You Really Can't Go Home

Or not to the home you remembered from 30 years ago.

Green's Corner Former Cinemas

This former movie theater is close to my parents place. It's the theater I first saw "TRON" in 1982. Watching movies back then was a lot more low key than now. It was out several weeks before I even knew it was there, and it played for several more months before it moved on. It was inexpensive and fun, usually costing no more than one or two dollars to view any movie (depending on its release). It's shut down now.

Former Arcade Green's Corner

Right next to that theater was a small electronic arcade. I don't remember the name of it anymore, but I do remember it having the first TRON arcade game I ever played the same year the movie was released. Since I went to see movies there on a semi-regular basis (I lived in a small apartment off of Peachtree Industrial at the time, as I also worked for DCA when it was located on Peachtree Industrial), I tended stop off at the arcade after the movie to drop in a few quarters and play the games. Nothing hard core, but an enjoyable little diversion. That lasted for several years until I married and moved to Orlando.

Green's Corner Exterior

Today Green's Corner is nearly empty, with an Avis rental office the only business that's open (that must be one of Avis' fleet cars parked inside and in front of the closed movie theater). I'm assuming the Galaxy Cinema sign was a later incarnation of the theater, but if that's the case I wonder why the later owners never took down the Green's Cinemas signage over the front entrance.

There's a lot more to the small mall than this, such as a former K-Mart. But if you've seen one former K-Mart you've pretty much seen them all.

The shutdown of all these businesses could be lain at the feet of the Great Recession, and there would be some truth to that. But what also appears to have happened has been the great Illegal Sweep through Georgia. Unconfirmed reports have it that once those "illegals" were forced to leave, they took their buying power with them. There appears to be some truth to those stories, as a lot of the stores had English/Spanish directions and advertising in a number of the windows. Which makes me wonder if the Great Recession wasn't made greater by the rabid junk-yard dog Tea Party "influenced" conservatives and their drive to clean up then perceived multitude of sins due to "illegal immigration." If you bother to look around where my parents live you'll see a lot more empty small businesses, businesses that catered to Spanish-speakers. Spanish-speakers who left and took their purchasing power with them. And as the Great Recession really deepened, those self-same rabid junk-yard dog Tea Party "influenced" conservatives turned their ire towards the Barack Administration. After all, it's all Obama's fault, isn't it? Well, isn't it?

All of this drama took place where Rockbridge Road turns off of Jimmy Carter Blvd. Drive down Rockbridge towards where my parents live, to where it intersects Lawrenceville Highway, and you pass the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. When I left, and for many years after, Rockbridge was a simple two-lane road. Where the temple now sits it was mostly wooded land with very little development. And then in sometime around 2006 to 2007 this was built.

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

I know nothing more than what I've read on line (see link above), but it sure looks impressive from the road. There's a BAPS temple in Orlando, but it's nothing like the one I photographed here in Lilburn. We were able to drive onto the property to make these photos; we had to stop at an entry gate where the guard on duty asked us our name before letting us on through.

The only religious building in Orlando that comes anywhere close is the Morman temple on Apopka Vineland Road, just north of the intersection with Conroy Windermere Road. Looks like I'm going to have to stop by there when I get back and do a little photo documentation of that spot.

Technical

The only photos I want to note are the last two. I used the M.Zuiko 40-150mm 'R' lens for both, stopped down to f/7.1 and f/6.3, respectively. I wasn't even shooting at a full 150mm (300mm). You can click through the images for all the gory details. I'm just very surprised and very pleased with the performance of this lens for how very little it cost.

Comments

  1. I try to not get too close to those 'rabid' Tea Party crazies nor too close to the 'loony' Left. From my perspective, both extremes are damaging to this country.
    I will argue to my dying day that both sides have been responsible for this slippery slope we are on where Federal spending has, for decades, exceeded revenue. This country, countries worldwide, and individuals are finally realizing that you can't spend more than you make, especially year after year, without it eventually catching up with you. It has caught up with us all and the finger pointing is running rampant.

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  2. was the arcade next to Green's corners called Spare Change? I grew up going there for the movies as well...like Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Clash of the Titans to name a few

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  3. I can't recall. When you get all old and busted things like memory begin to fail...

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  4. we used to go to the Mazzio's Pizza that was also next to the theatre, after Thursday night swim meets (Lilburn Lions), in the Summer. In the mid 80s, Mazzio's moved to Indian Trail Road.

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