Brunswick Hotel, Circa 1870
Norcross, Gwinnett County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Brunswick Hotel Circa 1870. On this site in 1870, the Brunswick Hotel was constructed. The Hotel was three stories high with wide porches on the first two stories. It had 29 rooms and a restaurant. The Hotel was a destination spot for vacationing Atlantans wanting to escape the heat and dust on the city on the recently opened "Air Line Belle" Railroad. The Hotel was described as "Atlanta's Favorite Summer Resort". Promotional activities for the Hotel were many on Tuesdays and Fridays. A brass band played for dancing in the Pavilion in the park. The Hotel offered large display rooms for salesmen to display their merchandise, and the restaurant was described as "clean, nice, with everything well cooked". The Hotel became a gathering spot and the wide porches were enjoyed by guest and non-guests alike. It was customary to dress-up in the afternoon and walk over to the depot to greet the arrival of family and friends. The Brunswick Hotel was torn down at the end of World War II.
The Story
Built in 1870 beside the newly opened 'Air-Line' Railroad, Norcross's three-story Brunswick Hotel became known as 'Atlanta's Favorite Summer Resort,' where city dwellers escaped the summer heat and dust. With 29 rooms, wide porches, a restaurant, and a park pavilion where a brass band played for dancing, it was the social heart of town, guests and locals alike dressing up to greet the arriving trains. The hotel was torn down at the end of World War II.
Why it matters
The Brunswick captures the Gilded-Age heyday of the railroad resort, when a rail line could turn a small town into a fashionable getaway.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Gallery Chimera14.3 mi away · 624 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA
- Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)14.4 mi away · 1315 Peachtree Street Northeast
- William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum14.4 mi away · 1440 Spring Street Northwest, Atlanta
- Woodruff Arts Center14.5 mi away · 1280 Peachtree Street Northeast, Atlanta, GA
- Center for Puppetry Arts14.5 mi away · 1404 Spring Street Northwest, Atlanta
- High Museum of Art14.5 mi away · 1280 Peachtree Street Northeast, Atlanta, GA
Attractions
- Hispanic Latin America Shopping Mall7.7 mi away
- Ante Bellum Plantation House9.7 mi away
- Trail Sign - Great Blue Heron11.6 mi away
- Trail Sign - Grasshopper11.7 mi away
- Trail Sign - Monarch Butterfly11.7 mi away
- Trail Sign - Pillbug11.7 mi away
Places to stay
- Wylie Hotel Atlanta, Tapestry Collection by Hilton14.7 mi away · 551 Ponce de Leon Avenue Northeast, Atlanta
- The Darwin Hotel15.0 mi away
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
College Avenue Covered Bridge
DeKalb County, GA
Covered or lattice bridges once dotted the eastern United States, their timber trusses roofed to shield the wood from weather. This one, built in the nineteenth century, originally spanned the North Fork of the Oconee River in Athens, Georgia, linking College and Hobson avenues before it was preserved and relocated. Its crisscrossed lattice of planks is a hallmark of a bridge-building age before steel and concrete.
Waffle House, Joseph Wilson Rogers, and Tom Forkner
Avondale Estates, GA
On Labor Day 1955, Avondale Estates neighbors Joe Rogers, Sr., and Tom Forkner opened the first Waffle House here, naming it for the most popular item on their menu. Built for fast service around the clock, the diner rode the postwar wave of suburbs, interstates, and automobile culture to grow into a chain of more than 1,600 locations. The company reacquired the original building and reopened it as a museum in 2008.
1916 Glover Machine Works Locomotive
Marietta, GA
Built in 1916 by Marietta's Glover Machine Works, this steam locomotive was sold to a Virginia firm to haul lumber before the company reacquired it in 1921. Restored in 1992, it stands as a survivor of Georgia's early industrial age. Glover Machine Works, begun in 1848, remains a family enterprise into its sixth generation and is counted the oldest family-owned manufacturer in the state.
The General
Kennesaw, GA
On April 12, 1862, a party of Union soldiers and civilians led by James J. Andrews seized this locomotive at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) and steamed north, tearing up track and cutting telegraph wires in a daring bid to cripple the Western & Atlantic Railroad linking Atlanta to Chattanooga. Confederate crewmen gave chase — first on foot, then by handcar and other engines — in what became known as the Great Locomotive Chase, running the raiders down before they could do lasting damage. The General survived the war and became one of the most celebrated relics of the conflict, later preserved and displayed as a monument to that famous railroad pursuit.