Flashback Photos: Plaza Drugs, Plaza Theatre and the Majestic Diner

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Flashback Photos: Plaza Drugs, Plaza Theatre and the Majestic Diner

Take a trip back in time to the days when pulling an Atlanta all-nighter at Plaza Drugs or the the Majestic Diner was cool.

Dec. 1981 - ATLANTA, GA -- Plaza Drugs has been an Atlanta landmark since 1951. (Ray West/AJC staff)

PLAZA THEATRE: Georgia's oldest operating movie theater opened in 1939 and continues to accept your hard-earned dollars. Don't let the longevity fool you however â the theater has had its ups and downs, including a turn in the 1970s as a porn palace. Since the early 1980s it's been an art house theater owned by cinephile entrepreneurs such as George Lefont and Jonathan & Gayle Rej. The latest owner, Michael Furlinger, has done extensive renovations to the building, including an overhaul of the neon marquee, with the help of the Fox Theatre Institute. In 2014, the Plaza was named the fifth best movie theater in the world by Men's Journal. (PETE CORSON / pcorson@ajc.com)

030510 - ATLANTA, GA - Patrons stream into Ponce de Leon Avenues's 24-hour diner as Bernard Arnold, left, against street sign, (cq) takes a smoke break Saturday, May 10, 2003, during his graveyard shift at the Majestic where he cooks from 10 pm to 6 am. (JENNI GIRTMAN/AJC staff)

A January, 1979 photo of the Briarcliff Plaza containing the Plaza Theatre. Briarcliff Plaza is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue at Highland Avenue in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. (DWIGHT ROSS JR./AJC staff)

980811 - Atlanta, GA -- Fairy C. Pickett (cq) takes an order from late-night customers at the Majestic Diner, which has been in business for 69 years. Pickett has been serving tables for the past 19 years and admits to enjoying her job. 'I hate dirty dishes but love serving customers,' she said. Pickett says she works an average of 50 tables a night six days a week. Photo taken on August 11, 1998. (RICH ADDICKS/AJC staff)

971014- ATLANTA- Tuesday, Oct. 14, 1997 At the Plaza shopping center, Big B drugs store, photo taken through the door, of the emptying shelves and clearance sale of the soon to be closing of the landmark 'Plaza Drugs' (AJC Staff Photo/Nick Arroyo) 10/97

970408 - ATLANTA, GA -- Photographer Victor Balaban, shown here eating breakfast at The Majestic Diner, has a photo show opening at Callonwolde devoted to his favorite hangout, The Majestic Diner. (JOEY IVANSCO/AJC staff)

The infamous Plaza area on Ponce de Leon Ave. at Highland Avenue in Poncey-Highland. The Plaza shopping center is scheduled for a $500,000 renovation. Photo taken December 3, 1982 (CHERYL BRAY/AJC staff)

A March, 1984 photo of Atlanta mayor Andrew Young talking to the owner of the Briarcliff Plaza shopping center, Robert S. Griffith Jr. about restoration of the shopping center. They are standing in front of the marquee of the Plaza Theatre. (STEVE DEAL/AJC staff)

June 8, 1979 - Atlanta, Ga. - A night view of Plaza Drugs and the people who frequent it. (Dwight Ross Jr./AJC staff) 1979

1980s - Atlanta, Ga.: Exterior of the all night Plaza Drugs on the intersection of Ponce de Leon and North Highland Avenues.

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Dec. 1981 - ATLANTA, GA -- Plaza Drugs has been an Atlanta landmark since 1951. (Ray West/AJC staff)

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