Marietta Square is the kind of downtown visitors hope to find when they leave the interstate behind. The Square wraps around Glover Park, with restaurants, shops, galleries, museums, historic storefronts, and a steady run of events that can turn a quick look around into a full day of fun.
Glover Park
Glover Park anchors the Square with a gazebo, fountain, stage, benches, walkways, seasonal flowers, and a children’s train play area. On a nice day, it works like a public living room, except with better people-watching and fewer throw pillows. Families drift toward the playground, couples take photos near the fountain and gazebo, and lunch breaks have been known to stretch past their limits.
Food, Drinks, and the Entertainment District
The blocks around the Square are lined with restaurants, bars, bakeries, dessert stops, coffee shops, and patios. A good visit often begins with a lap around the park before picking a table, because Marietta Square has a talent for making every menu look like the right decision.
For beer, wine, and cocktails, the Square has plenty of options within a short walk. Glover Park Brewery is located near the Square in a 1930s brick building, with a taproom and beer garden close enough for a casual stroll after dinner. Two Birds Taphouse adds 32 taps, craft cocktails, boutique wine, wood-fired pizza, and shared plates. Johnnie MacCracken’s Celtic Firehouse Pub sits inside Marietta Fire Station No. 1, a building with history and now better known for elevated pub food, drinks, and late-night character.
Marietta also has a downtown entertainment district that allows certain alcoholic drinks to be carried in approved open containers within the district. Drinks have to be purchased from licensed businesses and served in 12-ounce or smaller clear plastic cups. Alcohol is not allowed in Glover Park or on the sidewalk bordering the park, so the park remains picnic-and-fountain territory, not tailgate territory.
Marietta Square Market
A short walk from the park, Marietta Square Market gives downtown another food-focused stop. The food hall is located near the Square and features a mix of restaurants, bars, and indoor and outdoor seating. It is a great choice for groups with one person craving tacos, another wanting fried rice, someone else angling for a sandwich, and one undecided soul who will circle the building twice before ordering the first thing they saw.
Shopping, Art, and Saturday Markets
Marietta Square is also built for wandering. Visitors will find boutiques, gift shops, antique shops, art galleries, salons, candy shops, and storefronts for people who claim they are “only browsing.”
Saturday mornings add even more life to the area. The Marietta Square Farmers Market features Georgia-grown, made, and produced items, while the Marietta Square Artisan Market takes place on Mill Street across from the farmers market. Together, the two markets bring produce, baked goods, plants, handmade art, jewelry, décor, and the type of impulse buys that seem perfectly reasonable before noon.
Arts, History, and the Depot
The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre, an Art Deco theatre on North Park Square, has been part of the downtown landscape since 1935. Today, its schedule includes films, concerts, comedy, and stage productions, with the lit marquee giving the Square one of its most recognizable nighttime views.
Railroad history is part of the Square’s character as well. The Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau is housed in the historic Western & Atlantic Railroad Passenger Depot, built in 1898, at 4 Depot Street. The center offers maps, brochures, tour information, and a practical first stop for visitors who want a little direction before wandering off in search of lunch.
The Marietta History Center is nearby in the historic Kennesaw House, and the surrounding area is home to the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, William Root House, Marietta Fire Museum, and other local history stops.
The Marietta Gone With The Wind Museum was formerly located on Marietta Square, but is now 1.2 miles away and a short 5 minute drive or 30 minute walk.
Annual Festivals and Events
Marietta Square stays busy through the year with concerts, markets, parades, arts events, food festivals, and holiday programs. Major annual events include Taste of Marietta, May-Retta Daze, Art in the Park, Chalktoberfest, the Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour, and seasonal events in and around Glover Park. Taste of Marietta takes over the Square with restaurants and food samples, May-Retta Daze brings art and crafts to Glover Park, Art in the Park fills Labor Day weekend with juried fine art, and Chalktoberfest mixes street chalk art with craft beer and live music.
In other words, there is a good chance something is happening on the Square. If not, there is still food, coffee, shopping, the park, the fountain, and at least one dessert counter prepared to solve the problem.
Visiting Marietta Square
A simple visit usually works best: park nearby, walk the Square, check the shops, grab a meal, wander through Glover Park, and leave room for something sweet. The Square does not need a complicated plan. It needs decent shoes, a little time, and maybe the humility to admit that yes, the second appetizer was probably the right call.
Parking:
Parking can be found in numerous locations around the Square. There are free two hour parking spots around the square and down many of the side streets, as well as paid and free parking lots. There are also several parking decks that surround the Square. For more parking information, including location maps, please visit Marietta.com/Marietta-Square-Parking
Directions:
How to find the Square?
If you’re coming from Atlanta, take I-75 north to exit 263, which is South Marietta Parkway 120. At the exit, turn left and go west about five miles. Turn right onto Atlanta Street, and the Square is two blocks ahead.
If you’re coming from North Georgia, take I-75 South to exit 265, which is North Marietta Parkway 120. At the exit, turn right and go west about two miles. Turn left onto Church Street, and the Square is two blocks ahead.
Address:
Glover Park and Historic Marietta Square
50 Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060
For More Information:
Whether you come to shop, eat, or be entertained, there is something for everyone at the Marietta Square in downtown Marietta, GA. Stop in at the Welcome Center in the old train depot to pick up maps, information and restaurant advice. You might even start your Marietta Square souvenir shopping there.
At the center of the square is historic Glover Park, a great place for picnics, photos and playtime. During the 19th century, the land was donated by Mayor John Glover with the stipulation that the site must always remain a park or it will revert to his heirs. A fountain sits at the heart of the park, but children will make a bee-line for the train engine playground area featuring a replica of the famous locomotive known as The General. The gazebo on site is a wonderful destination for photos and for weddings. Opposite it, the “bandstand” (or stage) is a focal point for concerts and events.
Surrounding the park, and a wide array of shops awaits you. Unique gift shops, boutiques, antique shops, restaurants, bars, ice cream and candy stores, and a Brumby Rocker store dot the square.
With over thirty Marietta Square restaurants in the area that range from traditional American and Southern fare to BBQ, Australian, Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, French, Italian, Mediterranean, and more. Desserts, bakery items, pizza, breweries, and “spirits” also are within easy reach. Many establishments have outdoor seating, so you can people-watch while you enjoy your meal.
The Marietta Square is filled with history. The Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War started here. Also during the Civil War, militia trained in the park, the area was used as a military hospital, and later some of the buildings were burned during General Sherman’s March to the Sea.
If you are interested in the area’s history, visit the Marietta Museum of History in the historic Kennesaw House near the train tracks (next to the Welcome Center). The museum holds collections of photographs, artifacts and information about Marietta and North Georgia. Word is this building, which once served as a hospital and morgue during the Civil War, may be haunted by as many as 700 ghosts.
Walking tours can guide you through the Square’s history, too. You can find a walking tour itinerary at the Welcome Center. There is also a history tour for those that want to learn more about the historic Marietta Square.
To learn more about restaurants on the square, visit our Marietta Square Restaurant Guide. If you can’t decide on just one type of food for the family, you might like the Marietta Square Market, a short walk from Marietta Square featuring a 20 vendor food hall. Restaurants and food stalls include Korean, crepes, Cuban, Italian, pizza, ice cream, sandwiches, burgers, ramen, Mediterranean, Thai, bubble tea, and more.
For those interested in tasting the local craft beers and cocktails, the Glover Park Brewery just a minute or two walk from the square. The square is also home to Johnnie MacCracken’s Celtic Firehouse Pub, located in Marietta Fire Station No. 1, which was the first professional Fire Department in the State of Georgia. Also just off the square is Two Birds Taphouse, featuring 32 taps of craft beer, rotating cocktails, wood-fired pizza, boutique wine, and seasonally inspired shared plates.
For Theater lovers, venues like The Strand Theatre and the Theatre in the Square offer performances throughout the year. Glover Park also is the venue for a variety of outdoor events. For example, in April through September, The Glover Park Concert Series runs the last Friday evening of each month. See the Marietta calendar of events for more information about events offered on the Square.
