Lenox Square , owned by the Simon Property Group since 1998, is an upscale super-regional shopping mall located in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. Groundbreaking of the mall started in 1957.. It was officially dedicated in 1959, making it the first major shopping mall in Georgia.
History
Lenox Square opened August 3, 1959 and was originally an 800,000 square foot, open-air mall anchored by Rich's, Davison's and a Colonial (later Big Star) supermarket. There were 52 original tenants, including a bowling alley, indoor golf driving range and Kresge five and dime store. A movie theater opened in June 1963.
In 1971-1972, Lenox Square was enclosed to compete with the newer interior malls that had opened in the region. The enclosure of the mall was undertaken in tandem with the construction of a new wing, which included Georgia's first and only Neiman Marcus. A Franklin Simon & Co. store was also located at the mall at this time.
A second expansion was completed in 1980 that added a three-level section at the back of the mall, comprised of a food court. This replaced the previous, open-air Plaza Court and supermarket. Lenox Square now encompassed 1,040,000 leasable square feet. The new food court was soon joined by a 19-story, 370,000 sqf (gross), class-A office building, a twin-appearing 24-story hotel, 1,800 space, five-level combined hotel/office parking garage (2 below ground), and 800 space 4-level retail pre-cast concrete parking deck. These were adjacent to the MARTA's Lenox transit station, which opened in December 1984.
The Davison's name was replaced in 1985 with that of Davison's/Macy's and, simply Macy's, in 1986.
In 1995, the mall opened its largest expansion yet, adding a second story above the original Mall Level. The expansion made Lenox Square the largest shopping center in Georgia, with 1,457,000 million square feet (140,000 m 2 ) divided among 200 stores and restaurants.. This distinction was relinquished to the new, 1,700,000 square foot Mall of Georgia in 1999.
The most recent expansion of Lenox Square was completed in 2007. The existing Neiman Marcus was enlarged by 52,000 square feet and a 36,000 square foot, Upper Level was added to the wing connecting the store to the main mallway. The shopping center now housed 1,545,000 leasable square feet and 240 stores and services.
Atlanta Traditions
Lenox Square has become a key part of the traditions of Atlanta since its opening in 1959.
4th of July
In 1960, Lenox Square began an annual tradition of hosting what would later become the largest Independence Day fireworks displays in the Southeast (now broadcast live on WSB-TV-DT. 2008 saw the switch from WGCL-TV CBS 46 with WSB-TV-DT taking over the duties and bringing them to the people in HD quality.Also in 2009 Ken Tyree and Extreme Fun Company took over the Kids events bringing 14 inflatables and the newest version of Spider Jump . Which made this year the best ever and next year promises to be even better Also with the Fireworks one of the biggest road races in the southeast is held right in front of Lenox called the Peachtree Road Race which is a 10K=6.2 miles it goes right down Peachtree Street and makes a right on 10th street to finish the in the park. About 55,000 people did the 2009 40th running of the Peactree Road Race.
Lighting of the Macy's Great Tree
Rich's was one of the original tenants at Lenox Square Mall. Rich's and Atlanta became synonymous over the years with its expansions downtown and later into the malls around the south. In 1991, with the closure of the original Rich's in downtown Atlanta, the Rich's at Lenox Square became the chain's flagship. In 2000 it also became the home to the Rich's Great Tree, the city's giant public outdoor Christmas tree, after nearly a decade at Underground Atlanta. Rich's said goodbye to the city March 6, 2005 with its conversion to the Macy's nameplate after operating at Rich's-Macy's for almost 2 years. The tree was re-named the "Macy's Great Tree" at this time. The annual lighting of the tree begins every Thanksgiving night at 7pm and is broadcast locally on WSB-TV.
Lenox Today
In 2003, Federated Department Stores began integrating the Macy's name with their other regional department store brands, including Rich's. Following the news, the Lenox Macy's location closed & the building (along with the location at Perimeter Mall) was renovated extensively to house the first Bloomingdale's in the South, which opened in October 2003. In 2005, Federated Department Stores dropped the regional names of all of their department stores. The former Rich's-Macy's location at Lenox Square became the flagship of the Macy's Central division. The 2006-2007 expansion of the Neiman Marcus wing brought many retailers that were eyeing the Atlanta market, such as Bvlgari, Diesel, Calvin Klein, 7 For All Mankind, Judith Leiber, Puma, Sony Style, and True Religion. Gilly Hicks plans to open at Lenox sometime in early 2009, while Ermenegildo Zegna and Façonnable plan to open a store in mid to late 2009. NikeTown plans to relocate its flagship store from Phipps Plaza and reopen in late 2009. Hermès plans to close its Lenox location for a bigger flagship store in the adjacent Streets of Buckhead.
Around Lenox
Lenox Square is connected via parkway to the 27-story JW Marriott Buckhead hotel, classified as a 4-Diamond hotel by the AAA.
The area around Lenox has grown immensely in the past 50 years, and now includes many high-rise buildings which are in essence low skyscrapers. Some of these are very expensive condos, while others are offices. A two-story Target store sits across from Lenox at Lenox Maketplace, connected inside via escalators and elevators designed for shopping carts as well as shoppers, and having checkouts on both levels at the exits to a parking deck. Other stores at Lenox Marketplace include Dick's Sporting Goods, Filene's Basement, and Borders. The Sembler Company was the developer.
Traffic levels around Lenox are high and the streets are confusing for those unfamiliar with the area. Georgia 400 (a tollway to the north, and freeway south to nearby Interstate 85) opened in 1993, restricting traffic to and from the west after it cut many existing roads. However, the BUC (Buckhead Uptown Connection), the free shuttle bus service around Buckhead is available, supported voluntarily by a self-taxing district (Buckhead CID) which includes Lenox, and by GRTA and other agencies. The Peachtree Streetcar initiative would also extend free or low-fare streetcars to Lenox in the north, through midtown and downtown, to a proposed mixed-use redevelopment around historic Fort McPherson, 14 miles (23 km) south.
Many of Atlanta's prominent and upscale restaurants and bars are located within walking distance from Lenox Square. Some of these restaurants include Wolfgang Puck, The Cheesecake Factory, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Maggiano's Little Italy, Blue Pointe, Pano's and Paul's, Pricci, Dantanna's, Eno, Atlanta Fish Market, Nava, The Dining Room, Craft Atlanta, ESPN Zone, The Palm, Morton's The Steakhouse, and among others.
Anchor stores
- Bloomingdale's (Opened 1959 as Davison's with name changed to Macy's in 1985 - extensively remodeled and re-opened as Bloomingdale's October 2003. Originally 120,000 sq ft, now 274,000 sq ft.)
- Macy's (Opened 1959 as Rich's and converted to the Rich's-Macy's name in 2003 followed by the Macy's name in 2005. Originally 180,000 sq ft, now 433,308 sq ft.)
- Neiman Marcus (Opened 1972 as sole Georgia location. Originally 153,700 sq ft, now 205,000 sq ft.)
Exclusive tenants
Lenox Square holds the sole Atlanta metropolitan area outposts of:
Flagship Stores
Lenox Square also offers larger volume/capacity or flagship versions of the following stores:
Restaurants
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Panera Bread
- Corner Bakery Cafe
- Neiman Marcus Cafe
- Prime
Other upscale shopping malls that are walking distance from Lenox Square are Phipps Plaza, The Shops Around Lenox (behind the Westin Hotel), and The Streets of Buckhead.
See also
- List of shopping malls in the United States
- Phipps Plaza
- Streets of Buckhead
References
- ^
- ^ http://skycity2.blogspot.com/2006/08/lenox-square-mall_04.html Sky City blog Lenox Square Early Years
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davison%27s Davison's Information
- ^ http://www.simon.com/mall/mall_info.aspx?ID=207 Lenox Information
- ^
- ^
External links
- Lenox Square Mall (official site)
- Sky City: Lenox Square Mall
- Mall Hall of Fame: Lenox Square Mall
- Repeat Atlanta
Coordinates: 33°50′45″N 84°21′43″W / 33.84591°N 84.36187°W / 33.84591;