Lakewood Fairgrounds facts for kids

Lakewood Fairgrounds is a historic place in Atlanta, Georgia. It was built in 1916 to host the Southeastern Fair. The fairgrounds covered about 117 acres of land, which is like 88 football fields! It was also built around a pretty 15-acre lake.

The Southeastern Fair

The Southeastern Fair was a very popular event held at Lakewood Fairgrounds. It had a big circus tent, fun arcade games, and many different vendors selling things. There was also a large carousel that stayed at the fairgrounds until 1967. It was a favorite spot for families to visit during the spring and summer. In the winter, one of the buildings even turned into an ice skating rink!

Exhibition Halls

One of the most special parts of Lakewood Fairgrounds is its four large buildings. These buildings are called exhibition halls and are built in a cool Spanish colonial style. They were originally used to show off livestock, like cows and horses, during the fair.

For over 20 years, these halls were home to the Lakewood Fairgrounds Antique Mall. This was a huge market where more than 15,000 antique dealers would gather every second weekend of the month. People loved to find old treasures there. The antique market closed in October 2006.

The Greyhound Roller Coaster

The most exciting ride at Lakewood Fairgrounds was a wooden roller coaster called the Greyhound. It was a very famous ride! The Greyhound was even shown in all three Smokey and the Bandit movies.

A famous designer named John A. Miller created the roller coaster. It was open from 1915 until 1974. The Greyhound was so old that it needed a big repair in 1956. After 1974, it stopped running. Later, its destruction was filmed for the movie Smokey and the Bandit II.

Racing at Lakewood Speedway

In the 1940s, a dirt track was built around the lake at the fairgrounds. This track was called Lakewood Speedway. It was used for different kinds of races, which brought even more excitement to the area.

Lakewood Fairgrounds in Film

Today, Lakewood Fairgrounds is still a busy place, especially for movies and TV shows! In 2010, the City of Atlanta decided to lease about 30 acres of the fairgrounds to a company called EUE/Screen Gems.

EUE/Screen Gems plans to build a large studio complex there. This complex will have sound stages, offices, and other facilities needed to make films and TV shows. The company has a 50-year lease to use Lakewood as a production studio. They are already using the old buildings at Lakewood for filming.