126-534: Underground Atlanta is a shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, Georgia , United States, near the Five Points MARTA station . It is currently undergoing renovations. First opened in 1969, it takes advantage of the viaducts built over the city's many railroad tracks to accommodate later automobile traffic. Underground Atlanta is centered on
252-549: A May Company California . Two of the largest shopping centers at the time were both in the San Fernando Valley , a suburban area of Los Angeles . They each consisted of one core open-air center and surrounding retail properties with various other owners, which would later hasten their decline as there wasn't a single owner, but rather a merchants' association, which was unable to react quickly to competition in later decades. Valley Plaza opened August 12, 1951. In
378-493: A shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented towards upscale consumers. Theme or festival centers have distinct unifying themes that are followed by their individual shops as well as their architecture. They are usually located in urban areas and cater to tourists. They typically feature a retail area of 80,000 to 250,000 square feet (7,400 to 23,200 m ). An outlet centre (or outlet mall in North America)
504-517: A town centre ) is typically larger with 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m ) to 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m ) gross leasable area with at least two anchor stores and offers a wider selection of stores. Given their wider service area, these tend to have higher-end stores ( department stores ) that need a larger area in order for their services to be profitable. Regional centres have tourist attractions, education and hospitality areas. Indoor centres are commonly called Shopping Malls in
630-411: A "rough" woman (i.e., working class or even " low class "). Smith had a strong contralto voice, which recorded well from her first session, which was conducted when recordings were made acoustically. The advent of electrical recording made the power of her voice even more evident. Her first electrical recording was "Cake Walking Babies [From Home]", recorded on May 5, 1925. Smith also benefited from
756-435: A "shopping center". By the 1940s, the term "shopping center" implied — if not always a single owner — at least, a place sharing comprehensive design planning, including layout, signs, exterior lighting, and parking; and shared business planning that covered the target market, types of stores and store mix. The International Council of Shopping Centers classifies Asia-Pacific, European, U.S., and Canadian shopping centers into
882-535: A "wretched childhood." To earn money for their impoverished household, Bessie and her brother Andrew busked on the streets of Chattanooga . She sang and danced as he played the guitar . They often performed on "street corners for pennies," and their habitual location was in front of the White Elephant Saloon at Thirteenth and Elm streets, in the heart of the city's African-American community. In 1904, her oldest brother Clarence left home and joined
1008-627: A handwritten note extends it to a four-block area bounded by Wall St SW (on the northeast), Central Ave SW (on the southeast), Martin Luther King Jr. Dr SW (on the southwest) and Peachtree St (on the northwest). The four-block site is bisected by Pryor St SW (running from the northeast to the southwest side) and Alabama St (running northwest to southeast). Pryor and Alabama each have two levels; each level has two main halls, which are called Upper and Lower Alabama and Pryor Streets. The buildings comprising Underground Atlanta were constructed during
1134-505: A hostess and not until the summer of 1936. In 1933, when she made the Okeh sides, she was still touring. Hammond was known for his selective memory and gratuitous embellishments. Smith was paid a non-royalty fee of $ 37.50 for each selection on these Okeh sides, which were her last recordings. Made on November 24, 1933, they serve as a hint of the transformation she made in her performances as she shifted her blues artistry into something that fit
1260-456: A later date by Smith's biographer. Dinah Washington and LaVern Baker released tribute albums to Smith in 1958. Released on Exodus Records in 1965, Hoyt Axton Sings Bessie Smith is another collection of Smith's songs performed by folk singer Hoyt Axton . The song "Bessie Smith" by The Band first appeared on The Basement Tapes in 1975, but probably dates from 1970 to 1971, although musician Artie Traum recalls bumping into Rick Danko ,
1386-450: A little over a week later, on October 4, 1937. Initially, her body was laid out at Upshur's funeral home . As word of her death spread through Philadelphia's black community, her body had to be moved to the O. V. Catto Elks Lodge to accommodate the estimated 10,000 mourners who filed past her coffin on Sunday, October 3. Contemporary newspapers reported that her funeral was attended by about seven thousand people. Far fewer mourners attended
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#17327972920081512-545: A number of modern features including central heating and cooling, a large outdoor parking area, semi-detached anchor stores, and restaurants. Later that year the world's first fully enclosed shopping mall was opened in Luleå , in northern Sweden (architect: Ralph Erskine ) and was named Shopping ; the region now claims the highest shopping center density in Europe. The idea of a regionally-sized, fully enclosed shopping complex
1638-452: A preacher because of her ability to enrapture and move her audience. She made 160 recordings for Columbia, often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, notably Louis Armstrong , Coleman Hawkins , Fletcher Henderson , James P. Johnson , Joe Smith , and Charlie Green . A number of Smith's recordings—such as " Alexander's Ragtime Band " in 1927—quickly became among the best-selling records of their release years. Smith's career
1764-570: A primary trade area of 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km). A retail park , in the United Kingdom and Europe, is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom, and some (but not all) other European countries. In Europe, any shopping center with mostly "retail warehouse units" (UK terminology; in the US the term is " big-box stores "/superstores), 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) or larger
1890-555: A private development there to restore and reopen "the city beneath the city" as a retail and entertainment district. Underground Atlanta, Inc. was incorporated May 2, 1967, and began acquiring options to lease buildings under Central Ave, Pryor, Whitehall, Hunter, Alabama, and Wall Street viaducts. Fuller and Paterson purchased all the corporation's stock in October 1967 and construction began in November 1968. A constitutional amendment
2016-551: A reputation in the South and along the East Coast . At the time, sales of over 100,000 copies of "Crazy Blues", recorded for Okeh Records by the singer Mamie Smith (no relation), pointed to a new market. The recording industry had not directed its product to black people, but the success of the record led to a search for female blues singers. Hoping to capitalize on this new market, Smith began her recording career in 1923. She
2142-485: A retail area of 100,000 to 350,000 square feet (9,300 to 32,500 m ) and serve a primary area of 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 km). Local-scale shopping centres usually have a retail area of 30,000 to 150,000 square feet (2,800 to 13,900 m ), and serve a primary area in a 3-mile (5 km) radius. They typically have a supermarket as an anchor or a large convenience shop and commonly serve large villages or as secondary centres to towns. Car-dependent centres in
2268-550: A security force of 30. During this time, some of the clubs that had been destroyed by the MARTA construction eventually won a claim for damages from federal mass transit authorities and used the money to help revitalize the area a second time. The restructured $ 85 million bond issue was approved by the Georgia Supreme Court by July 1986, and reconstruction of Underground commenced. The Rouse Company announced it
2394-479: A small traveling troupe owned by Moses Stokes. "If Bessie had been old enough, she would have gone with him," said Clarence's widow, Maud. "That's why he left without telling her, but Clarence told me she was ready, even then. Of course, she was only a child." In 1912, Clarence returned to Chattanooga with the Stokes troupe and arranged an audition for his sister with the troupe managers, Lonnie and Cora Fisher. Bessie
2520-504: A string section, a musical environment radically different from that of any of her recordings. In 1933, John Henry Hammond , who also mentored Billie Holiday , asked Smith to record four sides for Okeh (which had been acquired by Columbia Records in 1925). He claimed to have found her in semi-obscurity, "working as a hostess in a speakeasy on Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia ." Smith worked at Art's Cafe on Ridge Avenue, but not as
2646-810: A team of experts to suggest new directions for renovating the site; recommendations included mixed-use development with multifamily residences, expanded retail and dining options, and reopening outdoor spaces. By 2021, BFG had hired Kimley-Horn and HGOR to create a master plan for the site, and several leases were announced in 2022. Morrison, Jeffrey, Atlanta underground : history from below, Guilford, Connecticut : Globe Pequot, [2019] Shopping center A shopping center in American English , shopping centre in Commonwealth English (see spelling differences ), shopping complex , shopping arcade , shopping plaza , or galleria ,
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#17327972920082772-461: Is Strøget in Copenhagen, Denmark . In the U.S. chiefly in the 1960s, some cities converted a main shopping street (usually several blocks of one street only) to pedestrian zones known at the time as shopping malls (i.e. the original meaning of "mall": a "promenade"), but now referred to as pedestrian malls . A shopping arcade is a type of shopping precinct that developed earlier and in which
2898-405: Is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collections of retailers under one roof are public markets , dating back to ancient times, and Middle Eastern covered markets, bazaars and souqs . In Paris, about 150 covered passages were built between the late 18th century and 1850, and a wealth of shopping arcades were built across Europe in the 19th century. In
3024-476: Is a retail park, according to the leading real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. This would be considered in North America either a power center or a neighborhood shopping center , depending on the size. A lifestyle center ( American English ), or lifestyle centre ( Commonwealth English ), is a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of
3150-827: Is a type of shopping center, a North American term originally meaning a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s began to be used as a generic term for large shopping centers anchored by department stores, especially enclosed centers. Many malls in the United States are currently in severe decline (" dead malls ") or have closed. Successful exceptions have added entertainment and experiential features, added big-box stores as anchor tenants, or are specialized formats: power centers , lifestyle centers , factory outlet centers, and festival marketplaces . Smaller types of shopping centers in North America include neighborhood shopping centers , and even smaller, strip malls . Pedestrian malls (shopping streets) in
3276-500: Is a type of shopping centre in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public through their own stores. Other stores in outlet centres are operated by retailers selling returned goods and discontinued products, often at heavily reduced prices. Outlet stores were found as early as 1936, but the first multi-store outlet centre, Vanity Fair , located in Reading, Pennsylvania , did not open until 1974. Belz Enterprises opened
3402-446: Is barely audible on one selection. Hammond was not entirely pleased with the results, preferring to have Smith revisit her old blues sound. "Take Me for a Buggy Ride" and " Gimme a Pigfoot ", both written by Wesley Wilson , were among her most popular recordings. On September 26, 1937, Smith was critically injured in a car crash on U.S. Route 61 between Memphis, Tennessee , and Clarksdale, Mississippi . Her lover, Richard Morgan,
3528-628: Is not used in the U.K. The term "mall" is used for those types of centers in some markets beyond North America such as India and the United Arab Emirates . In other developing countries such as Namibia and Zambia , "Mall" is found in the names of many small centers that qualify as neighborhood shopping centers or strip malls according to the ICSC. The suburban shopping center concept evolved further with larger open-air shopping centers anchored by major department stores. The first
3654-487: Is over 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m ) of gross leasable area. These have three or more anchors, mass and varied merchant trade and serves as the dominant venue for the region (25 miles or 40 km) in which it is located. Note that ICSC defines indoor centers above 800,000 square feet (74,000 m ) net leasable area in Asia-Pacific as mega-malls . A regional-scale shopping centre (commonly known as
3780-463: The High Street (street – pedestrianized or not – with a high concentration of retail shops), and retail parks (usually out of the city centre, 5000 sq.m. or larger and anchored by big-box stores or supermarkets, rather than department stores). Most English-speakers follow a mix of the United Kingdom's and United States's naming conventions. In the U.K. a "centre for shopping" is commonly
3906-609: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's 500 songs that shaped rock 'n' roll . In 1984, Smith was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame . The U.S. Postal Service issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp honoring Smith in 1994. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Smith at No. 33 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Technical faults in the majority of her original gramophone recordings (especially variations in recording speed, which raised or lowered
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4032-698: The convict lease system and capital punishment . "Poor Man's Blues" and "Washwoman's Blues" are considered by scholars to be an early form of African-American protest music. What becomes evident after listening to her music and studying her lyrics is that Smith emphasized and channeled a subculture within the African-American working class . Additionally, she incorporated commentary on social issues like poverty , intra-racial conflict, and female sexuality into her lyrics. Her lyrical sincerity and public behavior were not widely accepted as appropriate expressions for African-American women; therefore, her work
4158-409: The historic buildings, some of which were consequentially destroyed by fires . In 1982, newly elected mayor Andrew Young vowed to reopen Underground as part of his plan to resuscitate downtown Atlanta , starting with authorizing a $ 400,000 study conducted by American Cities Corporation (a subsidiary of The Rouse Company , who had redeveloped and operated other "festival shopping" projects around
4284-412: The swing era . The relatively modern accompaniment is notable. The band included such swing era musicians as the trombonist Jack Teagarden , the trumpeter Frankie Newton , the tenor saxophonist Chu Berry , the pianist Buck Washington , the guitarist Bobby Johnson, and the bassist Billy Taylor . Benny Goodman , who happened to be recording with Ethel Waters in the adjoining studio, dropped by and
4410-798: The 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage and accommodation for traders on various levels. Different rows specialized in different goods, such as 'Bakers Row' or 'Fleshmongers Row'. Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg , which opened in 1785, may be regarded as one of the first purposely-built mall-type shopping complexes, as it consisted of more than 100 shops covering an area of over 53,000 m (570,000 sq ft). The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today. The Oxford Covered Market in Oxford , England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire
4536-460: The 1870 census as a "minister of the gospel ", in Moulton, Lawrence County, Alabama ). He died while his daughter was too young to remember him. By the time Bessie was nine, her mother and a brother had also died and her older sister Viola took charge of caring for her siblings. As a consequence, Bessie was unable to gain an education. Due to her parents' death and her poverty, Bessie experienced
4662-619: The 1890s. Historic and/or monumental buildings are sometimes converted into shopping centers, often forming part of a larger city center shopping district that otherwise consists mostly of on-street stores. Examples are the former main post office of Amsterdam, now Magna Plaza ; the Stadsfeestzaal [ nl ] in Antwerp , Belgium, a former exhibition "palace"; the former Sears warehouse, now Ponce City Market in Atlanta ;
4788-655: The 1920s. Working a heavy theater schedule during the winter and performing in tent shows the rest of the year, Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day and began traveling in her own 72-foot-long railroad car . Columbia's publicity department nicknamed her "Queen of the Blues", but the national press soon upgraded her title to "Empress of the Blues". Smith's music stressed independence, fearlessness, and sexual freedom, implicitly arguing that working-class women did not have to alter their behavior to be worthy of respect. Despite her success, neither she nor her music
4914-408: The 1959 play The Death of Bessie Smith , by Edward Albee , are based on Smith's life and death, but poetic license was taken by both authors; for instance, Albee's play distorts the circumstances of her medical treatment, or lack of it, before her death, attributing it to racist medical practitioners. The circumstances related by both Salinger and Albee were widely circulated until being debunked at
5040-544: The 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus , Syria , might also be considered as precursors to the present-day large shopping centers. Isfahan 's Grand Bazaar , which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehran's Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history. The oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows . Dating back at least to
5166-453: The Blues" (1927) Given that this occurred during Prohibition , and the fact that these "basements" were relatively obscured from the city above, some of the basements became sites for speakeasys and juke joints , with music and illegal drinking a common occurrence. One of the first mentions of the area is in the opening lines of Bessie Smith 's 1927 song "Preachin' The Blues" which documents its importance as an entertainment district. For
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5292-555: The Five Points station were evacuated following the bombing when an abandoned bag was found, and Underground still ended the year $ 6.5 million in the red. Underground Atlanta was host to retail stores, restaurants, and several nightclubs and bars in Kenny's Alley and street battle dancing in the late 1990s. In 2004, in an effort to keep Underground Atlanta from closing a second time, the city passed an ordinance allowing bars in
5418-600: The U.K. and Europe, if larger than 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) can be termed a small retail park , while in the U.S. and some other countries it is known as a neighborhood shopping center . Convenience-scale centers, independent of other centers are known as strip malls or as shopping parades. These centers are less than 30,000 square feet (2,800 m ) of gross leasable space and commonly serve villages or as parts of larger centers commonly called small squares, plazas or indoor markets. They are also called strip centers or convenience centers. Strip Malls, despite
5544-583: The U.S. or Shopping Centres in Commonwealth English . Community-scale shopping centres are commonly called Main Streets , High Streets or town squares in wider centres or in English-speaking Europe as retail parks for certain centres. These offer a wider range of goods and has two anchor supermarkets or discount department stores. They may also follow a parallel configuration, or may be L- or U-shaped. Community centers usually feature
5670-571: The Underground Atlanta district. The heyday of Underground Atlanta lasted for only half a decade. The legal drinking age in Georgia was lowered from 21 to 19. When neighboring DeKalb County relaxed their restrictions on alcohol consumption in the early 1970s, new bars sprouted up in other parts of the city, generating competition. The dress code restrictions were dropped and fights began to break out. Crime became uncontrollable and
5796-553: The United States have been less common and less successful than in Europe. In Canada, underground passages in Montreal and Toronto link large adjacent downtown retail spaces. In Europe shopping malls/centers continue to grow and thrive. In the region distinction is made between shopping centers (shops under one roof), shopping precincts ( pedestrianized zones of a town or city where many retail stores are located),
5922-716: The United States such as Faneuil Hall in Boston , Harborplace in Baltimore , and Bayside Marketplace in Miami ); the resulting study advocated a complete redevelopment of Underground and the five blocks surrounding it. Underground Festival Development, Inc. (UFD) was formed in January 1985 to supervise the proposed redevelopment, and Mayor Young signed an agreement with UFD in July of that year. UFD began negotiating with Rouse to manage
6048-450: The United States, the widespread use of the automobile in the 1920s led to the first shopping centers of a few dozen shops that included parking for cars. Starting in 1946, larger, open air centers anchored by department stores were built (sometimes as a collection of adjacent retail properties with different owners), then enclosed shopping malls starting with Victor Gruen 's Southdale Center near Minneapolis in 1956. A shopping mall
6174-459: The ambulance, so Dr. Smith suggested that they take her into Clarksdale in his car. He and Broughton had almost finished clearing the back seat when they heard the sound of a car approaching at high speed. Dr. Smith flashed his lights in warning, but the oncoming car failed to slow and plowed into his car at full speed. It sent his car careening into Smith's overturned Packard, completely wrecking it. The oncoming car ricocheted off Hugh Smith's car into
6300-524: The announcement live on video monitors. But on April 30, 1992, in the wake of the Rodney King trial verdict, the area was severely damaged by protesters and gangs, leading to the imposition of a curfew. A new marketing campaign which stated "The Fun in Town is Underground" was designed to help its public image. Although the area saw significant attendance during the 1996 Olympics , Underground Atlanta and
6426-448: The apparent pitch of her voice) misrepresented the "light and shade" of her phrasing, interpretation and delivery. They altered the apparent key of her performances (sometimes raised or lowered by as much as a semitone ). The "center hole" in some of the master recordings had not been in the true middle of the master disc, so that there were wide variations in tone, pitch, key and phrasing, as commercially released records revolved around
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#17327972920086552-565: The area was considered dangerous. In addition, the construction of the MARTA East Line beginning in 1975 tore out approximately one third of the Underground blocks and eliminated parking . In 1975, The New York Times noted that winter traffic to the complex was sparse and threatened the continued existence of the district; Underground Atlanta Inc. offered 26,000 shares of stock to the city of Atlanta, and proposed to fence off
6678-487: The basis for Edward Albee 's 1959 one-act play The Death of Bessie Smith . "The Bessie Smith ambulance would not have gone to a white hospital; you can forget that", Hugh Smith told Albertson. "Down in the Deep South Cotton Belt , no ambulance driver, or white driver, would even have thought of putting a colored person off in a hospital for white folks." Smith's funeral was held in Philadelphia
6804-420: The burial at Mount Lawn Cemetery, in nearby Sharon Hill . Jack Gee thwarted all efforts to purchase a stone for his estranged wife, once or twice pocketing money raised for that purpose. Smith's grave remained unmarked until a tombstone was erected on August 7, 1970, paid for by the singer Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, who as a child had done housework for Smith. Dory Previn wrote a song about Joplin and
6930-413: The centre for a settlement. More recent shopping dedicated areas outside the main centre are known as "shopping centres" (with understanding of the synonym shopping mall) "shopping villages" or "retail parks". According to author Richard Longstreth, before the 1920s–1930s, the term "shopping center" in the U.S. was loosely applied to any group of adjacent retail businesses. A city's downtown might be called
7056-493: The city's post- Civil War Reconstruction Era boom, between 1866 and 1871, when the city's population doubled from 11,000 to 22,000 residents. In 1869, the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot was completed to replace the one destroyed by Sherman's troops in 1864. The Georgia Railroad depot , which stands at the entrance of Underground Atlanta, remains the oldest building in downtown Atlanta. Although
7182-404: The co-writer of the song, at Woodstock in 1969, who sang a verse of "Going Down The Road to See Bessie" on the spot. Her song "See If I'll Care" was sampled by Indian Summer throughout their self-titled EP , released in 1993. The release was received well by critics, noting how the sample helped contrast the post-hardcore and emo styles of the rest of the release. When their discography
7308-433: The complex to remain open and serve drinks until 4:00 am – a last call 90 minutes later than the rest of the city had recently been restricted to. Patrons were also permitted to take their open alcoholic drinks from bar to bar. Despite this, Underground Atlanta struggled to attract consistent and diverse patronage. Eventually, Underground Atlanta was closed for a second time in 2016. On December 17, 2014, an announcement
7434-720: The connecting walkways are not owned by a single proprietor and may be in the open air or covered by a ground-floor loggia . Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, and numerous arcades in Paris are famous and still functioning as shopping centres, while many others have been demolished. In Russia , centuries-old shopping centres
7560-470: The dense, commercial downtowns into the largely residential suburbs. This formula (enclosed space with stores attached, away from downtown, and accessible only by automobile) became a popular way to build retail across the world. Gruen himself came to abhor this effect of his new design; he decried the creation of enormous "land wasting seas of parking" and the spread of suburban sprawl. Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937)
7686-526: The depot was originally three stories tall, the second and third story were destroyed by fire in 1935. Besides the train station , the bustling district included hotels, banks, law offices, and saloons . An electric streetcar was installed in 1889 to points South, and by 1900 the depot was serving 100 trains per day with direct service between Atlanta and New York City ; Cincinnati , Ohio; Chattanooga , Tennessee; Knoxville , Tennessee; Augusta, Georgia ; Macon, Georgia ; and Columbus , Georgia. By 1910,
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#17327972920087812-669: The design and business plan, a place built according to an overall program that covered the target market, types of stores and store mix, signs, exterior lighting, and parking. In the mid-20th century, with the rise of the suburb and automobile culture in the United States, a new style of shopping center was created away from downtown . Early shopping centers designed for the automobile include Market Square , Lake Forest, Illinois (1916), and Country Club Plaza , Kansas City, Missouri , 55 acres (220,000 m ), opened 1923. The Bank Block in Grandview Heights, Ohio (1928)
7938-402: The district, converting the public streets into public parkland and offering a 25-cent admission charge. By 1976, sales were down to just 40% of 1973 results. Underground [Atlanta] was never planned ... anyone who was there with an idea was welcomed. We built it, then just let it drift. — Mayor Andrew Young , quoted in 1991 article The Underground Atlanta Historic District
8064-521: The ditch on the right, barely missing Broughton and Bessie Smith. The young couple in the speeding car did not sustain life-threatening injuries. Two ambulances then arrived from Clarksdale—one from the black hospital, summoned by Broughton, the second from the white hospital, acting on a report from the truck driver, who had not seen the crash victims. Smith was taken to the G. T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital in Clarksdale, where her right arm
8190-566: The earliest public shopping centers is Trajan's Market in Rome located in Trajan's Forum. Trajan's Market was probably built around 100–110 AD by Apollodorus of Damascus , and it is thought to be the world's oldest shopping center. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as
8316-514: The early 20th-century blues era. There was no official national record chart in the US until 1936. National positions have been formulated post facto by music historian Joel Whitburn . Three recordings by Smith were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , an award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance". In 2002, Smith's recording of " Downhearted Blues "
8442-438: The entire right side of her body, consistent with a sideswipe collision. Henry Broughton, a fishing partner of Dr. Smith's, helped him move Smith to the shoulder of the road. Dr. Smith dressed her arm injury with a clean handkerchief and asked Broughton to go to a house about 500 feet off the road to call an ambulance . By the time Broughton returned, about 25 minutes later, Smith was in shock . Time passed with no sign of
8568-486: The first enclosed factory outlet center in 1979, in Lakeland, Tennessee , a suburb of Memphis . A shopping precinct (U.K. term) or pedestrian mall (U.S. term) is an area of city centre streets which have been pedestrianized, where there is a concentration of " high street shops" such as department stores, clothing and home furnishings stores, and so forth. They may be part of a larger city-centre pedestrian zone , as
8694-479: The following types: Abbreviations: SC=shopping center/centre, GLA = Gross Leasable Area, NLA = Net Leasable Area , AP=Asia-Pacific, EU=Europe, Can=Canada, US=United States of America does not apply to Europe a.k.a. large neighborhood shopping center in US, Can A superregional-scale center is commonly called a city centre. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers it
8820-572: The former Emporium-Capwell department store in San Francisco , now San Francisco Centre ; Georgetown Park in Washington, D.C. , and the Abasto de Buenos Aires , formerly the city's wholesale produce market. Shopping centers are not a recent innovation. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome , in forums where shopping markets were located. One of
8946-690: The historical railroad gulch , which follows the railroad tracks approximately northwest to southeast, parallel to Alabama Street, between Forsyth Street and Central Avenue. In the 1979 nomination form to establish the Underground Atlanta Historic District for listing on the National Register of Historic Places , the cited area is bounded by the modern-day Alabama Street, Central Avenue, Peachtree Street (formerly Whitehall), and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive;
9072-521: The history of The Coca-Cola Company and its products , opened adjacent to Underground Atlanta, bringing a further influx of tourists to the area. The museum would later relocate to the re-developed Pemberton Place near the Georgia Aquarium . In September 1990, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch announced that Atlanta had been awarded the 1996 Summer Olympic games; citizens had gathered at Kenny's Alley to watch
9198-452: The intense railroad activity and development in the area led to the erection of several iron bridges to accommodate pedestrian and automotive traffic across the railroad tracks. Atlanta architect Haralson Bleckley proposed to cover over the tracks entirely with a ferroconcrete platform on viaducts in 1909; as part of the contemporary City Beautiful trend, the platform would be used for boulevards and public plazas. Although Bleckley's plan
9324-538: The late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Cleveland Arcade , and Moscow 's GUM , which opened in 1890. When the Cleveland Arcade opened in 1890, it was among the first indoor shopping arcades in the US, and like its European counterparts, was an architectural triumph. Two sides of the arcade had 1,600 panes of glass set in iron framing and is a prime example of Victorian architecture . Sydney's Queen Victoria Markets Building , opened in 1898,
9450-503: The marriage, Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of the day, heading her own shows, which sometimes featured as many as 40 troupers, and touring in her own custom-built railroad car. Their marriage was stormy with infidelity on both sides, including numerous female sex partners for Bessie. Gee was impressed by the money, but never adjusted to show business life or to Smith's bisexuality . In 1929, when she learned of his affair with another singer, Gertrude Saunders , Smith ended
9576-632: The mid-1950s, it claimed to be the largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States and the third-largest in the country. The first part of the Panorama City Shopping Center opened as on October 10, 1955, and would grow until the mid-1960s, it claimed to be the first shopping center with four major department store anchors, even though the "center" was in fact a marketing association for multiple adjacent properties. Northland Center near Detroit , built 1954,
9702-696: The name Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, played from 1969 to 1979. Other attractions included a souvenir shop owned by governor Lester Maddox and a wax museum. With the old-style architecture lending considerable charm to the district, Underground Atlanta soon became Atlanta's best-known tourist attraction, rivaling Bourbon Street in New Orleans . By 1972, its most profitable year, Underground had 3.5 million visitors and $ 17 million in sales. In 1973, there were 65 businesses employing 1,000. At its peak, there were more than 80 restaurants, clubs, boutiques, and shops in
9828-437: The name, are not considered "malls" in North America. Power centers , in North America, are open-air single-level shopping centers that almost exclusively feature several big-box retailers as their anchors (although newer urban power centers have adopted enclosed and/or vertical formats while retaining the strong big-box emphasis). They usually have a retail area of 250,000 to 600,000 square feet (23,000 to 56,000 m ) and
9954-457: The new technology of radio broadcasting , even on stations in the segregated South . For example, after giving a concert to a white-only audience at a theater in Memphis, Tennessee , in October 1923, she performed a late-night concert on station WMC, which was well received by the radio audience. Musicians and composers like Danny Barker and Tommy Dorsey compared her presence and delivery to
10080-544: The next forty years, as Atlanta continued to grow at street level, the 12-acre (49,000 m) underground area was effectively abandoned and forgotten, though frequented by the homeless. In the 1960s, the original storefronts were rediscovered and many architectural features from a century earlier had survived intact including decorative brickwork, granite archways, ornate marble, cast-iron pilasters, hand-carved wooden posts, and gas street lamps. Two Georgia Tech graduates, Steven H. Fuller Jr. and Jack R. Patterson, began to plan
10206-603: The old individual storefronts. At the time, Fulton County was the only county in the state of Georgia that permitted mixed alcoholic beverages to be served, provided that adults met a dress code in places that served them. As a result, Underground Atlanta quickly became the center of downtown Atlanta nightlife. Popular spots in Underground Atlanta included Dante's Down the Hatch, Scarlett O'Hara , The Blarney Stone, The Rustler's Den, The Pumphouse, The Front Page, The Bank Note, and Muhlenbrink's Saloon, where Atlanta's Piano Red , under
10332-523: The original street levels provided from Old Loyd Street. During the construction of the "twin viaducts", merchants moved their operations to the second floor of their buildings, and turned the original ground floors' storefronts into basements for storage and service. Down in Atlanta GA Underneath the viaduct every day Drinking corn and hollerin' hoo-ray Pianos playin' till the break of day — Bessie Smith , "Preachin'
10458-554: The redevelopment project spanned an area of six city blocks, approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha), with parking for 1,200 vehicles. The redevelopment of Underground Atlanta received an award for Excellence in Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects in 1990. The renovation also removed Plaza Park, which had been built in the late 1940s, and replaced it with Peachtree Fountains Plaza. Plaza Park had been
10584-416: The relationship, although neither of them sought a divorce. Smith later entered a common-law marriage with an old friend, Richard Morgan, who was Lionel Hampton 's uncle. She stayed with him until her death. Songs like "Jail House Blues", "Work House Blues", "Prison Blues", "Sing Sing Prison Blues" and "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" dealt critically with social issues of the day such as chain gangs ,
10710-456: The retail space of the old entertainment district, with 225,000 sq ft (20,900 m). Its 140 tenants included the retail outlets Sam Goody and Olivia Newton-John 's Koala Blue boutique, as well as a reopened Dante's Down the Hatch in the Kenny's Alley section. Kenny's Alley was the designated entertainment area at the modern (post-1928) street level, with 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m) available for dining and clubs. In total,
10836-491: The site of the city's last remaining peach tree on its namesake Peachtree Street, but 20 non-fruit-bearing trees were donated by the Georgia Peach Commission to be planted in nearby Woodruff Park . Although the historic buildings and architecture remained a major draw, some critics felt that the now-sanitized district had lost its original charm and lively atmosphere; Jeff Kunerth wrote the new Underground
10962-559: The site once complete. However, the development was put on hold in December 1985 when the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the proposal, which included a municipal bond issue, first required approval by Fulton County citizens. Mindful of the security issues (real and perceived) that contributed to the first closure of Underground in 1980, UFD began to plan entrances, exits, and lighting to emphasize safety and Rouse assembled
11088-538: The size of regional malls still operate, consisting of multiple arcades. They developed from previous so-called "trading rows", which were essentially markets where traders could obtain space to sell their goods. Great Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg in its present buildings dates back to the 1760s. With a total area of 800,000 square feet (74,000 m ), GUM in Moscow, opened in its present buildings in
11214-509: The spindle. Given those historic limitations, the digitally remastered versions of her work deliver noticeable improvements in the sound quality of Smith's performances, though some critics believe that the American Columbia Records compact disc releases are somewhat inferior to subsequent transfers made by the late John R. T. Davies for Frog Records . The 1948 short story " Blue Melody ", by J. D. Salinger , and
11340-507: The third major tourist attraction for Atlanta, including Stone Mountain Park and Six Flags Over Georgia . The New Georgia Railroad had operated a vintage train excursion from its depot (the former Pullman Yard ) near Underground Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park starting in 1986; the excursion train service was discontinued in 1993. In August 1990, the World of Coca-Cola , a museum chronicling
11466-613: The tombstone, "Stone for Bessie Smith", for her album Mythical Kings and Iguanas . The Afro-American Hospital (now the Riverside Hotel ) was the site of the dedication of the fourth historical marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail . In 1923, Smith was living in Philadelphia when she met Jack Gee, a security guard , whom she married on June 7, 1923, just as her first record was being released. During
11592-779: The twentieth century" by Malcolm Gladwell . The first retail complex to be promoted as a "mall" was Paramus, New Jersey's Bergen Mall . The center, which opened with an open-air format in 1957, was enclosed in 1973. Aside from Southdale Center , significant early enclosed shopping malls were Harundale Mall (1958) in Glen Burnie, Maryland, Big Town Mall (1959) in Mesquite, Texas, Chris-Town Mall (1961) in Phoenix, Arizona, and Randhurst Center (1962) in Mount Prospect, Illinois. Other early malls moved retailing away from
11718-425: The window, took the full brunt of the impact. Morgan escaped without injuries. The first person on the scene was a Memphis surgeon , Dr. Hugh Smith (no relation). In the early 1970s, Hugh Smith gave a detailed account of his experience to Bessie's biographer Chris Albertson . This is the most reliable eyewitness testimony about the events surrounding her death. Arriving at the scene, Dr. Smith examined Smith, who
11844-691: The word "mall", that is, a pedestrian promenade (in U.K. usage a "shopping precinct"). Early downtown pedestrianized malls included the Kalamazoo Mall (the first, in 1959), "Shoppers' See-Way" in Toledo , Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach , Santa Monica Mall (1965), and malls in Fort Worth and in Canada's capital, Ottawa . The downtown Urbana, Illinois mall , converted from a city street,
11970-429: Was amputated . She died that morning without regaining consciousness. After her death, an often repeated, but now discredited story emerged that she died because a whites-only hospital in Clarksdale refused to admit her. The jazz writer and producer John Hammond gave this account in an article in the November 1937 issue of DownBeat magazine. The circumstances of Smith's death and the rumor reported by Hammond formed
12096-626: Was "a new heart [of Atlanta] with the soul of Disney World's Main Street" in the Orlando Sentinel . First-year sales results were encouraging, with a total of $ 75 million (exceeding the projection by $ 5 million) and 13 million visitors, of which 7.8 million were from the Atlanta metropolitan area. The number of visitors from outside the area was the only disappointment. Developers envisioned Underground Atlanta would become
12222-514: Was a center in Ardmore, Pennsylvania later named Suburban Square , when the Philadelphia department store Strawbridge & Clothier opened a four-story, 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m ) branch there on May 12, 1930. A much larger example would be the 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m ) Broadway-Crenshaw Center in Los Angeles built in 1947, anchored by a five-story Broadway and
12348-463: Was a collection of stores under one roof aimed at the workers in the company town of Morgan Park , in Duluth, Minnesota . Before the 1920s–1930s, the term "shopping center" in the U.S. was loosely applies to a collection of retail businesses. A city's Downtown might be called a "shopping center". By the 1940s, "shopping center" implied — if not always a single owner — at least, comprehensive planning in
12474-663: Was a voice for many minority groups and one of the most gifted blues performers of her time, the themes in her music were precocious, which led to many believing that her work was undeserving of serious recognition. Smith's lyrics are often speculated to have portrayed her sexuality. In "Prove it On Me", performed by Ma Rainey , Rainey famously sang, " Went out last night with a crowd of my friends. They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no mens.. they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me. Sure got to prove it on me. " African American queer theorists and activists have often looked to Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith as "gender-bending" role models of
12600-438: Was accepted in all circles. She once auditioned for Black Swan Records ( W. E. B. Du Bois was on its board of directors) and was dismissed because she was considered too rough as she supposedly stopped singing to spit. The businessmen involved with Black Swan Records were surprised when she became the most successful diva because her style was rougher and coarser than Mamie Smith. Even her admirers—white and black—considered her
12726-498: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980, the same year that Underground Atlanta was closed; just 26 businesses remained. Although they struggled to stay open, the area was once again abandoned by February 1982. Dante Stephensen, the proprietor of Dante's Down the Hatch, was the last to leave the Underground. Underground sat mostly dormant for most of the 1980s. Vagrants occupied several of
12852-607: Was also an ambitious architectural project. Shopping Centers built before the 20th century ; Notes: *based on current ICSC shopping center type definitions, **center opened in 1926 without department store, which was added in 1930 Early examples of "stores under one roof" include the nine-building shopping arcade Dayton Arcade in Dayton, Ohio (1902–1904), primarily built to rehouse the public food markets in more sanitary conditions, but which added retail clothing and household goods stores. The Lake View Store , opened July 1916,
12978-535: Was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age . Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues ", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee , Smith
13104-520: Was an early strip mall or neighborhood center of 30 shops built along Grandview Avenue, with parking in the back for 400 cars. Uniquely for the time, it had multiple national grocery store tenants Kroger , Piggly Wiggly , and the A&;P Tea Company. The Park and Shop (1930) in Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C. was an early strip mall or neighborhood center with parking in the front. It
13230-507: Was anchored by Piggly Wiggly and built in an L shape. Other notable, large early centers with strips of independent stores, adjacent parking lots, but no department store anchors, include Highland Park Village (1931) in Dallas ; and River Oaks Shopping Center (1937) in Houston . In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the term "shopping mall" was first used, but in the original sense of
13356-483: Was better known for developing suburban strip malls, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Bill Torpy was skeptical about their prospects, calling them "an odd fit for the job". By January 2020, the renovation had borne few visible signs of change. On November 28, 2020, Underground Atlanta was sold to Shaneel Lalani, the CEO of Norcross-based Billionaires Funding Group (BFG), a private investment firm. Lalani assembled
13482-461: Was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee , in July 1892. The 1910 census gives her age as 16, and a birth date of April 15, 1894, which appears on subsequent documents and was observed as her birthday by the Smith family. The 1870 and 1880 censuses report several older siblings or half-siblings. Smith was the daughter of Laura and William Smith, a laborer and part-time Baptist preacher (he was listed in
13608-482: Was cut short by the Great Depression , which nearly put the recording industry out of business, and the advent of sound in film , which spelled the end of vaudeville. She never stopped performing, however. The days of elaborate vaudeville shows were over, but Smith continued touring and occasionally sang in clubs. In 1929, she appeared in a Broadway musical, Pansy . The play was a flop; top critics said she
13734-404: Was driving, and misjudged the speed of a slow-moving truck ahead of him. Skid marks at the scene suggested that Morgan tried to avoid the truck by driving around its left side, but he hit the rear of the truck side-on at high speed. The tailgate of the truck sheared off the wooden roof of Smith's old Packard vehicle. Smith, who was in the passenger seat, probably with her right arm or elbow out
13860-399: Was enclosed, designed by Victor Gruen . Although Bergen Mall (opened 1957) led other suburban shopping centers in using "mall" in their names, these types of properties were still referred to as "shopping centers" until the late 1960s, when the term "shopping mall" started to be used generically for large suburban shopping centers. The term "mall" for regional enclosed shopping centers
13986-603: Was hired as a dancer rather than a vocalist since the company already included popular singer Ma Rainey . Contemporary accounts indicate that, while Ma Rainey did not teach Smith to sing, she likely helped her develop a stage presence. Smith eventually moved on to performing in chorus lines , making the "81" Theatre in Atlanta her home base. She also performed in shows on the black-owned Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit and would become one of its major attractions. Smith began forming her own act around 1913, at Atlanta's "81" Theater. By 1920, she had established
14112-879: Was included in the National Recording Registry by the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress . The board annually selects recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". "Downhearted Blues" was also included in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, and in
14238-523: Was its only asset. In November 1929, Smith made her only film appearance, starring in a two-reeler , St. Louis Blues , based on composer W. C. Handy 's song of the same name . In the film, directed by Dudley Murphy and shot in Astoria, Queens , she sings the title song accompanied by members of Fletcher Henderson 's orchestra, the Hall Johnson Choir, the pianist James P. Johnson and
14364-417: Was lying in the middle of the road with obviously severe injuries. He estimated she had lost about a half pint of blood, and immediately noted a major traumatic injury: her right arm was almost completely severed at the elbow. He stated that this injury alone did not cause her death. Though the light was poor, he observed only minor head injuries. He attributed her death to extensive and severe crush injuries to
14490-476: Was made by Atlanta's then mayor, Kasim Reed , that the city of Atlanta was under contract to sell Underground Atlanta to developer WRS Inc. The developer plans to turn Underground Atlanta into a mixed-use development with more retail options and above ground apartments, with total investments of $ 150–$ 200 million. The sale was completed in March 2017, and the lower level closed to the public on August 13, 2017. WRS
14616-494: Was never realized, Plaza Park (in the north block of the four-block Underground Atlanta district) was eventually built in 1948 and later demolished and rebuilt as Peachtree Fountains Plaza . In 1928, the "twin bridges" viaduct was completed, raising the street level of Pryor, Central, Wall, and Alabama by one and a half stories, and a five-block area was completely covered up. This submerged the original street levels of Pryor, Alabama, Ponder's Alley, and Kenny's Alley, with access to
14742-570: Was often written off as distasteful or unseemly, rather than as an accurate representation of the African-American experience. Smith's work challenged elitist norms by encouraging working-class women to embrace their right to drink, party, and satisfy their sexual needs as a means of coping with stress and dissatisfaction in their daily lives. Smith advocated for a wider vision of African-American womanhood beyond domesticity , piety , and conformity ; she sought empowerment and happiness through independence, sassiness, and sexual freedom. Although Smith
14868-551: Was opened in Paris in 1798. The Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819. The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island introduced the retail arcade concept to the United States in 1828 and is arguably the oldest "shopping center" in the country. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan , Italy followed in the 1870s and is closer to large modern malls in spaciousness. Other large cities created arcades and shopping centers in
14994-446: Was passed in Georgia naming the area a state historic site. The renovation left the original facades mainly intact and was concentrated on the spaces along Alabama, Pryor, and Kenny's Alley. The Underground Atlanta corporation spent $ 10 million on redeveloping the historic area into an entertainment district. On April 8, 1969, "Underground Atlanta" officially opened with new restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and music venues installed in
15120-637: Was pioneered in 1956 by the Austrian-born architect and American immigrant Victor Gruen . This new generation of regional-size shopping centers began with the Gruen-designed Southdale Center , which opened in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina, Minnesota , United States in October 1956. For pioneering the soon-to-be enormously popular mall concept in this form, Gruen has been called the "most influential architect of
15246-431: Was ready to sign up tenants in March 1987; in all, the renovation cost $ 142 million. The city of Atlanta contributed $ 123 million of that, including the $ 85 million bond revenue, with the remainder from sales taxes and federal sources. On June 15, 1989, during heavy thunderstorms, Underground Atlanta re-opened as more of a modern shopping mall than an entertainment district; the revamped Underground had double
15372-524: Was reissued in 2019 to acclaim, Smith and the song also saw a boost in popularity. She was the subject of a 1997 biography by Jackie Kay , reissued in February 2021 and featuring as Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 , read in an abridged version by the author. In the 2015 HBO film Bessie , Queen Latifah portrays Smith, focusing on the struggle and transition of Smith's life and sexuality. The film
15498-467: Was signed to Columbia Records in 1923 by Frank Walker , a talent agent who had seen her perform years earlier. Her first recording session for Columbia was on February 15, 1923; it was engineered by Dan Hornsby who was recording and discovering many southern music talents of that era. For most of 1923, her records were issued on Columbia's regular A-series. When the company established a " race records " series, Smith's "Cemetery Blues" (September 26, 1923)
15624-501: Was the first issued. Both sides of her first record, " Downhearted Blues " backed with "Gulf Coast Blues", were hits (an earlier recording of "Downhearted Blues" by its co-writer Alberta Hunter had previously been released by Paramount Records ). As her popularity increased, Smith became a headliner on the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit and rose to become its top attraction in
15750-559: Was the first of 4 centers that Victor Gruen built for Hudson's ( Eastland Center , Southland Center , and Westland Center were the others) At launch, Northland Center was the world's largest shopping center. The enclosed shopping mall did not appear until the mid-1950s. One of the earliest examples was the Valley Fair Shopping Center in Appleton, Wisconsin , which opened in March 1955. Valley Fair featured
15876-435: Was young when her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street corners. She began touring and performed in a group that included Ma Rainey , and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with Columbia Records began in 1923, but her performing career was cut short by a car crash that killed her at the age of 43. The 1900 census indicates that her family reported that Bessie Smith
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