It was a way to honor a man with long-time contributions to Fayetteville. The City Council on Dec. 1 voted unanimously to name the gazebo adjacent to the county offices in downtown Fayetteville for the late Ernest Lane Brown, who passed away last month from complications from cancer.
Fayetteville Main Street Director Brian Wismer said having Brown’s name permanently affiliated with the gazebo provided a way to recognize his legacy. The request was made by Fayetteville Main Street and the Fayetteville Downtown Development Authority.
“Lane was involved since the beginning phases of what we still do today,” Wismer said, noting Brown’s involvement with projects such as the amphitheater and a number of recurring events such as the Taste of Fayette, Market Day and Lunch on the Lawn. “He was a big champion of the Main Street program.”
Wismer recalled a time in the past when the downtown gazebo was partly fenced off. But Brown successfully advocated for having the fencing removed to make the area more accessible to the public, Wismer said.
Fayetteville City Manager Joe Morton recently expressed the loss to the Fayetteville community with Brown’s passing.
“It is a great loss for the city and for Main Street,” Morton said. “Lane was the consummate ambassador for Main Street and he will really be missed.”
Brown was a member of the Fayetteville Businessmen’s Association, the Downtown Development Authority and was serving as the board chairman of Fayetteville Main Street, which was his passion, the family said.
According to family members Brown was active in his community for many years. He was a past president of the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the South Fulton Rotary Club. He was also a Paul Harris Fellow and later a member of the Fayetteville Rotary Club.
“Lane was our cheerleader. He left us a big hole to fill,” Wismer said.
