This was one of the highlights of an otherwise dreary section of downtown. It was demolished on 1 June 2016. Its gigantic Coca-Cola mural is one of the largest I’ve seen in South Georgia. The front of the structure is visible at right in the photo below.
Heard Grocery, along with others which have been dubbed commercial blight have been removed to make way for a new satellite campus for Darton College. People often want to blame communities for the loss of such places, but it’s a systemic problem. Mel Wright notes: It’s sad, but I grew up around Cordele and was born in 1959 and I don’t think that building has been used for any purpose for about 4 decades… I see it all over the state. The challenges are real. I will opine, however, that it’s sad that neighborhoods are ever allowed to fall into this condition in the first place. Not only is the mural now gone, but those marvelous fanlights are, as well.
Cordele Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
Up until I left Cordele in 1957 (born in 1951), the distant building is where I got my hair cut. I remember seeing older gentlemen playing poker in the back of the shop in adjoining room. This room opened on to the RR tracks.
I remember looking in the cracked back room door and the gentlemen, seeing me, looked liked they were hiding something and got caught.
I returned to live in Cordele in 2001 and would drive by and could see the barber chair and shelves from long ago, It gave me a warm feeling.
Gean
My grandfather bu Smith was from cordele…..his grandfather agustus Smith built the first beaula land Baptist chirch
My grandfather name was bj smith
Many of these Coca Cola murals were painted by Jim Langley of Columbus. Jim had a sign company and all the signs were hand painted. Jim passed away a few years ago while a resident at Spring Harbor in Green Island Hills. His son, Bill, owns Wild Bill’s Party Shop in Columbus.
One other thing about downtown. There was a street nicknamed Smokey Street. It was called this because it ran parallel to all of the train tracks going through Cordele and is was always smokey from the locomotives.