Where Will the Ghosts Go? - 2010 Brings the Buckheadization of Marietta Square
Southern Culture on the Skids
by Alan J. Levine
I’ve had the privilege of visiting many
haunted towns in my life including
Albuquerque, Gettysburg, and
Savannah. When visiting, my family
and I often will take a ghost tour with
the hopes of learning interesting tidbits
and hearing strange tales about the
area. Once in Savannah, on a late night
tour, my wife and I both caught a whiff
of cigar smoke. We stood just outside
the home of a gentleman who’d been
seen walking his halls since the Civil
haunted towns in my life including
Albuquerque, Gettysburg, and
Savannah. When visiting, my family
and I often will take a ghost tour with
the hopes of learning interesting tidbits
and hearing strange tales about the
area. Once in Savannah, on a late night
tour, my wife and I both caught a whiff
of cigar smoke. We stood just outside
the home of a gentleman who’d been
seen walking his halls since the Civil
Kennesaw Mountain stands behind Marietta Square looking west. The
new building would stand right before the mountain five-stories high.
Presently, two-story structures embrace the Square's north, south, and
west sides.
new building would stand right before the mountain five-stories high.
Presently, two-story structures embrace the Square's north, south, and
west sides.
War, puffing on a cigar. It was just our tour guide, my wife and I, and our then eight year
old son. No one else was around. None of us were smoking. Not even our little boy.
Marietta is haunted, too. Our own ghost tour can enlighten anyone interested. With its
history, it’s no surprise there are plenty of restless spirits who either can’t move on, or
have no desire to. Or perhaps ghosts are just recordings of lives gone by. More like
family photos or sketches. Kept safe in an album, those photos and sketches will always
be available to stir up memories that tie the generations together. But pictures not cared
for can be lost or destroyed. And with them the memories become precarious.
Ghosts and memories need homes if they’re not to fade away. While the new five-story
building Mr. Goldstein proposes to build is not as ugly as it might be, its size is out of
old son. No one else was around. None of us were smoking. Not even our little boy.
Marietta is haunted, too. Our own ghost tour can enlighten anyone interested. With its
history, it’s no surprise there are plenty of restless spirits who either can’t move on, or
have no desire to. Or perhaps ghosts are just recordings of lives gone by. More like
family photos or sketches. Kept safe in an album, those photos and sketches will always
be available to stir up memories that tie the generations together. But pictures not cared
for can be lost or destroyed. And with them the memories become precarious.
Ghosts and memories need homes if they’re not to fade away. While the new five-story
building Mr. Goldstein proposes to build is not as ugly as it might be, its size is out of
Looking east along North Park Square towards
the doomed Cuthbertson building
the doomed Cuthbertson building
character with most of Marietta Square .
While it may be expensive to renovate the
Cuthbertson building, that would be ideal.
Perhaps a new structure should be built.
But let it fit the character of the Square in
shape and scale. Those of us who want to
feel connection with our past and those
who went before us, want a Square that
strengthens those ties.
Marietta is not yet Midtown or Buckhead.
If we allow it to become so, it will be.
While it may be expensive to renovate the
Cuthbertson building, that would be ideal.
Perhaps a new structure should be built.
But let it fit the character of the Square in
shape and scale. Those of us who want to
feel connection with our past and those
who went before us, want a Square that
strengthens those ties.
Marietta is not yet Midtown or Buckhead.
If we allow it to become so, it will be.
Today we decide what tomorrow will look like. Just as we live in a world given us by
those who went before, tomorrow is our gift to our children. Mr. Goldstein, as owner of
the property, will not be stopped from doing as he sees fit. One hopes he can be
persuaded. One hopes that his sense of responsibility to and respect for his fellow
Mariettans, who want to see their town’s past cherished and preserved, not destroyed
and forgotten, might play a larger role in his designs.
those who went before, tomorrow is our gift to our children. Mr. Goldstein, as owner of
the property, will not be stopped from doing as he sees fit. One hopes he can be
persuaded. One hopes that his sense of responsibility to and respect for his fellow
Mariettans, who want to see their town’s past cherished and preserved, not destroyed
and forgotten, might play a larger role in his designs.
Either way, we’ll all be gone soon enough and
any brouhaha over the building will be of
precious little account. If at all, only a careful,
pedantic scholar who finds pleasure in the
most trivial of details about how one small
southern city grew and changed will pay it any
mind. Marietta’s ghost tour will tell new
stories about denizens in buildings not yet
conceived. But sentimentalists like me worry
about the ghosts now haunting our city. Where
will they go? Because memories need homes.
any brouhaha over the building will be of
precious little account. If at all, only a careful,
pedantic scholar who finds pleasure in the
most trivial of details about how one small
southern city grew and changed will pay it any
mind. Marietta’s ghost tour will tell new
stories about denizens in buildings not yet
conceived. But sentimentalists like me worry
about the ghosts now haunting our city. Where
will they go? Because memories need homes.
History is informed by a sense of place. Books and pictures, while necessary, are not
enough. We can choose either to accommodate our stories and memories, or let them
fade. We can choose to find a home for Marietta ’s ghosts, or evict them. But if we
choose the latter, surely our turn will come. And it will be our stories and memories
gone. It will be we who are the evicted.
enough. We can choose either to accommodate our stories and memories, or let them
fade. We can choose to find a home for Marietta ’s ghosts, or evict them. But if we
choose the latter, surely our turn will come. And it will be our stories and memories
gone. It will be we who are the evicted.
People enjoying summer on Marietta
Square with the fountain and gazebo.
Square with the fountain and gazebo.
More Georgia Ghosts