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Main Street · Cannon Park

Main Street in downtown Canton, GA

The short answer

Downtown Canton's Main Street runs past Cannon Park at 130 East Main Street and the Canton Theatre at 171 E. Main St. The south side of Main and both sides of East Marietta Street form the Canton Commercial Historic District, on the National Register since 1984, with brick buildings from the 1890s to the 1930s. The 1928 marble courthouse is at 100 North Street, and Explore Canton says parking downtown is free.

Last checked October 31, 2026

Looking down a red herringbone-brick sidewalk past a tall tan-brick commercial building on the left whose shop windows and upper openings are boarded with plywood. Black lamp posts and a leaning utility pole carry wires overhead; a white-flowering crape myrtle and green street trees line the street. Angled parking bays are painted on the empty asphalt; a pickup truck waits at an intersection with yellow pedestrian-crossing signs, a red-brick two-storey building stands across the street, and the 'THEATRE' blade sign and 'CANTON' marquee of the cinema appear at the right edge under a blue sky with cumulus clouds.
Photo: Thomson M (Panoramio), CC BY 3.0 (cropped)

Main Street is the spine of downtown Canton. The City has run a Canton Main Street program since 2010, working under the Main Street Four-Point Approach with historic preservation as its frame. On Oct. 20, 2025, the Georgia Main Street Program at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs named Canton a Georgia Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) community. This page walks the street, says what each building is and who runs it, and points to the pages with more detail.

Getting to Main Street

The City’s downtown directions both end at Cannon Park. Coming north on I-575, take Exit 16, turn left on Highway 140, turn right on Marietta Street, then continue through East Marietta Street onto South Church Street. Coming south, take Exit 20 (Riverstone Parkway), then Waleska Street onto West Main Street.

  • The City's downtown directions use I-575 Exit 20 (Canton/Riverstone Parkway) when coming from the north and Exit 16 when coming from the south. Both routes end at Cannon Park. City of Canton: Downtown Canton

Cannon Park and the square

Cannon Park, 130 East Main Street, is the downtown park with a gazebo, run by City of Canton Parks & Recreation and open dawn to dusk. It is the stage for downtown’s public evenings. The City’s May 2026 First Friday listing was set here, and the City’s downtown tree lighting and Christmas in Canton were both held here in 2025. Neither holiday event has a 2026 date yet; see the holiday season page.

The National Register district

The Canton Commercial Historic District has been on the National Register of Historic Places since the National Park Service record of Jan. 12, 1984. The nomination describes an L-shaped district: the south side of Main Street between Cannon Street and East Marietta Street, and both sides of East Marietta Street between Main and Archer streets. It is one and a half blocks of mostly brick commercial buildings, one to three stories tall, built from the 1890s to the 1930s.

Two buildings get special mention in the nomination: the marble-clad Bank of Canton, dated 1892, and the Art Moderne Canton Theatre. A second nomination, for Canton Cotton Mills No. 2, says the bank opened its doors in 1893. The two years may describe the building and the business, so we give both.

One more building has its own listing. The Canton Wholesale Company Building, which NPS places at 15 Main St., was listed on Nov. 13, 1997. Canton Wholesale was one of the businesses tied to Robert Tyre Jones’s Jones Mercantile Company by 1930.

The Canton Theatre

The Historic Canton Theatre stands at 171 E. Main St. The City says the Martin-Thompson Theatre Company bought it in the late 1930s, named it the Canton Theatre and remodeled it in the Art Deco style, with a grand opening on Sept. 30, 1940. The City runs it today. Shows, tickets and its full history are on the Canton Theatre page.

The courthouse on North Street

The Cherokee County Courthouse at 100 North Street was built in 1927 and 1928 after a fire in March 1927 destroyed the courthouse before it. Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown designed it, with Alfredo Barili Jr. as associate architect, and the J.S. McCauley Company built it. The original jail was on the top floor.

East Marietta Street: the History Center and Brown Park

East Marietta Street leaves Main inside the historic district. At 221 E. Marietta Street, History Cherokee runs the Cherokee County History Center, and at 251 East Marietta Street the City’s one-acre Brown Park has a playground, picnic tables and a Free Little Library. Brown Park is also where the Saturday farmers market sets up in season.

City Hall, old and new

Canton City Hall is at 110 Academy Street, in the brick former Canton High School built in 1924. The City bought the building from the Cherokee County Board of Education in April 2018 and moved its offices in over Labor Day weekend that September. The former City Hall at 151 Elizabeth Street is now the Canton Police Department and Municipal Court.

You may also read that Edgewater Hall is City Hall. That is out of date. Edgewater Hall, also called the A. L. Coggins House, is a 1922 Georgian Revival house that the New Georgia Encyclopedia says North Georgia Bank bought in 1986 and sold to the City ten years later. We have not found a source for how the building is used now.

  • Canton City Hall is at 110 Academy Street, Canton, GA 30114. The main phone number is 770-704-1500. City of Canton: City Hall
  • City Hall is the brick former Canton High School, built in 1924 as the first high school serving Cherokee County. The City bought the building from the Cherokee County Board of Education in April 2018. City of Canton: City Hall
  • The former City Hall at 151 Elizabeth Street now serves as the Canton Police Department and Municipal Court building. City of Canton: City Hall
  • Edgewater Hall, also called the A. L. Coggins House, was built in 1922 in the Georgian Revival style. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says North Georgia Bank bought it in 1986 and sold it to the City ten years later. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Canton (last edited June 15, 2022)

The mural on Railroad Street

The Legs Through Time mural on Railroad Street, from 2020, tells Canton’s history on a wall 540 feet long and 3 feet high. The City’s Canton Cultural Arts Commission names Shanna Coulter as lead artist.

A Main Street walk

Every stop below has a published address or street, so you can take them in any order. The day planner will set a walking order for you.

  • Cannon Park, 130 East Main Street: the gazebo and the square.
  • The Canton Theatre, 171 E. Main St.: the Art Deco front and marquee.
  • The historic district: the south side of Main between Cannon Street and East Marietta Street.
  • The History Center, 221 E. Marietta Street, open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Brown Park, 251 East Marietta Street.
  • The marble courthouse, 100 North Street.
  • City Hall, 110 Academy Street, in the 1924 former high school.
  • The Legs Through Time mural, Railroad Street.

Shops downtown

The shops below are the ones our places research has checked, each with its source and the date it was checked. Hours change, so confirm before you make a special trip. Restaurants, bars and coffee are on the restaurants page, and the shops at the old cotton mill are on the Mill on Etowah page.

Parking

Explore Canton, the visitor site the City links from its menu, says downtown parking is free. It lists street parking on North St., W. Main St., E. Main St., S. Church St., E. Marietta St., Archer St. and Railroad St., and the two-level Canton Downtown Parking Deck at 345-303 W. Marietta St., with 102 spaces and 10 public electric car chargers. History Cherokee describes a free garage at 200 W. Marietta Street instead. These may be the same deck; we have not been able to confirm it. On event days such as First Fridays, Explore Canton warns that spaces on and around Main Street may be limited. More on the parking page.

Questions

Where is Canton, Georgia?

Canton is the seat of Cherokee County in northwest Georgia. The New Georgia Encyclopedia places it at the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on Interstate 575. The City describes it as sitting between Atlanta and the Blue Ridge Mountains, with the Etowah River flowing through town.

Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Canton (last edited June 15, 2022)

How far is Canton from Atlanta?

The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Canton is forty miles north of Atlanta on Interstate 575. Drive time depends on traffic and where in Atlanta you start. Coming up I-575 from the south, the City's downtown directions use Exit 16.

Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Canton (last edited June 15, 2022)

How many people live in Canton?

The 2020 Census counted 32,973 people in the city of Canton, up from 22,958 in 2010 and 7,709 in 2000. Cherokee County as a whole had 266,620 people in 2020.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171), Table P1, Canton city

Is Canton a Georgia Main Street city?

Yes. The City says the Canton Main Street program began in 2010. On Oct. 20, 2025, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs named Canton a Georgia Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) community, the top tier of the state's Main Street program.

Source: Georgia Department of Community Affairs: Canton and Suwanee Earn GEMS Designation (Oct. 20, 2025)

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: City of Canton

Living here

Like a First Friday on Main Street? See what living near it looks like.

Gold Peach Realty is the North Georgia brokerage behind this guide. If a day downtown has you thinking about a house in Cherokee County, a place near the Etowah or an easier drive to the mountains, our agents will show you what is actually for sale around Canton.

Visit Gold Peach Realty Call Gold Peach Realty (770) 283-1223

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