Cumberland Mall, Smyrna (Atlanta), GA

    To survive as an urban mall, a mall must renovate and expand to stay in favor. While quite sad that this is needed to do well, often removing stunning architecture, this is better than a boarded up dead mall. Cumberland Mall, in Smyrna, Georgia, is a perfect example of this. The mall was a spectacle to see before seeing quieter renovations, though has gotten better today ever since the boring looks. The mall was such a thing to see that citizens would head from afar to see the great mall. Cumberland Mall is truly a story of mall death and rebirth.

And here we are walking in from where JCPenney once was. I was pleasantly surprised how well the mall appeared to be doing.

     Back in its day, Cumberland Mall was a sight to behold. Its 3-story center court had a very futuristic look with a saucer-type balcony on the third. There was a set of stairs leading up to here. A spectacular fountain would rain down from the top. On each side was an anchor, either Rich's or Davison's. Architecture like this led malls of the day to be major tourist draws, bringing in the shoppers from multiple states.

Center court still looks fairly decent. Let's keep in mind that these photos were taken at 7 PM on a Saturday, not traditional shopping time. 

I don't remember why I took these photos, but this is the center court roof.

     Cumberland Mall rolled on with success for the good part of the decade and the 80's. Around this time, Town Center at Cobb, Gwinnett Place, Phipps, and Lenox would either be built up or gain speed. The normal thing to do here would be renovating, and that's exactly what was done. This toned down 70's fiesta, and actually sorta hurt the mall. It was never as much of a tourist destination. This renovation also removed the famous center court fountain, which was a large slice of the mall's character.

Sears area with play area. Not much to say here, other than the fact the Sears entrance reminds me of an old downtown store with its curved walls.

     The first anchor switcharoos happened fairly early with Davison's becoming Macy's in 1985. Later on, Rich's became Macy's, shortly after the shuttering of the original Davison's. In 2005, the inevitable full Macy's switch came, but this time the store stayed open as huge changes occurred to the mall. Around this time, the JCPenney closed only to be demolished and replaced by a new Costco. In 2005, a major renovation would join with the new wing and changed the mall's fortunes. The original Davison's (along with the JCPenney) was demolished, and replaced with a new lifestyle wing comprising of nine shops and services. Included were the Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's, and a two-story H&M.

Indeed a busy food court. I like the skylights.

The design would be really weird to anyone unfamiliar to the history. GGP was smart with this one.

     Today's Cumberland is very different from its 70's brother. It's filled with all of "2017" shops, and aside from Sears, looks and feels completely modern. This carries over to the architecture, not anything similar to what it was in the past. How much I would give for a time machine...

     While the mall is clearly doing well, there is one change I would easily make. Below the second floor food court, a small wing anchored by Belk would be completed. This would decrease the blow whenever Sears closes, and that Sears would be replaced by Dillard's, Kohl's, or Nordstrom. The first two have very little influence in NW Atlanta, and Nordstrom would cater to the wealthier suburbs in the area. Cumberland Mall is very near to the most affluent zip code in the SE, so something would do. Von Maur? Lord and Taylor? Just thoughts.

     I think Cumberland Mall has a good chance of survival. Unless a new lifestyle center is built, which there is little chance or talk of, Cumberland should stay similar to what it is now. It's generally second thought of in Atlanta retail, but is visible and in a good location for the future. It didn't lose really any business to the Battery Atlanta, Suntrust Park's retail scene, which is a good sign. But just for emergencies, literally only emergencies, I think a conversion to something like Randhurst in Chicago is the way to go. But there isn't a whole lot hindering the mall at this point. The past was success, and I think we can safely say the future is too.