For decades, Gwinnett County’s iconic I-85 water towers broadcast the ambition of its boosters.
Long a rural backwater, the Gwinnett economic boom began in the 1970s as business-friendly politicians encouraged development. Its population grew from about 72,000 in 1970 to more than 500,000 by 2000 to an estimated 895,823 last year.
Mammoth shopping centers like Gwinnett Place and the Mall of Georgia sprouted to serve the region. Gwinnett also lured international and Fortune 500 companies – most famously NCR, though the company has announced plans to move its headquarters to Midtown.
If Atlanta was the capital of the New South, Gwinnett became its premier suburban county – with the good schools and traffic headaches that came with the title.
The water towers sprouted in 1968 and 1972 – just as Gwinnett was taking off. Perched beside the main interstate gateway to Gwinnett, the 140-foot vessels provided the perfect medium to proclaim the county’s growing stature.
Their first message – “Growing Gwinnett” – was modest. But it changed in 1977 when a vandal shot a hole in one of the towers, prompting a repair and a new paint job.
Two county water department employees had a brainstorm: Why not “Gwinnett is Great”?
County officials liked the new slogan. It suggested Gwinnett was no longer an up-and-comer. It had arrived.
In 2001, another paint job gave boosters a chance to post a Chamber of Commerce slogan – "Success Lives Here" – on one of the towers. The color of the towers changed over the years from blue to green to beige. But the slogans remained until Gwinnett demolished the towers in 2010.
