Belvedere Plaza

Belvedere Plaza Shopping Center, located in Belvedere Park at Memorial Dr (S.R. 154) and Columbia Dr., was one of the earliest malls in the Atlanta area. Opened around Labor Day in 1955, the center was an open-air strip with major retail anchors. It competed with Columbia Mall (later named Avondale Mall), which opened at the adjacent corner of the same intersection in 1964. The center had a two-level portion with an escalator and included one anchor, a two-level Rich's (opened in 1959), bowling alley, Woolworth's and Davis Brothers Cafeteria. The Rich's was located in the front of the center and was the second suburban store built after Lenox Square.The area around Belvedere Plaza fell into sharp decline in the 1970s and 1980s and lost its major anchor, Rich's, in 1986, the first Rich's location ever to close. The center since fell into sharper decline, but has been somewhat redeveloped since that time into a smaller center, anchored by a Kroger, some small take-out eateries, and a store offering the unusual combination of wigs and beepers.