Downey Building

What is Downey Building?

Local businessman Alexander Downey put up the building in 1867. It is usually described as Italianate, with Renaissance Revival touches. It holds two storefronts that have long had separate tenants, so one half tells a banking and law story and the other a roadside food story.

On the south side, a bank called Exchange National Bank of Atlanta took space soon after the building opened, when no other bank operated in town. The bank later changed names and moved out in 1916. John Luther Bevan and his son Samuel then used the space as a law office until Samuel's death in 1960. Today the Atlanta Museum uses that half as extra space.

History of Downey Building

In 1934 James Robert Adams launched the Palms Grill Café in the north storefront. It fed locals and Route 66 travelers alike and hosted dances and bingo nights. Greyhound buses stopped there too, and the big neon sign out front helped flag them down. The café closed during the 1960s and stayed dark for decades before a full renovation of the building brought it back in 2009.

Visiting Downey Building: tips

Atlanta is about 1 mile from the old road as mapped here, an easy detour. The twin storefronts make the picture from outside. Check whether the Palms Grill Café is serving before counting on a meal there. The Heritage in Flight Museum is about 9 miles away, and the Hoblit House about 10 miles.