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Decatur, Georgia: Walmart Mausoleum

The ancestral Crowley Family cemetery survived the 1963 construction of a mall and parking lot, and subsequent Walmartinizing of the landscape. Sometimes called the "Tomb of the Unknown Shoppers."

Address:
3580 Memorial Dr., Decatur, GA
Directions:
Memorial Dr., SE corner of parking lot, next to Napa Auto Parts. Walls are 12 feet high.
Hours:
Visible, but not open. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
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Wal-Mart mausoleum.

Wal-Mart Mausoleum

It's actually next to a high school as well, but you'd never know it. The mausoleum is locked in the front. It looks interesting, though. Passed it for years and never noticed a 200 year old gravesite as I waited for hot wings nearby.

[Chris Pearson, 02/26/2012]

Crowley Mausoleum.

Walmart Mausoleum

The ancestral Crowley Family cemetery stood on a hill on this property when the Avondale mall was first built in 1963. The mausoleum, preserved as a condition of the property sale, sat 12 ft. above the level of the parking lot behind stone walls, and containing nine box tombs and two headstones. Crowley descendants may add to the population eventually.

The Mall closed in 2001, and the Walmart opened after 2004, without disturbing the Crowleys.

[monalacy, 04/15/2011]

The odd stone edifice has been referred to as the "Tomb of the Unknown Shoppers." One account we read notes that about 50 slaves were also buried around the Crowley estate, and no effort was made to find or preserve those burial sites when the mall went up. Pine trees planted next to the walls make photography difficult.


Nearby Offbeat Places

Waffle House MuseumWaffle House Museum, Decatur, GA - 1 mi.
Monkey From MarsMonkey From Mars, Decatur, GA - 4 mi.
Fiddlin' John Carson GraveFiddlin' John Carson Grave, Atlanta, GA - 4 mi.
In the region:
Anti-Gravity Monument, Atlanta, GA - 4 mi.

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