Ponce de Leon Springs were natural springs located on the site of the future Ponce City Market (formerly the Sears building, then City Hall East) in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, where Ponce de Leon Avenue crosses the BeltLine

Beltline

The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...

, and where the Old Fourth Ward

Old Fourth Ward

The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated The Fourth Ward or O4W, is a neighborhood stretching east from Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Old Fourth Ward is one of the city's most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, but is also one of the city's most eclectic, containing a burgeoning nightlife district...

, Virginia Highland, Midtown

Midtown Atlanta

Midtown is the second largest financial district in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, situated between the commercial and financial districts of Downtown and SoNo to the south and the affluent residential and commercial district of Buckhead to the north...

 and Poncey-Highland

Poncey-Highland

Poncey-Highland is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located south of Virginia-Highland. It so named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and north/southwest North Highland Avenue. This Atlanta neighborhood was established between 1905 and 1930,...

 neighborhoods of Atlanta meet.

In the 1860s, trips to the springs on John Armistead's beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 grove became a popular day trip

Day Trip

Day Trip is the studio album of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny along with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez.It was released by Nonesuch Records on January 29, 2008.-Track listing:-Personnel:* Pat Metheny - Guitar* Christian McBride - Bass...

 among Atlantans. An Atlanta physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, Dr. Henry L. Wilson, named them in honor of Juan Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

, asserting that they kept one young; today's Ponce de Leon Avenue is named after the springs. On June 20, 1874 the Ponce de Leon line of the horse-drawn Atlanta Street Railway was extended to the springs, with service every 15 minutes from 5:30 A.M. to 10 P.M., for a fare of 10 cents. In the 1890s the Nine-Mile Circle

Nine-Mile Circle

The Nine-Mile Circle was a streetcar line of the Atlanta Street Railway, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from downtown Atlanta to today's Virginia Highland neighborhood as follows:...

 streetcar line arrived, bringing many more visitors. Ponce de Leon amusement park

Ponce de Leon amusement park

The Ponce de Leon amusement park was built on the site of Ponce de Leon Springs. Omnibus service from Atlanta to the springs started in 1872, and in 1874 horsecar service started. It developed in the late 1880s and 1890s with the addition of attractions for children, a dance hall and theater, and...

 was built around the springs. In 1924, the amusement park had seen its day and Sears Roebuck built its Southeastern headquarters

Headquarters

Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...

 on the site. Until 2009, the building functioned as City Hall East, and plans are now in place to redevelop the building as Ponce City Market, a multi-use residential, office and retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

complex.