For the past 14 years, Etowah County Tourism Board has been operating the Greater Gadsden Area Tourism office from a building — leased from the City of Gadsden — located at 90 Walnut Street, next door to the Mort Glosser Amphitheater.
While that location served the tourism offices well, city officials felt the Parks and Recreation Special Events Department would be better suited to operate from that office due to its proximity to the amphitheater.
The two departments traded places on October 13, and the new Greater Gadsden Area Tourism office is now located at 623 Broad Street. The large red brick building signed with “Downtown Civic Center” is also referred to as the Senior Activity Center.
When entering from the Broad Street entrance, Greater Gadsden Area Tourism occupies the lobby, two offices to the right and the Alaco Room, which is now serving as the Etowah County Tourism Board Conference Room.
“We are so excited about our new space and we really feel that we will be able to elevate the visitor’s experience with the spacious lobby,” said Tina Morrison, Greater Gadsden Area Tourism Executive Director. “We will be installing a large screen TV which will showcase all the wonderful events going on, and we will have a large map which visitors can use to ‘pin’ their home location. Of course, we will have our usual brochures to help tourists decide where to shop, stay, dine and play. There is plenty of parking at the rear entrance of the Downtown Civic Center building, suitable for large RVs, trucks with boats, etc. which is accessible from North 6th Street.”
The tourism offices’ business hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but visitors’ information is available 24/7 on the outside of the front of the building in weatherproof handicap accessible brochure holders. The phone number remains the same: 256-549-0351. The website also remains the same: www.GreaterGadsden.com.
Greater Gadsden Area Tourism will be hosting an Open House on Friday, November 3, 2023 from 3 to 5 p.m. and the public is invited to stop by to enjoy free refreshments and the chance to win prizes. For more information, please contact Cheryl@GreaterGadsden.com or Tina@GreaterGadsden.com or call 256-549-0351.