22 years ago, my friends took me to Dragon Con. I had nearly died from diabetic complications (very touch and go), and we stayed at this hotel. We went to this mall to eat lunch during that convention. It was the best trip I had been on since school, and the memories are still with me 22 years later. Thank you for this, Ace.
Anime Weekend Atlanta was hosted here for 20 years. 2023 being the last year before moving to the world congress center. Southern Fried Gaming Expo is hosted here each year. I'm so extremely familiar with it.
I didn’t realize AWA was moving 😢 I’ve been going on and off since 2005. AWA really packs the place. I went for a bridal shower before my wedding, not even close.
@@WatchForReptar Yep, AWA has outgrown the space, and the Renaissance Waverly realized they lost a LOT of money because of the World Series in 2021. (They couldn't cancel the hotel blocks they pre sold to AWA and jack up the price.) It was a mutually agreed decision to end the contract. AWA will now be held in December as well, although that might be a short term thing due to the move of the location.
My colleagues and I ate lunch there nearly every day as young analysts working in one of the office towers there 25 years ago Sad to see the devolution of formerly outstanding developments.
Wow. It looks so well preserved on camera. I worked at a restaurant in the mall from approximately 84 - 86. It was definitely a very vibrant place back then.
It is very well preserved. It’s a great “venue” place and the location is superb. It’s directly across the highway (via overpass bridge) to the Atlanta Braves’ baseball stadium. The Cumberland mall is across the street to this venue as well. This is the era of Bye-duh-naw-mixs though so anything can fail…
@@gaffle-411 Um, Bidenomics is insuring that the U.S. economy is literally, the best performing in the world. Failure only comes when republicans are in power. Remember, this mall was built during the raygun era, and we all know how shitty of an economic manager he was.
This mall still has that 70s-80s design aesthetic where there was a desire to make the stores have a "village/downtown" feel. This was done with the hoaky awnings and little shingled roofs over the storefronts. Some of the windows have traditional divided lites. Of course, the heavy use of brick went toward this effort. Kind of a blend of the old downtown shops of the 30s-60s mixed with the hippy love of nature and fantasy village life. Two aesthetics that never quite fit into the modern mall space.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane. During the ‘80’s my friends and I would go to movies and eat at the restaurants here. And when I was younger than that, my mom and aunt did crazy amounts of shopping at Cumberland Mall. And they had an ice cream shop that hosted birthday parties named Farrells. This had this thing that looked like the Stanley Cup trophy filled with ice cream. Still makes me excited after all these years. Good times 😊
Great video! It brings back memories. I was a manager at this AMC Theater that you captured in the video. I was there for a few years in the early 90s and during that time it was a busy mall, considering it contained mostly specialty shops. In addition to the theater, there was a Peter Glen Surf Shop, The Silver Spoon Restaurant, a video arcade, American Express Travel, News Stand, Ruby Tuesday Restaurant, and others I don't remember now. During busy times, adequate parking seemed to be a problelm.
I worked banquets at the convention center from '07-'16. My mom started working there from '96 during the Olympics. I was homeschooled and would do my studies in the food court often. This building has seen more of my life than any other besides the family house itself! Thanks for the vid.
I used to hang out at the Cobb Galleria back in the mid 80's into the 90's. This was the place to be back then and every storefront was occupied and tons of shoppers. There was an awesome video arcade across from the movie theatre and we would spend hours in that place. The movie theatre has been frozen in time since it closed in the late 90's. So many great memories seeing iconic movies that were shown there. I will stop by the Galleria from time to time and I can say that they are actively keeping the space maintained. I've seen crews working on the ceiling in the theatre over the years. There was a Jock's and Jill's Sports Bar that was original to the Galleria and they closed down during Covid IIRC. They had been there for many decades. A lot of great times in that place.
I was the assistant manager for that arcade for a couple of years. Really was a cool space. We had 6-7 pinballs and a lot of video games on the floor. I miss it, and that theater across from it.
@@survives_shipwrecks6107 One of the first movies I saw at Parkway Point was the Phantom Menace in 1999. When I was a kid in the 80s, we'd see movies at all these theaters: - Galleria 8 - Akers Mill Square - Hilltop Family Cinema - The Promenade - Cobb Center 6 - The Miracle Theater By the early 90s, most of my movie watching was at the newly opened Austell Road Cinemas. Saw Terminator 2 Judgment Day there, as well as Dumb and Dumber, Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire, and lots of other good ones. That said, I also did see a lot of movies at the Galleria throughout the 90s as well.
The convention center owns the mall, that's why it's still here. They don't really care about the stores. When a store is empty, they just rent the space out to the event holders as storage space for their stuff.
Wow!! That’s a beautiful looking mall. Love the aesthetics!! It reminds me of some of the malls in California especially SF in mind. The malls, shopping centers in SF have beautiful, gorgeous aesthetics like this mall. This one looks amazing. Thank you Anthony for featuring this mall. I hope they have plans to revitalize it and preserve its beauty. I would definitely stay at the hotel attached to this mall and shop there in a heartbeat if it had more retail options. I don’t understand how people would ignore such a beautiful space as this mall for some of the boring, bland offerings they have today. Keep up the awesome work you do in producing these videos and preserving our retail relics of the past. Thanks Anthony.
Like the video! I'm another person familiar with the Galleria Mall due to Anime Weekend Atlanta. During con weekends the mall was always busy from morning to late in the evening, probably what it felt like back in the 80s. It was a nice vibe. The convention likely would have stayed if it didn't outgrow the facilities. Just an extra note on the Renaissance Waverly, it underwent renovations a number of years ago and a lot of the atrium decor was removed. Among things I remember there used to be vines (ivy or philodendron I think) growing off the sides of every level, more plants in the lobby and huge bell-shaped lights.
These videos and the Vaporwave/ retrowave music is just the best thing on this planet. Thank you for these insightful and entertaining video. Loved the San Antonio (my hometown) video.
Glad to see you doing something in my (former) neck of the woods! My college was a stone's throw away from this place, though I never really visited very often. I can't find any information to confirm it, but the Renaissance Waverly Hotel looks like it might have been designed by architect John C. Portman Jr. He's something of a legend in Atlanta as he was the leading mind behind the Peachtree Center district in Atlanta's downtown. That rather brutalist style with massive atriums was a signature of his.
I remember the first time I went to AWA back in 2011. I haven't been for the past 5 years, but seeing the Cobb Galleria is bringing back a lot of nostalgia. My friend got challenged to a dance battle at AWA. I remember when tons of people still did Caramelldansen in the middle of the exhibit halls. Met Johnny Yong Bosch and TeamFourStar for the first time there. So many fond memories. Obviously, AWA has definitely outgrown itself to warrant moving, a bit overdue imo considering how much more crowded it got back in 2018. Good times.
So, I live in Atlanta and I went to the Galleria twice (Anime Weekend Atlanta 2021 and 2022). The Kuma Kuma Maid Cafe is part of the convention. Love that the sign is still up apparently lol. As of this year, AWA has officially outgrown the Galleria and is moving to the Georgia World Congress Center downtown. It'll be a different experience from the Galleria, that's for sure. It's a quirky spot. Watching this video, I was like oh that's where the panels are, that's where the dealers and artists are, etc etc. To answer your question about Cumberland Mall, it's diagonally across from the Galleria but I do not think there's a direct connection between the two. I think you either need to hop in your car or walk across a couple of crosswalks on a very busy road. Great video! Speaking of old malls, the one closest to my childhood home is about to be demolished (North Dekalb Mall) and the next closest one is basically becoming an Emory University Healthcare property (Northlake Mall). It is kinda weird to think about how much things have changed!
@@frzstat Ooh thanks! I have been over to Cumberland Mall, but by car, so I did not notice any pedestrian infrastructure (too busy trying to keep my wits about me on that busy road lol!)
It's so sad that so many of these beautiful places are just dying. I live right outside the Atlanta area. Born, raised, and now I'm old here. We have lost SO MANY malls. People mostly can't afford to shop at the businesses, which in turn can't afford the high rent and overhead costs, which means malls that do stay open are rarely maintained well.
I was just there a few weeks ago for Blade Show Atlanta. It's held there at the Cobb Galleria Centre every year at the beginning of June. The place is absolutely buzzing when the conventions are going on.
I saw many movies at that mall's theater, including Titanic, Fear, Scream, Phenomenon, Sudden Death, along with many others. The mall had an arcade throughout the 80s and early 90s called "2000". It was multi-leveled. The mall's second story was closed as a mall in 1993 when the Convention Center took over the top half of the mall. I remember as a kid going to this mall in the 80s and all the shops were filled. It never had the number of shoppers as Cumberland Mall across the street. This mall could revive if they would just take advantage of the nearby Braves stadium that connects to the property with a pedestrian bridge spanning I-285. The mall already has "Mutph's", a baseball themed restaurant named after Braves legend, Dale Murphy. Plus, fans park at the mall parking lots during the game. Make use of that.
@@survives_shipwrecks6107 I saw Return of the Jedi when it was originally released in 1983. Saw it at Hilltop Family Cinema in Mableton. I also saw Back to the Future at the Hilltop in 1985.
I worked registration at Anime Weekend Atlanta last year (final year in the space) and we used the abandoned movie theatre and the concession stand in particular as the pick up area. I never even realized the theatre was there. I've gone to 20 years of conventions there - that little mall holds a lot of memories for so many of us. ❤
I worked bqts/concession at the convention center from 07-'16. AWA was my 2nd favorite event to work( can't beat free coke products from coca cola events lol). I especially liked bartending at the evening balls. They played that famous Harry potter score and it was majestic! It was a pleasure to have y'all year after year.🫱🏾🫲🏻
This brought back some great memories. I left ATL thirty plus years ago, but once worked in the area and loved staying at the Waverly. Thank you for sharing.
I went to a Pinterest conference at Cobb Galleria about five to six years ago. I was shocked at how dead the mall is. I remember when it was bustling with people thirty years ago.
I go to Blade Show there every year in June. It’s usually around 11,000 people. For three days it’s really busy. I remember when every shop was full and also the restaurants were actually good.
Wow, the last time I physically saw my mom alive was at the Waverly Hotel. My family was having a reunion banquet in one of the ball rooms. In all the years I had been on the planet, I had never seen my mom with a look on her face like she had that night at the reunion. It was like she had a billion things on her mind. As I was looking at her from a nearby table, I felt waves of love and concern for my mom, our eyes met, but she dropped her head and was not present in that room. I was with a best friend, he asked me, “hey man, something is going on with your mom, is your mom ok, she doesn’t look right?” Her demeanor was noticeable, not concerning as in some type of medical emergency etc.., but her countenance seemed as if something spiritual, and very heavy was going on, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders… Anyway, of course I check on her as the evening progressed, but it was almost like she couldn’t hardly look at me. It was piercing, troubling to me. She was friendly to everyone at the end of the event and went home. I had no idea then we would be burying her within two weeks of that event. I fully understand why she was so perplexed now. I’m the baby son of nine children. I was 33, she was 68 at the time back in 2002. She had a dream, Jesus came for her and showed all around Heaven. I didn’t know she told two of my older sisters she was getting ready to leave soon and she was so excited. She picked out her clothes, made her arrangements, gave my sisters the insurance policies, but told them not to say anything to anyone else in the family. She told them God was taking her home, that she didn’t know how, but she was leaving, and couldn’t wait to go because Heaven was so beautiful. At the Waverly, by it being a family reunion, for her it was like a good bye to everyone! At the reunion they showed slides of my mom and dad from their wedding and various pictures of their constantly growing family who are my siblings etc.. but when my mom laid eyes on me, I honestly think it hit her so hard how many people were about to be devastated at her departure.., and even though she was excited to leave.., she was feeling the weight of the loss! To say I was devastated at my mom’s death is a total understatement.., it changed everything about me, it was like I died, because me and my mom were very close! She was a sweetly saved woman in the church, who all of my life truly lived a real Christian life. Sorry for the long post.., but this place triggered so many feelings for me. I love going to the Waverly.. the grandness of the hotel makes me think of my mom’s grand exit from this life.. and the gift of family and friends! The Waverly for me feels like a warm blanket on a chilly autumn’s evening, drinking hot coco next to a fireplace … just lovely, and comforting…
Thank you for such a great post - it makes me feel emotional. Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman. I have run across a good amount of content lately of people talking about having dreams and meeting Jesus or Angels and seeing Heaven prior to moving on. They all describe it as being incredibly beautiful and they are all excited to "go back home". The accounts tend to sound very similar to each other. I have become somewhat intrigued by all of these amazing stories. God Bless You and your Family! 🙏
We went to Anime Weekend Atlanta here every year for the last several years. Last year was the last year here :'( but we loved Cobb Galleria. I always thought the mall was cozy, and we really enjoyed eating at Big Chow when it was across from Murphs. The Ren Waverly and Cobb Galleria is really something when its packed full of tens of thousands of people lol. I met a lot of really great friends here. Also, I'm suprised they left up the Kuma Kuma maid cafe poster??
I would visit this location once a year for Anime Weekend Atlanta! I haven't gone in over 6 years, God, it's so surreal seeing this place empty because that con would fill up that location with thousands of people. 5:30 - I'm sad to see the Asian restaurant that was next to Subway has closed down. They were fast, the food was good and cheap, and it was nice to enjoy Asian food at an anime con and not have to A) eat Subway or B) Go to one of the sit-down restaurants nearby that would take forever to get food. 9:00 - This is where they'd set up the registration/ticket pick-up. There are also some rooms in the back right of there were they'd host panels. They would have an orchestra come in and play anime and video game songs! 9:10 - To the bottom right of that shot, I had a great breakfast there! It was a nice way to end the anime convention on a quiet Sunday. Near the front of the elevators, there were mini dance parties that would happen there. Also, omg, they got rid of the giant glass statue in front of the elevators that looks.... interesting... 10:10 - That's where the dealer's hall & artist hall was hosted. Tons of merchants and artists would sell stuff there. Also, there's a massive stage inside this building that can be found if you take a left outside that door and see the last room to the right. They used to host raves at AWA and they were INSANE! 10:50 - Cosplay gatherings would happen at the bottom of these stairs. I went to a Pokemon gathering back when Pokemon Go first dropped. On that note, AWA recently had its last convention at this location and is moving to a larger venue, so this video feels like it came at an appropriate time. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. I'm not gonna lie that it stings a little to see a mall that has given me a ton of good memories make an appearance on a Dead Mall YT channel, but I'm happy that things like this can be documented so we can look back on the good times we had there.
It is bittersweet to see a mall I have many memories from. The food court, the theater, the karate tournament my son went to. This mall always struggled, but it would come alive during convention events.
Atlanta native but from Gwinnett, not Cobb. I’ve only been to the Galleria and the convention century a few times. It always seemed like an afterthought compared to Cumberland and other malls. I do seem to recall news reports that Reagan stayed in that hotel during a visit to Atlanta in the 80s.
I personally love how this "mall" has been required to stay open and maintained to a T; just because it's connected to a thriving convention center. The mall itself never really saw much of any sort of success, which is a little depressing, but I always love visiting it's fantastically-preserved retro aesthetic every time I'm there attending a con. I remember shopping at one of the stores there many years ago -- shop owner was trying to convince me how much of a prime location it is... in hopes that I could setup a business location there as well.... LoL even back then it was dead.
When it comes to Atlanta malls...there's Lenox Square, Phipps, and Perimeter that seem to suck up all of the mall oxygen. None of the others seem to do well
I fixed games for many years at the Namco arcade in that mall. It's like a homecoming each year when the Southern Fried Gaming Expo takes place in the attached expo center. Contrary to the state of the mall (which is essentially two restaurants and a Subway) the convention center and attached hotel do bonkers business.
This is such a cool place. Up until last year Anime Weekend Atlanta was hosted here every year since at least 2017 when I started going, and it has always been a favorite of mine. Last year for badge pickup we got to go inside the old movie theater and it was such a cool experience. Southern Fried Gaming Expo next month is also hosted there and I can't wait to return! It has some of the coolest spots to shoot and I absolutely love that you are featuring it. I really hope because it is tied to the convention center nothing will happen to it because it's such a cool time capsule. Thanks for featuring it. 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵
I was there in 1983. This was supposed to be the upscale alternative to Cumberland Mall down the street. It just never took off. There was a a lot of excitement at first. My dad took us to the Chicago deep dish pizza place a couple of times- that was new. The arcade was fancy and overpriced- almost no quarter games. It all started to slide within a year.
With those windows around the ceiling, the architects may have meant for the place to be bright and inviting, but they may have inadvertently increased their air conditioning costs.
That place used to be packed back in the days, I never forget my parents and my sister used to go there on Saturdays. We moved to Atlanta from Savannah in 1979 after Hurricane David. My mom worked and retired from Delta Airlines and my dad worked for CSX and he retired from there as well. That mall was designed by the same company that designed Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah Georgia. If you look at the old pictures of Oglethorpe Mall, you’ll see the similarities between Cobb and Oglethorpe Mall. When my parents and my sibling went to that mall, it was brand new and everyone drove from Metro to Cobb which wasn’t really friendly to my ethnic background back then. But the demographics started changing when my family moved there in 1979. There used to be a boot shop at that mall that my dad used to go there for work boots
My work office is right across the street and Truist Park is right next door over a walking bridge. The retail space is bespoke shoos you need to call to get service from (and some are probably drug fronts) but the rest of the building is a very active conference center and the shops are usually only open during big conferences. This place isn't really dead, but has a strange hibernation cycle. Oh, and Murph's is Dale Murphy's restaurant and is pretty good.
I wonder if they're going to reuse the building somehow. Maybe residential areas upstairs? Atlanta is getting stupidly expensive as a place to live. Put some old school food stores in the restaurant spaces and the residents would never even have to go outside.
You over estimate the amount of unused retail space. No one wants to live directly attached to a 522 room / 13 story hotel and a 320k square foot convention center.
I used to go there for work-related conferences in the late 90s and very early 2000s and the Galleria mall was always packed during the day. Cooler vibe there than the Cumberland Mall across the street. So sad to see how it's declined and hasn't benefitted at all from the Braves Stadium. Curious if you were in town for the knife show over the weekend, or is the timing of your post coincidental?
I am very excited that the next few spots are in the ATL area. Born, raised, and still live here. Gwinnett place mall was my local mall growing up. The galleria in Cobb has been dead since before dead malls were cool.
This mall is closer to Smyrna and Marietta, about 40 mins from downtown. I thought when the built Truist park right across the highway this mall would see an uptick. But the built the Battery which has so much to do. There are some parking garages for Truist right across next to the Galleria. I was at Cumberland Mall today it was packed. The mall is always busy. Also some strip malls just down the street. Hopefully they can do something with this mall, because it's a prime location.
It's totally car-dependent. People had no choice but to drive to it. It's way out in Cobb County, just barely technically "Atlanta" but is more like Marietta.
I've been to this mall for some conferences and shows, and stayed in that hotel for a work event. Walking through the mall, I always thought it would be great content for a dead mall channel. Even when there are events with thousands of people going on in the convention hall, the mall is completely dead aside from the Subway. I have no idea how the shops are still around, or who goes there, but they've held on for decades. Atlanta is definitely over-malled. My favorite example of this is Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square, two full-size enclosed malls, being diagonally across from each other.
Anime Weekend Atlanta was one of the biggest cons that they had sadly they are no longer there and has moved on to the Georgia World Congress Center starting 2024
Atlanta native here. My favorite restaurant in the whole city, Big Chow Grill, was in the Galleria. It closed shortly after COVID and I miss it every birthday! (Our family used to go every year on my brithday).
Used to be at "Jocks and Jill's every weekend during football season. The mall is not "dead" technically, of course, as it is still open, and functioning. Has conventions and competitions, in the convention space obviously. However, it essentially is redundant because Cumberland is a skywalk away. The developers just had too much time, and money, on their hands.
I remember seeing Terminator 2 back in 91 at that AMC that used to be there. I thought it was the coolest place because the arcade was right across the way and I was still too young to go up there by myself. Eventually I started going as a teen and even into my 20s. Fun fact: this theater started having rat problems. One was running around during a screening of final destination 2 and someone screamed "it's a rat in here!". The whole theater got up and started running. Scary moment...and they probably shouldn't have yelled that out, but we all lived (and got a ticket to return).
The old flooring and storefronts are amazing. It’s only a matter of time until they sterilize all that and turn the unused retail space into more ballrooms. I’m surprised it hasn’t already happened.
I attended cons there for a few years and I've never once thought about it as a "mall". The one thing I remember is a mannequin bust with the "headlights on", It has been weird seeing it die out more and more over the years. It was semi-dead when I first attended about 6-7 years ago, but the last time I went back in like 2019 it felt so weird. We stayed until Monday and before we left the hotel we went to grab a sandwich, seeing it so dead felt like we weren't even supposed to be there. It was the 3 of us, the Subway staff, and maybe 3-4 other patrons eating. Also as for the Renaissance, the places that jut out on each floor used to have greenery on them and some vines spilling out to give it a less brutalist vibe. At 9:03 there's the open area with chairs, but to the left just around the wall is the gym and spa area. If you stay there you're able to use a dry and wet sauna. We definitely made use of them since it was colder out.
I always thought Cobb Galleria Centre should have been a luxury sister mall to Cumberland Mall across the street. Its anchors should have been Parisian and Lord and Taylor along with small specialty stores.
Ive never seen or heard of this place, and I go to Cumberland Mall all the time. This is all new to me. It seems that something could be done to it instead of it just sitting empty
About 65K people still move to Atlanta every year. Even now Nrth Dekalb mall is being demolished for a mixed use area. Northlake is on life support and could be next. Im glad these malls have been recorded before they vanish.
I have long thought they should turn the empty part of it into a lobby for high-rise condos. This is connected by s pedestrian bridge to the Cumberland Mall one way, and the Truist Park mixed use near the Braves Stadium another way. It also is connected to about 5 20-story office buildings. With the exception of a few shops near the parking lot, has life only during conventions. It's a shame that Chow Grill closed down.
It exists because of the attached convention center. I go to things at the convention center every now and then. Before covid there was a build your own stir-fry shop across from where Murph's is now. At the exit near the parking garage there used to be a sports bar called Jocks and Jills. It's seems like a fairly good idea -- you have people coming to conventions, so they probably want a place to go shopping on breaks or whatever.
There are lots of interesting locations in, and around Atlanta. In Atlanta, to me "peak Mall" seemed to be sometime around the year 2000 (1995-2005?). After that, certain location continued to do well, but they just didn't have the vibrancy seemed to fade. Man, the experience of growing up with Malls in the 1980s and 90s was really awesome. I'm glad there are channels like yours that are documenting these places. I remember when malls would be absolutely packed out and busy. It was mass American consumerism at it's best. Then after 2000 sometime they just started to dwindle away. Honestly, I don't know how a lot of brick and mortar stores stay in business today. Like with everything, the wealthy seem to be the only people with the the disposable income AND disposable time to support these places, luxury brands seem to do ok. But the middle-class these days seems to have neither, and the brands they can afford to buy just can't support the profit margins to keep these places afloat.
