Lakewood Fairgrounds facts for kids
Lakewood Fairgrounds, located in Lakewood Heights, Atlanta, was created in 1916. It was built to be the main home for the exciting Southeastern Fair. The fairgrounds covered a large area of land, about 117 acres, and was built around a 15-acre lake. This land was once home to the Creek Indian people.
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The Southeastern Fair's Fun Attractions
The Southeastern Fair was a very popular place for families to visit in the spring and summer. It had many fun things to do! There was a big circus tent, lots of arcade games, and vendors selling all sorts of things. A large carousel was also a favorite attraction and stayed at the fairgrounds until 1967. During the colder winter months, one of the buildings at the fairgrounds was even turned into an ice skating rink, which was quite unusual for the southern United States!
Historic Exhibition Halls
One of the most special parts of Lakewood Fairgrounds is its four large exhibition halls. These buildings are designed in a beautiful Spanish colonial style. For more than 20 years, these halls hosted the Lakewood Fairgrounds Antique Mall. This was a huge event held every second weekend of the month. Over 15,000 antique dealers would gather there. The antique market was a well-known part of Atlanta until it closed its doors for good in October 2006.
The Greyhound Roller Coaster
The most thrilling ride at Lakewood Fairgrounds was a wooden roller coaster called The Greyhound. This famous roller coaster was even featured in all three Smokey and the Bandit movies! It was designed by John A. Miller and operated from 1915 until 1974. The Greyhound had a major rebuild in 1956, so it was closed for part of that year. After 1974, it sat unused for several years as fewer people came to the fair. Finally, after being repainted one last time, its destruction was filmed for a scene in 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 known as Lakewood Speedway and was used for different kinds of races.
Lakewood Fairgrounds on the Big Screen
Today, Lakewood Fairgrounds is a busy place for making movies and TV shows! In May 2010, the City of Atlanta decided to lease 30 acres of the fairgrounds to a company called EUE/Screen Gems. This company planned to build a large studio complex there. The complex would include sound stages, office spaces, and facilities for building sets and providing lighting.
EUE/Screen Gems had a 50-year agreement with the City of Atlanta to use Lakewood as a film and TV production studio. They also planned to build a 37,500 square foot sound stage. The company used the existing historic buildings at Lakewood for many film and TV productions.
In September 2023, another company called Cinespace Studios took over the Atlanta studio facilities from EUE/Screen Gems. This means the fairgrounds continues to be an important location for creating movies and television shows.
