Of all the historic town centers in metro Atlanta, one stands out as a throwback in time.

The Marietta Square hasn't changed much since the old Cobb County Courthouse was demolished and became a courthouse complex — in 1966.

Andy Sharp/AJC (ENLARGE)

Jim Sutton and Beth Bruner visit Three Bears Café, a popular destination on the Marietta Square that offers outdoor seating. Said Sutton: 'It's nice here, but we don't come that often. Most of the places don't open until around noon or later. And there aren't that many places.'

Andy Sharp/AJC (ENLARGE)

Marni Ratner, owner of Studio M Interiors, and employee Carlos Arias unload items to decorate a model townhome at Meeting Park, a 12-acre community of about 300 homes, shops and offices near the Marietta Square.

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Don't look to the square as a model of the recent makeovers that have revitalized town centers in Decatur, Roswell and Woodstock. Those places blossomed as homes were built nearby and new shops and restaurants opened to accommodate increased foot traffic.

The Marietta Square can't even attract Lisa Graham, who worked there 20 years ago in her father's ice cream shop. She and her husband often prefer to drive more than 20 miles from their east Cobb home to stroll around Decatur, Buckhead, Midtown or Virginia-Highland.

"I love the square. Don't get me wrong," Graham said. "But the other places just have so many places that have been updated and or [are] eclectic or funky. The square doesn't have that."

But it might soon.

Condos, lofts, and new shops and offices are being built mainly along a corridor leading from the Marietta Square to the nearby national cemetery. More than 800 homes have been approved for construction in the area. Dozens are occupied.

Newcomers, at least 1,200 of them, could soon live within strolling distance of the square, bringing a huge new customer base.

On a recent sunny day, Beth Bruner and Jim Sutton enjoyed a table outside Three Bears Cafe on Marietta Square.

"It's nice here, but we don't come that often," Sutton said. "Most of the places don't open until around noon or later. And there aren't that many places."

The new residential development closest to the square is Meeting Park. A model townhouse opened this week in the planned 12-acre community of about 300 homes, shops and offices. People strolling from Meeting Park to the square will get a taste of the city's culture. They'll head up a short hill to Atlanta Street, toward the entrance to the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art.

The Ten Commandments stand out on the left side of the hilltop, where they decorate the building with the law offices of former Gov. Roy Barnes. To the right is Johnnie MacCracken's Celtic Pub.

Sometimes chairs and a few bicycles are just outside the pub's door. The place opened in 2002 in a building it claims housed the county's first fire station in 1885. The edge of the square is 25 steps away.

Glover Park is at the center of Marietta Square, and its trees dominate the view. The park is a Victorian respite, crisscrossed by pathways and dotted with benches, statues and a fountain.

Buildings on three sides of the park are tidy and offer the usual smattering of shops and restaurants, plus a marquee theater that opened in 1935. The Strand Theatre remains a rehab in process that promises to open early next year. Government buildings line the fourth side of the square.

So little has changed around the square that some sturdy brick buildings look much as they did during the Civil War. That was the end of an era when Marietta attracted well-to-do travelers seeking relief from the heat of Georgia's summers.

By the start of the war, Marietta was a town on the map.

In 1862, Union spies catapulted the square into national headlines when they stole a Confederate train parked outside a hotel while the crew had breakfast. Hollywood made movies of the escapade, starting in 1927 with silent-movie star Buster Keaton and again in 1956 with Fess Parker.

Jump ahead to the 1970s, and the square had begun settling into the look it has today. A popular restaurant, Shillings on the Square, still caters to a courthouse crowd. Eddie's Trick Shop carries a line of gags and clown suits. The park in the center of the square was redone about 20 years ago. Locals say it's new.

Urban planners who consider the square's natural attributes — rich history packed into a walkable community that's easy to reach from I-75 and by Cobb Community Transit — scratch their heads over why it has taken so long to redevelop.

"There's no reason the Marietta Square hasn't thrived like some of the other town centers," said Dan Reuter, chief land-use planner for Atlanta Regional Commission. "But the urban lifestyle doesn't come naturally to a lot of the cities in the South."

Cheri Morris knows firsthand about the challenges of developing near the square. She didn't want to be too outspoken about city officials, given that the company she helps oversee, Hedgewood Properties, is building Manget, a residential subdivision near the square.

But Morris was willing to talk about the comparative ease of developing in Woodstock, where another Hedgewood development has earned high praise for transforming the downtown district.

"The city of Woodstock was very responsive to us in helping resolve problems," Morris said. "They knew they wanted to redevelop downtown, and they were poised for a catalyst project and ... responded to us in a visionary way."

Chuck Clay has high hopes that Marietta Square is ready for rebirth. He expects development to pick up as the economy recovers.

Clay's family has a long history in the area. His great grandfather, Sen. Alexander Stephens Clay, is honored with a statue in Glover Park. Clay served Marietta 20 years on the Cobb County Commission and in the state Legislature.

"We can get clouded in the short-term downside in the housing market," Clay said. "But development is going to resume. We just need to make sure the square gets its share of the market that wants to park the car at night and on weekends, and not need to drive again until Monday morning."

The developer of Meeting Park, Winter Properties, is confident that proximity to the square will attract home buyers. The company spent a year installing roads and sewers and now is building 15 townhomes.

"The thing we like best about the Marietta project is that we're weaving a new neighborhood into the heart of the existing historic district," said Carl Meinhardt, Winter's vice president of design. "From their first day, people will be able to walk to restaurants, stores and other businesses that already are operating on the Marietta Square."

Barnes, the former governor who's had a law office near the square since 1972, says small-town politics have slowed the pace of redevelopment. It's one thing to want the Marietta Square to evolve, Barnes said. It's another to get the politicians, power brokers and property owners to agree on a plan.

"There's been some political division between old Marietta and the new that I don't think has been helpful," Barnes said. "Everybody's always talked about improving the square. Nobody liked what we had. But nobody actually did anything.

"Let's face it — things don't move that rapidly in Marietta. But we are pretty surefooted once we get started, and we are getting started."