Doraville is giving its former General Motors plant one last tribute before the site is transformed into one of the state’s largest film production sites.
As part of the city’s 150th anniversary, Doraville will host a car show June 26 to bid farewell to the former GM Assembly Plant. From 1947 to 2008, workers at the plant’s assembly lines built some of the company’s most classic vehicles, such as the ‘48 Oldsmobile. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., hundreds of classic cars will be on display at the former plant grounds, located near Peachtree Road and I-285.
Mayor Joseph Geierman said the upcoming “Studio City” development will replicate the same type of transformational change that the GM plant brought the city in the 1940s. The 128-acre site, now owned by Gray Television, will soon include at least 10 film studios. Apartments, townhomes, a hotel, corporate offices, restaurants and retail space are also in the works.
“We have been working for over a decade to create a new future for the old GM plant,” Geierman said in a news release. “As we look forward to the ‘Studio City’ development beginning, we are excited to give a proper goodbye to this historic site one last time. The GM plant helped set Doraville on the path to becoming what we are today and I can’t think of a more fitting tribute.”
The tribute will also feature food trucks, a show-off of city vehicles and other family-friendly events. It’ll be the last large public gathering on the property before The Gipson Co., the developer of the “Studio City” project, expects to break ground next month.
Credit: Gray Television
Credit: Gray Television
C5Carshows, the company organizing the car show portion of the event, is currently accepting registrations to participate. The city said it’s particularly interested in any classic GM vehicles that came off the Doraville assembly line. The first 100 car exhibitors will receive a commemorative “swag bag,” the release said.
The event is sponsored by Chevron Oil Corp alongside local sponsors, including Ad Bazaar, JW Outfitters and The Printing People. For more information on this event and the city’s other sesquicentennial events, visit doraville150.com.
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