Lawrenceville Town Square

I absolutely love Lawrenceville Downtown!

First of all, FREE PARKING! What else can I ask for? Y'all know how annoying that can be, so no worries here.

Around the Historic Courthouse there are so many good spots to dine in. I've been to:
- Universal Joint
- McCray's Tavern
- Blue Rooster
- Strange Taco Bar
- La Cazuela
- Baozi
- Local Republic.

There's also so much stuff to do around here. I usually like to walk around, and relax around the Lawrenceville Lawn, visit a coffee shop or go see a show at Aurora Theater. My favorites so far are Lawrenceville Ghost Tour (on Halloween), and Lawrenceville Haunted Pub Crawl (on Halloween).

ESPAÑOL

¡Me encanta Lawrenceville Downtown!

Antes que nada, ¡ESTACIONAMIENTO GRATUITO! ¿Qué más puedo pedir? Ustedes saben lo molesto que puede ser, así que no se preocupen aquí.

Alrededor del Palacio de Justicia Histórico hay muchos buenos lugares para cenar. He estado en:
- Junta universal
- La taberna de McCray
- gallo azul
- Extraño bar de tacos
- La Cazuela
- Baozi
- República local.

También hay muchas cosas que hacer por aquí. Por lo general, me gusta caminar y relajarme en Lawrenceville Lawn, visitar una cafetería o ir a ver un espectáculo en el Teatro Aurora. Mis favoritos hasta ahora son Lawrenceville Ghost Tour (en Halloween) y Lawrenceville Haunted Pub Crawl (en Halloween).

Are you a fan of Back to the Future?
Remember the scenes where Marty is trying to escape Biff as he skateboards around the town square? Or how everything seems to center around the big town hall clock? Well, that's kinda how it feels to be in historic downtown Lawrenceville Square. We were excited to find that today's visit landed us on Sunday's front page. This will be a great pic for our scrapbook: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lawrenceville-town-square-lawrenceville?select=V8NNwrTWim_AvuT0SlHaQQ#V8NNwrTWim_AvuT0SlHaQQ


HISTORY
Lawrenceville the 2nd oldest city in the Metropolitan Atlanta area and is the County Seat for Gwinnett (which was established in 1818). It was named in honor of Captain James Lawrence, a naval commander during the War of 1812 who is probably best known today for his dying command, "Don't give up the ship!" ---Wikipedia fact


FUN THINGS TO DO
The square is centered around the Historic Courthouse, built in 1885 after the original courthouse burned down in 1872. Lawrenceville does an amazing job hosting a variety of festivals on the square in all seasons from Rib Cook-offs to marathons. http://www.yelp.com/biz/rock-n-rib-fest-2012-lawrenceville#hrid:MAUvyxP20D4MKrN1ZyAcTA The 4th of July fireworks show is one of the best I've ever seen, and often includes a full day of fun FREE activities and a musical. Everything is so family friendly here that it makes me proud to be a Gwinnett County parent. Plenty of excellent restaurants are also located on or near the square including McCray's with their rooftop patio, Local Republic (my fav), Dominick's Italian, the Oyster House and La Cazuela Mexican.

FACT
* About 633,782 people experience homelessness on any given night in the United States (Nat'l Alliance to End Homelessness).
* The Gwinnett County School System accommodated 2,246 homeless students during the 2011-2012 school year.

Today's main event were the bed races to raise awareness on supplying the needs of homeless families in Gwinnett. http://www.familypromisegwinnett.org/ Some of the entries were outrageously funny and competition was fierce. David Chandley from Channel 2 Action News MC'd the event and the Channel 2 bed was a hot contender! We had sooooo much fun because people are at their absolute best during these wonderful festivals. We really look forward to the next event. Be sure to check the City of Lawrenceville events calendar for upcoming fun!!! http://www.visitlawrenceville.com/calendar.php?Timestamp=1362117600


THE VERDICT
I am extremely proud to be a Gwinnett County resident. On any given week there is something going on in this county to show support of those in need. The bed races were a fine example of a community in action. Gwinnett County has so much to offer it's residence between the cities of Suwanee, Norcross, Duluth, Buford and Lawrenceville (with it's historic Town Square). I hope you and your family can experience one of the many great events.

LET'S END HOMELESSNESS!!!!


Yelp100 [49]

JUST WHERE YOU WANT TO BE!

Lawrenceville Town Square is cute and quaint. We visited for the first time today during the Bluegrass Festival. Along with various musicians, they also featured, crafts, jewelry, pet supplies and a children's play area. Food vendors offered barbeque sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, lemonade, and sides. Parking was free and convenient during today's event. Free pumpkins were available for anyone who was interested as they had been left over from yesterday's filming of an episode of "Sleepy Hollow".

The beautiful historic, (constructed in 1885 after the previous structure was torn down), sits at the center of town square. The grounds are surrounded by markers (documenting its history), along with various sitting areas that feature seasonal landscape. Also on the property is a monument to Confederate soldiers which reads as follows: "Any people with contempt for their heritage have lost faith in themselves and no nation can long survive without pride in it's traditions."
-- Sir Winston Churchill.

We arrived at the square shortly after 10:00 am to tour of the shops and restaurants in the area. We were hoping to have breakfast downtown but were very surprised to find that the cafe on the square is not open on Saturday. To further confuse matters, most of the stores either open at 11:00 am or noon. Next time, I will definitely eat before visiting this quaint little town.

After a while, we were able to visit antique stores, an art gallery, a wonderful comic book store, bakery and candy shop. They were all very unique and charming and had very cool digs because the buildings although very old were in great shape and maintained their original identity.

The downtown square is a great place for community gatherings and just hanging out. I loved just walking around and visiting the various shops. I actually look forward to returning to the area for future events.