Cobb Parkway
Encyclopedia
Cobb Parkway is a major arterial road
which runs northwest and southeast through Cobb County, Georgia
. It concurrently
carries both U.S. 41, and the much less-recognized Georgia 3. It is also known as North Cobb Parkway and South Cobb Parkway, the dividing point being Roswell Street (west) and Roswell Road (east/northeast), which were Georgia 120 for decades until abandoned by the GDOT in late 2007. This is also the dividing line between north and south for street addresses in most of the county. The "South" designation is used even less frequently than the "North", to prevent confusion with South Cobb Drive (Georgia 280).
through the county, preceding its rapid suburbanization
as part of metro Atlanta
.
on Marietta Street and turned north onto Marietta Boulevard, leaving what was the city limits (until the 1959 annexation
of Buckhead
and other points north), and then crossing the Fulton
/Cobb county line at the Chattahoochee River
near Oakdale. Continuing roughly parallel to the old Western & Atlantic (then Louisville & Nashville at the time) railroad line (which still includes CSX's
Tilford Yard and Norfolk Southern's Inman Yard in northwest Atlanta), it went just west of Vinings
on South Atlanta Road, next to downtown Smyrna
on Atlanta Road, and north into Marietta
where it became Atlanta Street. Near the town square
, it swapped sides with Georgia 5, continuing north on Church Street (before it became one-way southbound in 1984) and then northwest on Kennesaw Avenue to become Main Street in downtown Kennesaw
and Acworth
, before crossing the Cobb/Bartow
county line.
s of so many towns, Cobb Parkway was intended to be a bypass route. The continuation of the also-then-new Northside Parkway in Atlanta, the new route took it east of Vinings, well east of Smyrna, just east of Marietta, then crossing what is now "old 41" to pass west of Kennesaw and Acworth. It then continued out of Cobb and into Bartow
, where it is now Joe Frank Harris
Parkway after the 1980s governor of Georgia. The state redesignated U.S. 41 onto the new highway, but left Georgia 3 on the original route for many years, designating Cobb Parkway as Georgia 3E. The original route was later abandoned by the state and left to local control, with 3 again rejoining the newer U.S. 41.
in the area. Within what is now Atlanta, that vast majority of businesses are along old 41 (Marietta Boulevard), while Northside Parkway is still surrounded by forested neighborhoods. Within Cobb, the situation is reversed, with Cobb Parkway having far more development than the roads of old 41.
With the road construction of Interstate 75 in Georgia
nearly parallel to Cobb Parkway, the road became less of a traditional U.S. highway and more of a local route, though it still has just as much traffic at rush hour
as I-75.
There have been ideas floated to run light rail
along the highway north to Town Center at Cobb, though no formal proposals. This, along with commuter rail in the area, has been stalled by local politics and a lack of regional planning
.
is the best-known example of novelty architecture
in the area, sitting (perhaps roosting) on the northeast corner of Cobb Parkway at Roswell Road since the 1950s as Marietta's major roadside attraction
. This is now the center of Cobb's two major cross-county highways.
The Cumberland/Galleria area developed around the nucleus of two indoor shopping mall
s located opposite each other on Cobb Parkway, built in the 1970s immediately south of where Interstate 285 (completed in 1969) now crosses it. Cumberland Mall
and then Galleria Specialty Mall
were built on the former Boy Scouts'
Camp Bert Adams, and were the beginning of one of the metro area's major edge cities
. The Galleria has since become part convention center
as the Cobb Galleria Centre
.
The northwest part of the county is now developing rapidly, and the almost rural nature of the area is quickly disappearing, giving way to strip mall
s and tightly-packed subdivisions
.
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
which runs northwest and southeast through Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
. It concurrently
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
carries both U.S. 41, and the much less-recognized Georgia 3. It is also known as North Cobb Parkway and South Cobb Parkway, the dividing point being Roswell Street (west) and Roswell Road (east/northeast), which were Georgia 120 for decades until abandoned by the GDOT in late 2007. This is also the dividing line between north and south for street addresses in most of the county. The "South" designation is used even less frequently than the "North", to prevent confusion with South Cobb Drive (Georgia 280).
History
Built mainly in the 1940s, it was the first major highwayHighway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
through the county, preceding its rapid suburbanization
Suburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
as part of metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...
.
Original routing
Until this point, both 41 and 3 came out of downtown AtlantaDowntown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
on Marietta Street and turned north onto Marietta Boulevard, leaving what was the city limits (until the 1959 annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
and other points north), and then crossing the Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
/Cobb county line at the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
near Oakdale. Continuing roughly parallel to the old Western & Atlantic (then Louisville & Nashville at the time) railroad line (which still includes CSX's
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
Tilford Yard and Norfolk Southern's Inman Yard in northwest Atlanta), it went just west of Vinings
Vinings, Georgia
Vinings is a census-designated place and an unincorporated town in Cobb County, Georgia, just across the Chattahoochee River from Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 9,734. It is located between the affluent West Paces Ferry section of Buckhead in northwest Atlanta,...
on South Atlanta Road, next to downtown Smyrna
Smyrna, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,999 people, 18,372 households, and 9,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,949.9 people per square mile . There were 19,633 housing units at an average density of 1,412.6 per square mile...
on Atlanta Road, and north into Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
where it became Atlanta Street. Near the town square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
, it swapped sides with Georgia 5, continuing north on Church Street (before it became one-way southbound in 1984) and then northwest on Kennesaw Avenue to become Main Street in downtown Kennesaw
Kennesaw, Georgia
Kennesaw is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It had a population of 29,783 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1887, Kennesaw has a past surrounded with railroad history...
and Acworth
Acworth, Georgia
Acworth is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,425. Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River.Acworth's nickname is "The...
, before crossing the Cobb/Bartow
Bartow County, Georgia
Bartow County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 100,157. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2009 estimate, the county's explosive growth resulted in a population of 96,217, a 26.5% increase in less than ten years...
county line.
Construction
Because the above routing took 41 and 3 through the central business districtCentral business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
s of so many towns, Cobb Parkway was intended to be a bypass route. The continuation of the also-then-new Northside Parkway in Atlanta, the new route took it east of Vinings, well east of Smyrna, just east of Marietta, then crossing what is now "old 41" to pass west of Kennesaw and Acworth. It then continued out of Cobb and into Bartow
Bartow County, Georgia
Bartow County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 100,157. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2009 estimate, the county's explosive growth resulted in a population of 96,217, a 26.5% increase in less than ten years...
, where it is now Joe Frank Harris
Joe Frank Harris
Joe Frank Harris is an American conservative Democratic politician who served as the 78th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1983 to 1991....
Parkway after the 1980s governor of Georgia. The state redesignated U.S. 41 onto the new highway, but left Georgia 3 on the original route for many years, designating Cobb Parkway as Georgia 3E. The original route was later abandoned by the state and left to local control, with 3 again rejoining the newer U.S. 41.
Change in purpose
Satellite photos make clear the effect that this had on land developmentLand development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
in the area. Within what is now Atlanta, that vast majority of businesses are along old 41 (Marietta Boulevard), while Northside Parkway is still surrounded by forested neighborhoods. Within Cobb, the situation is reversed, with Cobb Parkway having far more development than the roads of old 41.
With the road construction of Interstate 75 in Georgia
Interstate 75 in Georgia
In the U.S. state of Georgia, Interstate 75 runs north–south along the U.S. Route 41 corridor on the western side of the state, passing through the cities of Valdosta, Macon and Atlanta. It is also designated — but not signed — as State Route 401...
nearly parallel to Cobb Parkway, the road became less of a traditional U.S. highway and more of a local route, though it still has just as much traffic at rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
as I-75.
There have been ideas floated to run light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
along the highway north to Town Center at Cobb, though no formal proposals. This, along with commuter rail in the area, has been stalled by local politics and a lack of regional planning
Regional planning
Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. The related field of urban planning deals with the specific issues of city planning...
.
Landmarks
The Big ChickenBig Chicken
The Big Chicken is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Marietta, Georgia, which features a 56-foot-tall steel-sided structure designed in the appearance of a chicken rising up from the top of the building. It is located at the city's biggest intersection of Cobb Parkway and Roswell Road and...
is the best-known example of novelty architecture
Novelty architecture
Novelty architecture is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or simple eccentricity of the owner or architect. Many examples of novelty architecture take the form of buildings that...
in the area, sitting (perhaps roosting) on the northeast corner of Cobb Parkway at Roswell Road since the 1950s as Marietta's major roadside attraction
Roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road, that is frequently advertised with billboards to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere else, rather than being a final or primary destination in and of themselves. The modern...
. This is now the center of Cobb's two major cross-county highways.
The Cumberland/Galleria area developed around the nucleus of two indoor shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s located opposite each other on Cobb Parkway, built in the 1970s immediately south of where Interstate 285 (completed in 1969) now crosses it. Cumberland Mall
Cumberland Mall
Cumberland Mall, located in the Cumberland district of Metropolitan Atlanta near the suburbs of Smyrna and Vinings, opened on August 8, 1973 and was the largest mall in Georgia, United States, when it first opened.-Early years:...
and then Galleria Specialty Mall
Cobb Galleria Centre
The Cobb Galleria Centre is a meeting and convention center and a shopping center in the Cumberland/Galleria district of Cobb County, in northwest Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is also located next to a cluster of mid-rise office buildings, the Cumberland Mall and the Cobb Energy...
were built on the former Boy Scouts'
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
Camp Bert Adams, and were the beginning of one of the metro area's major edge cities
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...
. The Galleria has since become part convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
as the Cobb Galleria Centre
Cobb Galleria Centre
The Cobb Galleria Centre is a meeting and convention center and a shopping center in the Cumberland/Galleria district of Cobb County, in northwest Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is also located next to a cluster of mid-rise office buildings, the Cumberland Mall and the Cobb Energy...
.
The northwest part of the county is now developing rapidly, and the almost rural nature of the area is quickly disappearing, giving way to strip mall
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
s and tightly-packed subdivisions
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
.
Cobb parkway in culture
- Reference to Highway 41 in "Ramblin' ManRamblin' Man (Allman Brothers Band song)"Ramblin' Man" is a 1973 song by The Allman Brothers Band, featured on their album Brothers and Sisters. It was written by Dickey Betts, who also sang lead vocals....
" , by The Allman Brothers.