Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lenox Square Turns 50


1960's postcard shows Rich's Department Store which is now Macy's

Simon Property Group Lenox Square, through the years, had services such as the Delta Air Lines ticket office, a U.S. Post Office, an American Express office and an upscale Colonial Grocery store.
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Years later, it’s still a shopping magnet
Lenox turns 50
By Rachel Tobin Ramos

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



When an Oklahoma oil heir opened Lenox Square on Aug. 3, 1959, on the former estate of a Georgia banker, crickets could be heard chirping nearby.
At the time, Buckhead had barely graduated from an outpost of summer homes to an Atlanta suburb. Children from homes that ringed the center played on dirt mounds during construction.

Developer Ed Noble had done his homework. He knew this was a good place for a big shopping center.

He built the open-air center with 6,000 parking spots, an auditorium for community events, a grocery store and a delivery tunnel that made for a quiet shopping experience.

But what Lenox Square and Buckhead would become was beyond his wildest dreams.

Lenox, at 50 years old, is at the heart of a wealthy commercial district punctuated by office, hotel and residential towers. Major interstate highways crisscross nearby.

ajc story

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