Golfland Motor Lodge in Doraville
Golfland Motor Lodge was located close to I-85 at 3701 NE Expressway, Doraville Ga 30340. Today, that location would be 3701 Presidential Parkway, Doraville. It started out as a Best Western Motel with an adjoining par-3 golf course.
A postcard for Golfland, describes the motor lodge as having a “Duffer’s Club, lounge, gourmet foods, spacious rooms of comfort, modern restaurant, pool and golf course.”
Golfland Motor Lodge postcard with inside images and a view of the par-3 golf course. From the postcard collection of Valerie Biggerstaff.
Back of postcard includes description. From the postcard collection of Valerie Biggerstaff.
I came across the postcard while searching on eBay for an old Buford Highway motel postcard, but Golfland was a great find for me because I remember going there. My dad took my brother and I to play the par-3 golf course a few times and we occasionally ate in the dining room. That part isn’t too clear, but it seems like it was a fried chicken, mashed potatoes and peach cobbler type of place. We lived nearby off Chamblee Tucker Road.
From viewing Atlanta Journal newspaper ads for janitors, yardmen and a desk clerk in 1969, that would be my guess for when Golfland opened. I’ve always wondered what is now in that spot. It appears the answer is a rock-climbing facility called Stone Summit Climbing and Fitness Center. A fun feature of Google maps is the ability to click on “see more dates,” which in the case of 3701 Presidential Parkway, shows a hotel in 2008. It is a hotel advertising weekly rates and was the last days of the former Golfland.
This is how the former Golfland looked in 2008. From Google maps image 2008
Perhaps the small golf course fell in disrepair by the mid-1970s. In September of 1975, the motor lodge advertised in Atlanta newspapers the availability of “Bachelor quarters.” Amenities included maid service, pool, color TV and free local telephone. There is no mention of a par 3 golf course.
In the Feb. 24, 1982 Atlanta Journal Business section, several potential developments are described for DeKalb County. One proposal was for a family recreation facility in Doraville with miniature golf and video games. The Doraville indoor-outdoor family entertainment center was proposed for nine acres adjoining Golfland in 1982. This was likely the former golf course. Castle Entertainment of California submitted plans for a castle-shaped building with stage shows performed by life size mechanical animals and a movie theater. Think along the lines of a Chuck E Cheese. (Atlanta Journal, Feb. 24, 1982, “Golf park, retail complex among DeKalb proposals”)
However, in March of 1982, the Atlanta Journal reported the planned family entertainment complex next to Golfland in Doraville was not approved. DeKalb Planning Commission said “geologic and hydraulic problems” prevented the plan from moving forward.
Another development proposal in that 1982 Atlanta Journal article was for a shopping center built around the WSB radio tower along LaVista Road near Northlake Mall. That shopping center would become Northlake Tower Festival. More on the early days of the new development in a future Past Tense blog post.