Southern Exchange Ballrooms

Designed by Philip Shutze, Atlanta’s famous classical architect, 200 Peachtree Street officially opened in 1927 as the Davison’s department store before becoming known as the iconic Macy's. The main entrance on Peachtree featured a very stately marble-floored cosmetics and jewelry area, which is now the Whitehall Ballroom of Southern Exchange. Modeled after Macy’s flagship store on Herald Square in New York, the refurbished mezzanine overlooking the atrium level gazes out on the brilliantly polished crystal chandeliers. Many native Atlantans will remember getting dressed in their finest to visit the Davison-Paxson department store on the now historic corner of Peachtree and Ellis. Davison's origins began in 1891 when the Davison & Douglas company opened its doors in downtown Atlanta. Railroads were beginning to change the face of the South, business was booming and women everywhere suddenly needed a place to shop. From 1901 to 1927, the department store was changed its name to Davison-Paxon-Stokes. By then, R.H. Macy purchased the coveted department store and built the huge Peachtree Street store that still stands today.