
AMC Classic Dekalb Mall 16
2050 Lawrenceville Highway,
Decatur,
GA
30033
2050 Lawrenceville Highway,
Decatur,
GA
30033
2 people
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Located in the North Dekalb Mall, this opened December 13, 1996.
Contributed by
Alonzo Jeter

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Picking up on various comments made on various North Dekalb pages here on CT, I visited the AMC 16 earlier this year and do strongly believe that the Market Square 4 is part of this 16-plex. This theatre after entering the lobby, to the right side of the snack bar are four slope-seating theatres. To the left of the snack bar is a long hallway that connects to what is essentially a 12-plex stadium style theatre. Pics soon to be up at Cinematour.com
I stand corrected – it is divided ten screens to the left, six screens to the right of the snack bar.
http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/5673.html
Maybe it was first expanded to from 4 screens to six, then the other section with 10 screens were built. My local AMC Classic (formally Carmike) has a similar set up. There are four screens in a row in one hallway that was built along when the mall was built in 1980, and around 1990 another section was built with 4 theatres on each side of a new separate hallway.
Upon review of the photos on Cinema Tour, the non-stadium auditorium(s) photo(s) does not have the trademark Cineplex Odeon decor of the 80s four-plex. It is possible that these are the same auditoriums and that AMC just remodeled the interiors to match with the newer additions added when it was expanded to 16.
Since those are pretty standard AMC designs of the time, I assume that AMC remodeled to match the additions just without stadium.
This opened on December 13th, 1996.
Article in today’s paper reports that the mall owners have decided that the days of enclosed malls are over and that they are going to tear this place, Atlanta’s first enclosed mall, down. In its place will be built yet another “Town” concept development. It will have eating, retail, offices, apartments, and a Costco. It also said that the AMC Theater will remain but did not specify if the current theater would be incorporated into the center or if it would be rebuilt in another part of the development.
If this comes about it means that the original mall (and Storey Theater) lasted 21 years, and the Market Place rebuild with its Cineplex-Odeon 4 / AMC 8 / AMC 16 about 34 more.
That is a shame, even though I was from Cobb, I liked N. Dekalb Mall. When I read that Rich’s (oops “Macy’s) was closing down I knew it would be the end eventually, such a shame. I think the worst part of the destruction of Atlanta is that there is never any significant fanfare, it just disappears. When Perimeter closed it was a whimper, not that it was the showplace it once was, but I think a lot of folks would have gone to one last show had we known it was coming. I know everyone I knew in the late 70’s saw at least one midnight movie there regardless of what part of town you were from and had great, if fuzzy, memories of it.
Recently in the news, the developers have backed out of the plan I described above. Their stated reason was the insistence of the county that the project include area road improvements and park land / green spaces over and above what what the project included. They said the county requirements made the project economically unviable. This kind of thing happens on every big development proposed in this town although it is rare that someone calls the governments bluff and walks away.
Time will tell if they come to some sort of face saving compromise or if some new player enters the market. This is one of the few areas of DeKalb that has not incorporated so if the city of LaVista Hills ever comes into being the attitude of a new zoning board may be different. Meanwhile, what is left of the first enclosed mall in Atlanta continues into its 55th year.
Seating capacities at this theater (via Fandango’s reserved seating service):
Theater 1 – 153 seats
Theaters 2, 3, 7, 8 & 9 – 142 seats
Theater 4 – 264 seats
Theaters 5 & 6 – 241 seats
Theater 10 – 129 seats
Theater 11 – 102 seats
Theater 12 – 133 seats
Theater 13 – 294 seats
Theater 14 – 295 seats
Theater 15 – 130 seats
Theater 16 – 177 seats