Finding a Change of Pace in Marietta Apartments

Southern Polytechnic State University, Chattahoochee Technical College and Life University are located here, and the city operates its own school district, separate from the county. Dobbins Air Reserve Base is on the south side of town, separated from SPSU by a Lockheed-Martin manufacturing plant. The major local landmark in Marietta is the Big Chicken, a large, metal, animated chicken structure atop what is now a Kentucky Fried Chicken, located east of downtown at the city's busiest intersection. Even as the city has become more urbanized, locals still give directions by referencing it.

The school district, Marietta City Schools, is one of the smallest in Metro Atlanta, operating only one high school, Marietta High School, one middle school, Marietta Middle School, and several elementary schools. Many, such as Marietta High School, and A.L. Buruss are Georgia Schools of Excellence.

The city also operates Marietta Power under the auspices of the Board of Lights & Water (BLW). The BLW is also party to the Cobb-Marietta Water Authority. The city formerly operated Marietta FiberNet, a fiber optic network, but was forced to sell the network to American Fiber Systems after substantial losses.

Downtown Marietta features Glover Park, the historic town square and former location of the county courthouse. The Strand Theatre on the square is being renovated back to its original design. The Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum, also called "Scarlett On the Square," houses one of the world's most extensive collections of memorabilia related to both the book and the film. The CSX trains between Atlanta and Chattanooga (Western & Atlantic Subdivision) still run a block west of the town square, past the train depot (now the visitor center) and the Kennesaw House, one of only two buildings in Marietta not burned to the ground in Sherman's March to the Sea.

Marietta's sister cities are Heredia, Costa Rica and Linz am Rhein, Germany.