The original place for Farm-to-Table protein. These three photos from the unpublished secret archives. Great photos taken by a teen, 55 years ago. these photos show current site of Perimeter Mall area, along Ashford Dunwoody Road. Much of the land on both sides of Ashford Dunwoody Road was owned by the Spruill family until chunks were sold for development of commercial and residential.
The current Dunwoody Cultural Arts Center "multi-arts complex", most commonly known as the Dunwoody Library (or Stage Door Players or Spruill Center for Arts), depending on your fancy, used to be a school. It was called Dunwoody Elementary. The Stage Door Players rent the school's old auditorium (subsidized by the City of Dunwoody) for their productions. If you or your kids have thrown some clay at one of the Spruill classes you recognize the building as a former school site. The library section was a later addition.
Due to declining enrollment the school district closed the school and sold the property to DeKalb County. DeKalb County then relinquished control to the City of Dunwoody shortly after the city was formed a decade ago (back when people actually believed having our own city would stop the influx of apartments into the Dunwoody Village area).
Visionary Joyce Amacher is quoted in the article stating the need for the building to be used for arts. The other option was putting the property on the open market and having homes built there (it was zoned R-100 residential). Back in 1985 there was controversy over the sale of the property and its future use.
Wynterhall, one of the best neighborhoods in Dunwoody, opened its new swimming pool in 1975.
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The Dunwoody Nature Center is located on Roberts Drive in Dunwoody. Part of the original park is now owned By DeKalb County School District and is the home of Austin Elementary school. The old Austin school now belongs to the city of Dunwoody. Many locals preferred building a new Austin on the original site, keeping the large footprint of the original Dunwoody Park, but that did not happen.
A few articles from the June 1, 1977 Dunwoody Crier (its second year in publication)
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| from 2010 Nature Center Newsletter |
Incorporated in 1973, here is a 1977 advertisement for Ogletree's of Dunwoody. Bruno's Fine Foods acquired Ogletree's in 1987. A longtime resident believes Ogletree's was where we now see Fresh Market.
Many moons ago the land up and down Ashford Dunwoody Road (a two lane road) was farm and forest. As Atlanta grew, so did Dunwoody.
Here's an early map of Dunwoody/DeKalb. It shows "Milton County" to the north, so the map is pre 1932. Most likely from the 1910's. I've never seen this map published anywhere - it'll make its way to DPT.
In 1969 the idea of Perimeter Mall was born. Later came the widening of Ashford Dunwoody Road.
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| After Ashford Dunwoody Road widened, but before deforestation (progress) |
