Arts, theater and entertainment in Roswell
Owned and operated by the City of Roswell, the Roswell Cultural Arts Center at 950 Forrest Street is a popular venue for musical shows, dance performances and many other kinds of cultural entertainment. Dedicated to the performing and visual arts, the Roswell Cultural Arts Center features a 600 seat theater, meeting rooms, an exhibit hall, an historical archive and research library.
People who appreciate visual arts can take classes at the Roswell Visual Arts Center, 10495 Woodstock Road, Bldg. D, (770) 594-6122. The facility is situated on 37 acres of beautiful parkland and it includes classrooms for teaching and studying art, both traditional and digital darkrooms for developing photographs, and a ceramics studio with kilns. Pottery classes are so well attended that Roswell Arts Center West has been dedicated solely to the ceramic arts. Surrounded by a 147 acre park, this facility includes two kiln rooms housing electric kilns, an outdoor firing area for raku, pit firing and gas firing, three glaze rooms, a wheel throwing studio, a hand building studio and a sculpture studio. Roswell Arts Center West is located at 1355 Woodstock Road, (770) 641-3990. Throughout historic Roswell, art lovers can also find numerous art galleries, browse through artist’s studios and even discuss art with the artists themselves.
Located in the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, the Georgia Ensemble Theatre is North Fulton County’s only professional theater company. The Georgia Ensemble Theatre produces comedies, dramas and lively musicals throughout the year and offers theater training for people of all ages in their award winning Conservatory. The Georgia Ensemble Theatre can be contacted at (770) 641-1260. A small intimate community theater that showcases the talents of both professional and amateur actors is Kudzu Playhouse at 608 Holcomb Bridge Road, (770) 594-1020. Kudzu Playhouse offers several special children’s entertainment events each year as well as a summer camp for children.
Roswell’s historic homes and museums
The Archibald Smith Plantation Home was built in 1845 and purchased by the City of Roswell in 1940. In addition to the historic home, the plantation grounds include a guest house, slave quarters, a separate kitchen facility, a carriage house, a barn and water well, plus over 14,000 antique artifacts. The Archibald Smith Plantation Home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, and it is located at 935 Alpharetta Street, 770-641-3978.
Another historic property in Roswell also listed on the National Register of Historic Places is Bulloch Hall. Bullock Hall was built in 1840, it was the home of Martha Bulloch, the mother of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, and its property includes 142 different trees that are listed on the Historic Tree Register. Bulloch Hall is located at 180 Bulloch Avenue, (770) 992-1731, and it is open for tours every day.
A wonderful resource for students of all ages is the Teaching Museum North at 791 Mimosa Boulevard, (770) 552-6339. The Teaching Museum North includes exhibits with political, social, and historical importance that document the history of the United States, Georgia and the City of Roswell. Displays feature U.S. Presidents, World War II, Georgia authors, women in the White House and transportation.