Davison's

Davison's was an American department store chain founded in 1891 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was a local institution, and competed with Rich's in the Atlanta market. Davison's expanded throughout Georgia and South Carolina. It was acquired by Macy's in 1925, and ultimately converted to Macy's in 1985.

History

Establishment

Davison's first opened its doors in Atlanta in 1891[1] and had its origins in the Davison & Douglas company. In 1901, the store changed its name to Davison-Paxon-Stokes after the retirement of E. Lee Douglas from the business[2] and the appointment of Frederic John Paxon as treasurer.[3]

Notable real estate

Flagship store

The downtown location no longer functions as a department store. Most of the building (338000 ft2), with the address 180 Peachtree, is as of 2012 used as a data center.[9] Another part, owned by 200 Peachtree Retail, a group of investors embarked on a major effort to transform part of the historic building — which had remained mostly vacant since Macy’s closed in 2003 — into an event center called Southern Exchange Ballrooms, that hosts conferences, weddings, parties and other special events. The group invested more than $30 million into the project. The building now features an over-11000 sqft Whitehall ballroom, 7000 sqft of balcony space, 15000 sqft of The Davison Ballroom, The Cellar & The 155 event space with over 43,000 square feet, 20000 sqft of conference center space, and a 4000 sqft kitchen which is home to Rosendale Events, a catering company exclusive located at Southern Exchange Ballroom led by Certified Master Chef Rich Rosendale. Additionally the venue is also home to famed Event Planner & Designer Brian Worley and his company B. Worley Productions. The historic building also features five restaurants, and recently hosted large parties from the 2019 NFL Super Bowl, Major League Soccer Digital Headquarters, SEC Championship party and will soon be host to the Golf Channel's live broadcast of the Payne Stewart Awards among many other events.

Branch redevelopments

By spring 2003, most all former Davison's stores were closed when Rich's and Macy's were consolidated under the "Rich's-Macy's" nameplate. That same year, the historic downtown Davison's/Macy's store on Peachtree Street was also closed.[10] This ended the era of department-store shopping in downtown Atlanta.[11] All of the old Davison's mall stores in Atlanta were left vacant except for three locations. The Perimeter Mall and Lenox Square locations were closed, renovated, and reopened several months later as Bloomingdale's in late 2003 and the Perimeter Mall location closed in March 2012 and became Von Maur and the Lenox Square location is still open as of 2021. The Northlake location was re-branded as Rich's-Macy's before changing back to simply Macy's two years later and as of Sunday January 11, 2026 this location is permanently closing for good in March. One floor of the Town Center location, which had originally opened as Macy's, became a Rich's-Macy's Furniture Gallery location. It is now a Macy's Furniture Gallery location and a Macy's Furniture Clearance Center on the upper level, and now has a Macy's Men's Store on the lower level. And Macy's Furniture Gallery on the middle level.

The remainder of Davison's former locations remain vacant except for the locations at Cumberland Mall, Avondale/Columbia Mall, Gwinnett Place and Augusta Mall. The Cumberland Mall location was torn down in late 2005 for a major overhaul at the 32-year-old center, a detached Costco now sits just to the west of the Davison's footprint The Cumberland Mall location is now a courtyard/lifestyle center containing Ted's Montana Grill closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 financial restraints, Cheesecake Factory, Pf Changs, and Maggiano's Little Italy. The Avondale/Columbia Mall location was completely demolished with the rest of the mall for a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. The Gwinnett Place location is now home to Korean chain Mega Mart. The Augusta Mall location was open till 2006 as a Macy's Furniture Showroom. It has closed to make way for a lifestyle center similar to Cumberland Mall, another General Growth Properties mall.

former name	Davison & Douglas Davison–Paxon–Stokes Davison Paxon Co.
type	Division
industry	Retail
genre	Department stores
founded	1891 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
defunct	1985
fate	Rebranded by Macy's
successor	Macy's
hq location	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
parent	Macy's (1925–1985)

History

Establishment

Acquisition by Macy's

Expansion

Conversion to Macy's

Notable real estate

Flagship store

Branch redevelopments

Gallery

See also

References