![[South of Atlanta, the economic driver that wasn't. Current photos: Suburban City]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_6q_78tP5SOGNYZqxyvZW-F4KoI=/0x0:499x372/2420x1613/filters:focal(210x147:288x225):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61217687/Screen_20Shot_202015-04-07_20at_2012.29.38_20PM.0.0.1449931071.0.jpeg)
About 12 miles south of downtown Atlanta, in the Clayton County city of Morrow, a botched development called Olde Towne Morrow is festering — equal parts Wild West movie set, Recession-era development boondoggle and zombie apocalypse. Visible from Interstate 75, the commercial development opened in late 2009, only to shutter the next year after a series of problems emerged and one of its governmental champions was indicted. The Suburban City blog recently happened upon Olde Towne Morrow . Next to withering Southlake Mall, a fading covered bridge and boardwalk led the writer to "what looked like a deserted town" with abandoned storefronts and neglected, old houses, which had been ceremoniously trucked in from towns across Georgia. Also spotted: signs that wildlife such as deer could be reclaiming the land, and bloody windowsills (literally) on a pretty Victorian. Someone had at least stopped by to cut the grass.