JAMESTOWN ANNOUNCES PONCE 100 – A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION HONORING PONCE CITY MARKET’S HISTORIC 1926 BRICK BUILDING
Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/20/26
Throughout September, the Atlanta Destination will Host Community Events, Special Programming, & a Historic Installation
Jamestown, the Atlanta-based global real estate investment and management company, today announced Ponce 100, a centennial celebration honoring the 100-year anniversary of the historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. building that now houses Ponce City Market. Community events, a photography installation, and more programming will welcome the public to celebrate throughout the month of September.
- Ponce 100 Community Celebration (Saturday, Sept. 26 | 2-8pm) – Free and open to the public, the Ponce 100 community celebration will feature live music, special food and drink offerings from Ponce City Market restaurants, art installations, custom merchandise, interactive workshops for all ages, and more. Outdoor festivities will take place in Scout Courtyard, next to Van Leeuwen and ALO.
- Three Taverns x Ponce City Market Commemorative Beer Release & Launch Party (Friday, Sept. 25 | 6-9pm) – Ponce Brew Terminal, Three Taverns Craft Brewery’s new outpost at Ponce City Market on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail, has teamed up with the property to release “100 Years on Ponce,” a commemorative, classic pre-Prohibition-style ale. Named as a play on the beermaker’s famed “Night on Ponce” IPA, the new beer features rich, golden, and hop-forward notes. To celebrate its debut in honor of the building’s 100th anniversary, Ponce Brew Terminal will host a launch party on Friday, September 25 from 6-9pm with live music, the commemorative beer on draft, and drink specials, plus its usual lineup of beers and food by Das BBQ.
- Centennial History Installation (Opening Saturday, Sept. 26) – An installation located on The Trestle, the third floor passageway connecting the historic building to the Atlanta Beltline, will tell the story of the property’s transformation and evolution from the beginning. With photographs, illustrations and historical information on display, the installation will detail the surrounding area’s start as a natural spring, theme park, and baseball field in the 1800s as well as the construction of the historic brick building, which housed a Sears retail store and distribution center from 1926 to 1989, and Atlanta City Hall in the 1990s, and finally, its revitalization to become Ponce City Market. Select installations will be on display beyond the centennial celebration for visitors to explore anytime.
- Archival Photography Exhibition and Book Signing & Panel Discussion with Photographer Blake Burton & Historian Jerry Hancock (Open Friday, Sept. 18-Sunday, Oct. 18 | Panel Discussion & Book Signing on Friday, Sept. 18, 6-7pm) – Held on the second floor of the Central Food Hall, next to Glad & Young, this photography exhibition and event will showcase a visual history and raw look into how Ponce City Market’s historic building was preserved, both in architecture and spirit.
On Friday, September 18, Historian Jerry Hancock and Atlanta-based Architect & Photographer Blake Burton – the duo behind Ponce City Market: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Atlanta’s Largest Building – will discuss the structure’s rich history and national significance from 2010 to 2016 in a panel discussion moderated by Wright Mitchell, President of the Georgia Trust for HIstoric Preservation. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. The event is from 6-7pm, free to attend and open to the public, with no pre-registration needed.
- 100-Year Celebration Pasta Classes at Bellina Alimentari (Saturday, Sept. 26 | 2, 4 & 6pm) – In honor of Ponce City Market’s 100th anniversary celebration, Bellina Alimentari will host three one-hour pasta-making classes in The Courtyard, near the restaurant’s patio. Each class will begin with a dough demonstration, followed by guests rolling, cutting and shaping their own pasta to take home and cook. Tickets are $65 per person and include a glass of bubbles, Bellina’s misto cheese and charcuterie board, plus a take-home kit with ingredients and recipes. Classes are 21+ and tickets can be purchased here.
In 2011, Jamestown broke ground on the project that would become Ponce City Market, but long before it became the bustling community hub that it is today, the property and its surrounding area was a gathering place and community destination for Atlantans and visitors from across the region.
Ponce City Market sits above two active natural springs and an underground waterway tunnel that drew people from near and far in the 1870s. The area surrounding Ponce City Market quickly became one of Atlanta’s early attractions complete with walking trails, a four-acre lake, picnic grounds, and eventually, an amusement park. Visitors to the amusement park dubbed it “The Coney Island of Atlanta.” By 1907, the park’s lake was filled in and converted into the Ponce de Leon ballpark and bleachers that housed the minor league Atlanta Crackers team until their move in 1965 to Atlanta Stadium. The stadium also hosted the Black Crackers from 1919 to 1952.











