Marietta Square

At the heart of the small city of Marietta is its central square, on or within a few blocks of which you can find most of the city’s downtown attractions, along with dozens of shops, restaurants and galleries. Parking is available around Marietta Square, and in most cases you can walk where you want to go from there.

The centerpiece of Marietta Square is Glover Park, a small mid-19th century park donated to the city by Mayor John Glover. The park, which has a gazebo, a fountain and a children’s playground, is also the venue for many of Marietta’s outdoor concerts and special events.

Right beside the rail line, two short blocks west of Marietta Square along the pedestrianized Depot Street is Marietta’s Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau, (4 Depot Street NE), located in the former train depot building. It offers public restrooms, local advice and brochures on area attractions.

Food & Drink

The streets around and near to Marietta Square are home to many restaurants and cafés. On weekends (9am-12pm Saturday, year-round, plus 12pm-3pm Sunday, May through October) there is also the Marietta Square Farmers Market, selling locally-produced produce, snacks, artisanal foods and other products. The market is located to the north of the square.

Alternatively, for an overview of Marietta’s culinary offerings, you can take a guided tour of Marietta Square’s eateries. Marietta Food Tours offer a 3-hour guided walk of the Marietta Square area, with tastings at several different locally-owned establishments, along with some history of the city. Morning tours are available Saturdays, 11am-2pm, $50 per person. Evening tours are on Wednesdays, from 6:30pm, $75 per person. Advance reservations are required.

Ghost Tours

For a rather different perspective on Marietta Square, take an evening ghost tour with Ghosts of Marietta. 90-minute walking tours are available Friday-Sunday, at 8pm. Adults $17, children (6-12) $12.

The company also offers a once-monthly trolley ghost tour of Marietta Square plus the city’s three cemeteries. These 90-minute tours are offered the first Friday of the month, at 8:30pm. Adults $27, children (6-12) $14. Both tours require advance reservations.

Historic Attractions In Marietta

Marietta has several small museums and other historic attractions exploring aspects of local culture and history, mostly located within easy walking distance of its central downtown square. A discounted Heritage Passport is available from the Vistors Bureau, which allows entry to the Root House, Marietta Museum of History and the Gone With the Wind Museum for $15 per person.

For an overview of city and county history, visit the Marietta Museum of History (1 Depot Street, Suite 200). Located west of Marietta Square on the second floor of the Kennesaw House building – the varied history of which has included periods as a cotton warehouse, a hotel, a Civil War hospital and a morgue – the museum has exhibits on the history of the Marietta and Cobb County area from the period of American Indian settlement through to the present day. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. Adults $7, children and seniors $5.

Two miles south of downtown Marietta is the Aviation History & Technology Center (555 Perrin Road SE), displaying various civilian and military aircraft, including some produced in Marietta itself. The 15.5 acre aviation park is open Friday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday, 12pm-5pm. Adults $5, seniors and children $3.

The Marietta Fire Museum (112 Haynes Street) has a collection of artifacts from the history of Marietta’s fire department since the 19th century, inlcuding fire-fighting clothing and equipment and antique apparatus. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

Marietta’s small Gone With the Wind Museum (472 Powder Springs Street SW) presents an assortment of memorabilia and other items mostly focused on the movie based on Margaret Mitchell’s famous novel. The museum, now located inside the historic Brumby Hall, is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. Admission is $7 for adults, and $6 for seniors, students and military.

The 1845 William Root House Museum & Garden (80 North Marietta Parkway NW) is Marietta’s oldest surviving house, a frame structure built by early settlers of the city and typical of middle class residences of the period. The house is open for tours Wednesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm. Adults $9, seniors $7, students $6.

Marietta Cemeteries

Marietta has three historic cemeteries, open daily during daylight hours.

Marietta National Cemetery

Marietta National Cemetery was created in the 1860s as a burial place for soldiers who had fought in the Civil War. Around 17,000 soldiers are buried here, many of them reinterred from graves across Georgia.

Although intended to be for both Union and Confederate dead, many Confederate soldiers chose to be buried in the Confederate Cemetery instead, around a half mile south east.

The cemetery’s main entrance is on Washington Avenue, with another pedestrian entrance on Cole Street.

Marietta City Cemetery

395 Powder Springs Street

Established in the 1830s, Marietta City Cemetery served as the town’s burial ground for all citizens, without regard to race or religion. Slaves and political leaders alike are buried here. So too is Mary Phagan, a victim in the notorious 1913 Leo Frank murder case and subsequent lynching.

Marietta Confederate Cemetery

381 Powder Springs Street

Marietta Confederate Cemetery, to the north of City Cemetery, was originally created in 1863 to bury 20 Confederate soldiers killed in a train wreck near the city. It later became a repository for more than 3000 soldiers who had fought in Georgia from homes across the South, brought to the cemetery by a local women’s organization. Burials of former Confederate soldiers continued throughout the 19th century.

Arts & Culture Attractions In Marietta

Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art (30 Atlanta Street) Marietta’s art museum is located a block or so south of the square, showing rotating exhibitions. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday, 11am-5pm; Saturday, 11am-4pm; and Sunday, 1pm-4pm. Adults $8, children (6-18) and seniors $5.

Marietta Square Art Walk This free self-guided walking art tour is organized for the first Friday of the month, March through November (5pm-9pm). Participants can visit the galleries and boutiques in the vicinity of Marietta Square, plus enjoy food, music and performances.

Earl Smith Strand Theatre (117 North Park Square) This Art Deco former movie theater is on the north side of Marietta Square. It has been recently restored and reopened as a performing arts space, with comedy, music and theater shows, plus screenings of classic films.

Atlanta Lyric Theatre (548 South Marietta Parkway SE) The Atlanta Lyric Theatre, a musical theater company, performs in the Jennie T Anderson Theatre, at the Cobb Civic Center, 1.3 miles southeast of Marietta Square.