The market was originally established in 1918 on land cleared by the
Great Atlanta fire of 1917. The
farmers' market, set up in a huge tent, was an immediate success, bringing urban consumers direct access to farmers and their products. Wishing to give the market a more permanent home, the Atlanta Woman's Club raised almost $300,000 for a fireproof brick and concrete building which opened on May 1, 1924, The 1950s and 60s saw the advent of supermarkets, suburbs, and integration; these resulted in many black residents dispersing from the area and consequently, traffic to the Curb Market fell, leaving vendors unable to pay rent. In 1973, with the market's lease about to expire, Mayor
Sam Massell asserted the market had "outlived its usefulness" and refused to negotiate another lease, as local farmers were no longer selling their wares at the market, and the city was receiving a relative pittance compared to the value of the land. At that time, though, a "Save the Market" campaign was launched, showing the market collectively had annual sales of $2.8 million and was the largest "soul food shopping center" in the country, providing specialty cuts of meat to a primarily black, low-income clientele. A group of banks issued a million-dollar loan to renovate and rehabilitate the Market, and it continued in operation. The renovation of the Curb Market started in 1994 and had a grand reopening on September 26, 1997. The building was later severely damaged during the
2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak. As part of basic maintenance and updates, a portion of the funds were used to replace the sign damaged by the tornado of 2008. Because the management was able to locate the original exterior sign and have it repaired and displayed inside the building, the city's department of Urban Design approved the creation of a replica of the sign to be displayed on the Edgewood Ave side of the building. Renovations and restoration started in July 2011 and were completed by May 2012, under the supervision of the architect Bill Clark, carried out by the J.M. Wilkerson Construction Company. The Municipal Market was called the Sweet Auburn Curb Market starting in 1998. However, in 2018, as part of the 100 year anniversary, the Municipal Market Company decided to rebrand the market to reflect the original name. ==Design==