GREENBRIAR CENTER
Greenbriar Parkway Southwest and Headland Drive
Atlanta, Georgia

Metro-Atlanta's seventh mall, and its third fully-enclosed shopping complex, was officially dedicated in August of 1965, barely one month after the grand opening of NORTH DEKALB CENTER.

GREENBRIAR CENTER was developed by the Atlanta-based Carter Company and designed by the firm of Edwards and Portman. The complex was situated on 88.2 acres, 10 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Its site was adjacent to the route of the Lakewood Freeway, which was under construction at the time.

Originally encompassing 644,000 leasable square feet, GREENBRIAR consisted of a single level of retail with a small basement. It was -by far- the largest interior mall in the region. Its counterparts, Dekalb County's COLUMBIA MALL (1964) [June 2008 archive] and NORTH DEKALB CENTER were both in the 400,000 square foot range.

The anchors of GREENBRIAR CENTER were a 3-level (180,000 square foot), Atlanta-based Rich's and 2-level (129,900 square foot) J.C. Penney.

There was also a 1-level (52,900 square foot) Woolworth 5 and 10, as well as Radio Shack, Merry-Go-Round, Frederick's of Hollywood, Happy Herman's Liquors and sixty-one other stores and services.

A wide, sunlit mallway was at the center of the center. It featured large, concrete animal statues, two fountains and a bird aviary. Rich's Magnolia Room, a third level terrace restaurant, looked over the East Court of the mall.

In 1969, a single-screen theatrical venue, the Greenbriar Mall Theatre, opened in the basement level of the complex. It was made into a twin-screen complex in the mid-1970s and closed in 1992.

In its early years, GREENBRIAR had only one retail rival on the city's southwest side. STEWART-LAKEWOOD CENTER (1958) [June 2008 archive] was the first shopping mall in the state. It was a small, community-sized venue which was unable to compete with GREENBRIAR, which was more than twice its size.

By the early 1970s, the shopping center was known as GREENBRIAR MALL. It was joined by SOUTHLAKE MALL (1976), in Morrow, and SHANNON MALL (1980), in Union City.

The first major renovation of the circa-1965 shopping center was completed in 1987. A small Food Court was installed in the center corridor and a 35,000 square foot Circuit City built at the northwest corner of the structure.

J.C. Penney became the first anchor store to receive a new nameplate. It was shuttered and reopened as a Norcross, Georgia-based Upton's. This store space was eventually taken by Burlington, New Jersey-based Burlington Coat Factory.

The next major redo of the mall was undertaken in the mid-1990s. Woolworth's vacant spot was sectioned into five smaller stores. New mall entrances were built and the interior and exterior of the complex were given a facelift.

Moreover, a 12-screen, Magic Johnson multiplex was constructed on a southwest parcel. The new theater was dedicated November 22, 1996, with the mall -itself- being rededicated in December 1997.

Throughout its long history, GREENBRIAR MALL has had its ups and downs. The venue was the victim of so-called "white flight" from its environs during the 1970s and '80s. However, through clever remarketing to the Afro-American community, it went on to eclipse the SOUTHLAKE and SHANNON malls, its first commercial competitors.

However, a third -more formidable- opponent, CAMP CREEK MARKETPLACE, came on the scene in 2003. The CAMP CREEK complex, a new-era, power center, drew much commerce from GREENBRIAR and grabbed its Circuit City store.

The Toronto-based Dundee Real Estate Investment Trust, who had acquired the GREENBRIAR property in January 1997, placed the mall on the open market in the mid-2000s. Eventually, they decided not to sell the holding but to enter into a 50 / 50 joint venture with Atlanta-based Hendon Properties. The transaction was finalized in June 2006.

So, GREENBRIAR carries on as one of the region's more successful "urban style" shopping centers. It has become a magnet for several music and entertainment studios now in its vacinity.

Sources:

"Greenbriar Mall" article on Wikipedia
www.cinematreasures.com
www.georgiaretailmemories.com / "J.T. Webmaster
www.carterusa.com
Fulton County, Georgia tax assessor website
www.mallsofamerica.blogspot.com / Keith Milford Webmaster
Atlanta Business Chronicle
www.shopgreenbriar.com