Peachtree Center Shopping Gallery

The SHOPPING GALLERY, heart of downtown Atlanta's towering Peachtree Center complex, was dedicated in March 1974. In this vintage photo, we see some of the "super graphics" that once decorated the center city shopopolis.
Photo from Portman Archives / "Peachtree Center Evolution 1961-1988" 

A diagram showing the initial phase of John C. Portman's Peachtree Center development. The first two structures built were the 1 million square foot Merchandise Mart (1961) and 31-floor Peachtree Center Tower (1965).

The Regency Hyatt House, Peachtree Center's first first luxury hotel, was officially dedicated in May 1967. Its revolving Polaris Restaurant, sitting atop the structure, provided stunning birds-eye views of the surrounding city.
Photo from Wikipedia / Conner Carey

The hotel's 22-story Atrium Lobby was the first such structure in the world. At the time of its completion, the Regency Hyatt House was said to "usher in the space age" in Atlanta. The name of the hotel was changed to Hyatt Regency in February 1972.
Photo from Wikipedia / Stan Satin

By 1968, a great deal has been added to what existed just 3 years before! There were now the 800-room Regency Hyatt House and 27-story Gas Light Tower, which was the first new structure built on the Peachtree Center core block.

A view of two core Peachtree Center office buildings, with their Promenade in the middle. The structure on the left, originally known as the Gas Light Tower (now the Peachtree Center North Tower), was completed in 1968. On the right is the Peachtree Center South Tower, whose first tenants moved in in 1970.
Photo from http://portmanholdings.com / Portman Holdings

In a skyward vista we see what was originally the Peachtree Center Tower on the left, along with a small section of the Merchandise Mart. A skybridge connects the Mart with the Gas Light Tower (or North Tower) across the street.
Photo from http://portmanholdings.com / Portman Holdings

A retail component of Peachtree Center opened in March 1974. The PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY mini-mall encompassed 200,000 leasable square feet of boutiques and bistros.

Graphic from John Portman & Associates

SHOPPING GALLERY STORES 1974:

Bel Posto cocktail bar / Brentano's Books / Britches of Georgetown / Cafe Mediterranean / Cardland / Cheese Villa / Citizens & Southern Bank / Clare-Voyance / Eastern Newstand / Fitzgerald's / Frablel Glass / Franklin Simon ladies' wear / Gine's Leather Shop / Jamaica House / Konditorei dessert shop / Little Norway Shop / Midnight Sun Bake Shop / Ming's Jewelry / Rich's II / Ronson's / Signature Shop / Sportique / The Little Mermaid Garden Cafe / The Music Shop / The Power Company / Trust Company Bank  

Peachtree Center, circa-1976. Construction on the core block has been completed. It now plays host to four office towers, as well as the 3-level SHOPPING GALLERY. Moreover, the Hyatt hotel has been expanded with the cylindrical Ivy Tower (1971). A second luxury hotel, the 1,068 room Western International Peachtree Plaza, has just opened.

The Western International Peachtree Plaza was dedicated in January 1976. The structure extended upward for 723 feet -and 73 floors- and was briefly the world's tallest hotel. Its revolving Sun Dial restaurant, occupying the top 3 floors, offered stunning views of the surrounding terrain. The building was renamed, as a (quote-unquote) Westin operation, in 1980.

Downtown Atlanta's Omni International Complex was built less than a mile southwest of Peachtree Center. The Omni megastructure, also dedicated in early 1976, featured an indoor ice rink, various boutiques, bistros and cocktail lounges. Moreover, there were two office towers, a luxury hotel and multiplex cinema. The World of Sid & Marty Kroft, on the upper levels, was the world's second indoor amusement park.

The 80 million dollar Omni complex housed 8 million square feet of enclosed space. Its 205-foot-long escalator originally ascended to the top floor of the 5-level World of Sid & Marty Kroft. In September 1986, the Omni International Complex was renamed CNN Center.

MARTA, the heavy rail component of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, began revenue service in June 1979. The system, built between 1975 and 2000, extends for 47.6 route miles and serves thirty-eight stations.

MARTA's Peachtree Center Station was blasted out of solid granite 120 feet below street level. Dedicated in September 1982, the 45 million dollar subway stop received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1983. A 175-foot-long escalator connected it with the PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY above.
Photo from Wikipedia / Max Shirley

A cut-away view of Peachtree Center, showing the orientation of its subway station, office towers, mart and mall.

In a circa-1986 diagram, we see that the Merchandise Mart has completed its third expansion (and now encompasses 3 million square feet). The Marriott Marquis (off of the upper right corner) opened in 1985 as a third luxury hotel. The aforementioned subway system also services the shopping complex, which has just been renovated and renamed PEACHTREE CENTER MALL.

A circa-1986 view of Peachtree Center, taken from a glass-enclosed elevator in the Westin Peachtree Plaza. The Marriott Marquis is seen in the upper left. The white building next door is the Atlanta Hilton (1974). The tan towers of Peachtree Center share a unified exterior design aesthetic.

The various structures in Peachtree Center are connected via a system of Skywalks, which permit patrons to traverse the complex above street level, with no interference from vehicular traffic. These days, this invokes the ire of various city planners, who criticize the concept for (quote-unquote) "discouraging pedestrian street life."
Photo from Wikipedia / Lee Coursey

A rendering of the imposing Peachtree Center complex. Some of its major components are indicated, such as the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel, original Merchandise Mart and PEACHTREE CENTER MALL.
Original drawing from http://portmanholdings.com / Portman Holdings

The shopping facility was given a face lift refurbishment in 2007. It was now officially promoted as THE MALL AT PEACHTREE CENTER.
Photo from http://imcconstruction.com / IMC Construction

A circa-2009 site plan of the mall's Gallery Level. This floor, sandwiched between the Peachtree Street (upper) and Avenue (lower) levels, has the most square footage of the three. It is also where the MARTA subway and four Skywalks connect into the complex.

By the 2010s, Atlanta's once-trendy, urban core complex was being criticized for its introverted design, which (according to some) insulated its patrons from surrounding street-life. It was decided that a major renovation and reconfiguration was needed to make the facility more connected with its surroundings. Work commenced on a remodeling project in October 2017.
Graphic from https://peachtreecenter.com    

The primary facet of a new & improved Peachtree Center is its Courtyard; a redress of the area lying between the Peachtree North and Peachtree South office towers. Previously known as the Peachtree Street Level, this new Plaza Level now provides public seating and includes a glass-enclosed staircase connecting to the Gallery Level of the shopping mall below.
Drawing from https://peachtreecenter.com

Post-renovation, the previous MALL AT PEACHTREE CENTER is officially known as THE HUB.
Graphic from https://peachtreecenter.com

In the here and now, THE HUB houses over thirty stores, restaurants and services.
Drawing from https://peachtreecenter.com 

PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY
Peachtree Street Northeast and Andrew Young International Boulevard Northeast
Atlanta, Georgia

Modeled after Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, Atlanta's Peachtree Center was designed by John C. Portman (with input from H. Griffith Edwards) and was implemented in stages between 1960 and 1989. The office and hotel mega development, which was centered on a downtown block along Peachtree Street, eventually extended to fourteen blocks and included the Merchandise Mart complex, seven office towers, three luxury hotels, an athletic club, shopping mall and subterranean rapid transit station.

The first Portman-Edwards project, the 22-floor (1,000,000 square foot) Merchandise Mart, was completed in 1961. Next came the 31-floor Peachtree Center Tower, which was dedicated in 1965. The first luxury hotel in the complex, the 24-floor (800 room) Regency Hyatt House, was officially dedicated in May 1967.

Peachtree Center's 3.8-acre core block was developed over the next 9 years. Its 27-floor Gas Light Tower was finished in 1968. A sibling structure, the 27-floor South Tower, was dedicated in 1970. A fourth office building, the 30-floor Cain Tower, was finished in 1974, followed by the 31-floor Harris Tower, in 1976.

The 3-level PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY would eventually extend beneath four office buildings. The 200,000 square foot complex was officially dedicated on March 1, 1974 and housed twenty-six stores and services. Among these were Midnight Sun Bakery, Brentano's Books, Cafe Mediterranean and a Rich's II boutique store. The Midnight Sun Dinner Theater served its first meals in February 1976.

Peachtree Center expanded toward the southwest in the mid-1970s. The 73-floor (1,068 room) Western International Peachtree Plaza Hotel made its debut January 12, 1976. It was the city's highest building and the world's tallest hotel. The structure was bumped down to second tallest building in Atlanta status when the IBM Tower was dedicated, in October 1987.

Metro-Atlanta's MARTA subway system was inaugurated on June 30, 1979, with the 7 route mile, Georgia State-to Avondale East Line. Service on the MARTA North Line commenced on December 4, 1981, extending between the Garnett and North Avenue stops. The Peachtree Center station in between was dedicated on September 11, 1982. It connected directly into the PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY, via a 175-foot escalator accessed from the Gallery Level of the retail venue.

With the completion of the 52-floor (1,674 room) Marriott Marquis, in 1985, the Peachtree Center complex had been expanded toward the northeast. This hotel block was fully-developed with two 30-floor office towers; the Marquis I (1985) and Marquis II (1989). The 9-floor Peachtree Athletic Club, also dedicated in 1985, was connected with the core block of Peachtree Center via a second level Skywalk. Eventually, there would be eleven Skywalks within the 14 million square foot Peachtree Center complex.

PEACHTREE CENTER SHOPPING GALLERY was given a 14 million dollar renovation in 1986 and renamed PEACHTREE CENTER MALL. The Gallery Level sunken garden, open to the Peachtree Street Level above, was roofed-in and made into a Food Court. Forty-five tenant spaces were reconfigured as seventy.

By the 21st century, the official name of the shopping center had morphed to THE MALL AT PEACHTREE CENTER. In August 2006, The core complex was acquired by Miami-based America's Capital Partners (now known as Banyan Street Capital). They performed an interior face lift on the property soon after its acquisition.

A subsequent remodeling was announced in May 2016. The introverted orientation of the Peachtree Center shopping mall would be reconfigured. The facility would be opened up to surrounding streets and several new restaurants and retailers would join its tenant list. Work got underway in October 2017, with the project being completed in the spring of 2019. As part of the revitalization, the MALL AT PEACHTREE CENTER was officially renamed THE HUB.

Sources:

The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Peachtree Center Evolution (1961-1988)" / Michael Portman
http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org
http://www.portmanusa.com
http://www.peachtreecenter.com / The Mall at Peachtree Center (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https:/www.itsmarta.com
https://fultonassessor.org / Fulton County Georgia 
http://www.emporis.com
https://www.peachtreecenter.com / The Hub
"Peachtree Center" article on Wikipedia