Lenox Square facts for kids
The exterior sign of Lenox Square Mall
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| Location | Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia |
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| Coordinates | 33°50′45″N 84°21′43″W / 33.84591°N 84.36187°W |
| Opening date | August 3, 1959 |
| Developer | Noble Properties |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 198 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,558,678 sq ft (144,805.9 m2) |
| No. of floors | 4 (Neiman Marcus has 3) |
| Public transit access | MARTA: Gold Line
at Lenox Red Line
at Buckhead |
Lenox Square is a large shopping mall located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia. It has over 1.5 million square feet of space, with 198 stores spread across four levels. You can also find a big food court there.
The main stores at Lenox Square are Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's. Since 1998, the mall has been owned by Simon Property Group, a company that also owns the nearby Phipps Plaza shopping center.
Lenox Square first opened its doors on August 3, 1959. Back then, it was an open-air shopping center, similar to today's outdoor malls. Its first big stores were Rich's, Davison's, and a grocery store called Colonial Stores. The mall started with 60 stores.
Over the years, as new malls opened in the suburbs, Lenox Square grew and changed. It had four major expansions to keep up. The most recent updates included making the Neiman Marcus store bigger and adding more new shops. Lenox Square is home to many fancy stores that you won't find anywhere else for hundreds of miles around Atlanta. Some of these include Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Burberry, and Prada. It also has one of the biggest Pottery Barn and Forever 21 stores in the Southeastern United States.
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History of Lenox Square Mall
Lenox Square was created by Ed Noble, a developer from Kansas City, Missouri. His company bought the land in 1956. Construction began in July 1957, and the mall officially opened on August 3, 1959.
The mall had three levels: Mall, Plaza, and Market. It offered 800,000 square feet of shopping space. The main stores were Rich's, Davison's, and a Colonial Stores supermarket. There were 52 original shops, including a bowling alley and a Kresge five and dime store. The Mall Level even had statues of Uncle Remus characters like Br'er Fox. A movie theater opened in June 1963.
Lenox Square quickly became part of important city events. It is the starting point for the yearly Peachtree Road Race, which is one of the world's largest 10-kilometer races. Davison's, which had been owned by Macy's since 1924, changed its name to Macy's in 1986. In 2000, the famous Rich's Great Tree celebration moved to Lenox Square from downtown Atlanta.
In 1991, the main Rich's store moved to Lenox Square from downtown Atlanta. Later, in 2003, the company that owned Rich's and Macy's started to combine their store names. The Macy's store at Lenox Square closed and was renovated. It reopened as the first Bloomingdale's store in the Southern United States in October 2003. In 2005, all the regional department store names were changed to Macy's. The former Rich's-Macy's store at Lenox Square became a very important Macy's location.
Mall Renovations and Expansions
Lenox Square has been updated and expanded four times. These changes were often made to compete with newer malls like Perimeter Mall and Cumberland Mall. In the early 1970s, a big renovation enclosed the entire shopping center, making it an indoor mall. This expansion also added a new section and the first Neiman Marcus store outside of Texas and Florida. It is still the only Neiman Marcus in Georgia.
In 1980, another expansion added a three-level section at the back of the mall. This included a new food court, replacing the old outdoor Plaza Court. After this, Lenox Square had over 1 million square feet of space. A 19-story office building and a 24-story hotel were also built next to the mall. These new buildings were close to the MARTA's Lenox transit station, which opened in December 1984.
In 1995, the mall had its biggest expansion yet. A second story was added above the original Mall Level. This made Lenox Square the largest shopping center in Georgia at the time, with 1.457 million square feet and 200 stores and restaurants. However, it lost this title in 1999 when the even larger Mall of Georgia opened.
A major expansion in 2007 made the existing Neiman Marcus store bigger by 52,000 square feet. It also added a new upper level to the section connecting the store to the main mall. After this, the shopping center had over 1.5 million square feet of space and 240 stores and services.
In Fall 2013, the mall had another renovation. This included updates to both the outside and inside, with new lighting, landscaping, and windows. These renovations were finished in 2014.
Around Lenox Square
Lenox Square is connected by a walkway to the 27-story JW Marriott Buckhead hotel, which is a very nice 4-Diamond hotel. Many other luxury hotels are also within walking distance, like the W Hotel, The Whitley, Grand Hyatt, InterContinental, Waldorf Astoria, and Westin hotels.
The area around Lenox Square has grown a lot over the years. There are now many more shops and over 75 restaurants nearby, making it a popular place to live and work. A two-story Target store is located across from Lenox at Lenox Marketplace. This Target has escalators and elevators designed for shopping carts, and checkouts on both levels. Other stores at Lenox Marketplace include Dick's Sporting Goods and Publix. Also, Phipps Plaza is just across Peachtree Road from Lenox Square.
Traffic around Lenox can be busy, but there are ways to get around. The BUC (Buckhead Uptown Connection) is a free shuttle bus service that travels around Buckhead. The city's main public transport system, MARTA, has a station called Lenox station right across from the JW Marriott. There is also the Buckhead station a bit further away on Peachtree Road. Several companies, like AT&T Mobility, have their main offices near the shopping center.
Shops Around Lenox
Near Lenox Square, there's an outdoor shopping area called The Shops Around Lenox. It's about 125,000 square feet. The main store there is Crate & Barrel. This area also has 16 other retail stores, smaller specialty shops, restaurants, and workout studios. The center was built in 1979 and was updated during a tough economic time.
Stores and Popularity
Lenox Square is the third largest shopping mall in Georgia and one of the biggest in the Southeastern United States. Only the Mall of Georgia and Perimeter Mall have more retail space.
More than 35 million people visit Lenox Square each year, making it one of the most popular and successful shopping centers in the United States. In 2007, Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza together made an estimated $1 billion. About 40% of all visitors to Lenox Square in 2009 were tourists.
Main Stores (Anchors)
- Bloomingdale's
- Macy's
- Neiman Marcus
Past Main Stores
- Rich's
- Davison's
Images for kids
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An aerial view of Lenox Square before its major renovation
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Lenox Square has several upscale stores not found within hundreds of miles from Atlanta such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Cartier and David Yurman
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The Macy's store at Lenox Square. The Macy's location at Lenox is one of the company's flagship stores.
