Six of the original twenty-six shopping centers fit within our 1946-1979 timeline focus and are covered in our Lost Malls of Atlanta section. In most cases, original names are used.
*STEWART-LAKEWOOD CENTER [1959]
*COBB COUNTY CENTER [1963-1998]
A map showing the malls that have operated in -or around- Georgia's capital. Failed shopping centers are indicated with gray squares. Those with an asterisk (*) do not fit within our 1946-1979 grand opening timeline focus.
Click on image for a larger view
Atlanta's current freeway system opened in segments. The Northwest Expressway, a portion of today's Interstates 75 and 85, was dedicated in 1951. Another section of "I-75" was the final portion of the region's current superhighway system. It was completed through Marietta in 1974. A tollway section of the Georgia 400 -or "Alpharetta Autobahn"- opened to traffic in 1993. The first "freeway friendly" mall in the metro area -GREENBRIAR CENTER- had opened for business in September 1965.
Heavy rail transit, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA, began with a 6.7-route-mile starter line, dedicated in June 1979. New segments of the rail system were inaugurated in 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2000. Today's system extends for 47.6 route miles and serves thirty-eight station stops.
*STEWART-LAKEWOOD CENTER [1959]
*COBB COUNTY CENTER [1963-1998]
*NORTH DEKALB CENTER [1965-2020]
*COLUMBIA MALL [1967-2007]
*PARKAIRE MALL & PLAZA [1974-1986]
*COLUMBIA MALL [1967-2007]
*PARKAIRE MALL & PLAZA [1974-1986]
*ROSWELL MALL [1974-1994]
A seventh Lost Mall, not included in this write-up, does have an article on our SHOPPING MALL MUSEUM SITE. RIO SHOPPING CENTER ("RIO MALL") was officially dedicated in April 1989. This unorthodox (for Atlanta) mini-mall lasted only 11 years and was bulldozed in July of the year 2000.
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Atlanta%27s%20Rio%20Mall
A seventh Lost Mall, not included in this write-up, does have an article on our SHOPPING MALL MUSEUM SITE. RIO SHOPPING CENTER ("RIO MALL") was officially dedicated in April 1989. This unorthodox (for Atlanta) mini-mall lasted only 11 years and was bulldozed in July of the year 2000.
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Atlanta%27s%20Rio%20Mall
An eighth Lost Mall also does not fit within our 1946-1979 timeline focus. SHANNON MALL was in operation between August 1980 and November 2010. The complex went through various renovations and name changes before being entirely demolished in 2014.
In the 2020s, two Greater Atlanta malls were technically still in operation, but teetering toward Lost Mall status;
*NORTHLAKE MALL [1971]
*GWINNETT PLACE MALL [1984]
Click on image for a larger view
Atlanta's current freeway system opened in segments. The Northwest Expressway, a portion of today's Interstates 75 and 85, was dedicated in 1951. Another section of "I-75" was the final portion of the region's current superhighway system. It was completed through Marietta in 1974. A tollway section of the Georgia 400 -or "Alpharetta Autobahn"- opened to traffic in 1993. The first "freeway friendly" mall in the metro area -GREENBRIAR CENTER- had opened for business in September 1965.
Heavy rail transit, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA, began with a 6.7-route-mile starter line, dedicated in June 1979. New segments of the rail system were inaugurated in 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2000. Today's system extends for 47.6 route miles and serves thirty-eight station stops.
And away we go!
