL stars of the ‘80s, visitors to ATL can walk by the display and view a piece of their childhood. The lunchbox did more than keep a bologna sandwich fresh, and milk -in a glass-lined Thermos- cold: it told a story about the child carrying the box.

On Thursday, February 27, ATL’s Art Department and representatives of the Lunch Box Museum will host the media for a close-up look at the exhibit.