Visit Macon
NOW AVAILABLEFind Macon Black-Owned Businesses by viewing the link below. Thank you Macon Black Pages for your partnership in creating this directory of Black-Owned Macon businesses.
The Tubman Museum
Maintaining the recognition of the largest museum dedicated to African American History in the southeast, The Tubman Museum works to educate the public on the art, history, and culture of African Americans. It was founded by the pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, Father Richard Keil, in 1981 when the community and congregation came together, donating their time and resources to transform a warehouse and former nightclub into a monument of African American influence and excellence in history. It moved into its current 8,500 square foot facility in 2015, displaying artifacts like Little Richard’s iconic piano from Tic Toc and James Brown's red sequined shoes. It also displays a 55 ft long mural, painted by local jazz musician and artist Wilfred Stroud, chronicling man’s journey from Africa to America.
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Home to more than 3,000 artifacts, The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is the largest state sports museum in the Nation. It offers an interactive museum experience, with several hands-on sports exhibits highlighting legendary sports heroes like Henry “Hank” Aaron, Wyomia Tyus, Cleveland Brown, Gwen Torrance, Evander Hollifield, Jackie Robinson, Dominique Wilkins, and many more African American athletes and sports industry professionals who made history in their field.
Macon Terminal Station
Built in 1916, the 13-acre Terminal Station was one of Georgia’s largest and most stunning transportation centers, boasting more than 100 departures and arrivals per day. Designed by Alfred T. Fellheimer, the same architect behind the design of Grand Central Station, the station boasted walls and floors made from opulent pink Tennessee Marble. Up until the 1960s, Jim Crow segregation was in full effect. After segregation was officially over in the South, there was much debate about whether to hide the remnants of that era, such as the carved signage reading “Colored Waiting Room.” Ultimately, the people of Macon decided to keep it as a reminder to not forget or erase the past. In 1975, the Terminal Station closed, but by early 2000, the City of Macon bought and restored the station and now uses it as an event venue.
The Douglass Theatre
Macon in 1912 had it all with a theater, vaudeville, and silent movie venue, but what it was missing was a theater, vaudeville, and silent movie venue… that was accessible to everyone. Macon’s first African American millionaire, Charles Douglass changed that. A great supporter of the African American community in Macon, Douglass built The Douglass Theatre in 1921. Although he began his career working in a cotton field for 15 cents a day, Douglass soon became an entrepreneurial giant in Macon, owning several properties on Broadway (now MLK).It became a part of what was known as the “Chitlin Circuit” bringing in performers like Lena Horne, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. And later, even an early career Otis Redding. He would compete in the singing contests regularly held at the Douglass until they nicely asked him to quit competing because he was too good. It has remained one of the largest entertainment venues in Macon ever since.
Third Street Park
Before street singer, guitarist, and evangelist Reverend Pearly Brown became one of the first African Americans to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, or the Newport Folk Festival; the best place to see him perform was Third Street Park in Macon. Rev. Brown initially came to Macon to attend the Georgia Academy of the Blind, but he went on to spend many years of his life busking on the local streets of Macon. It’s said that his bottleneck style slide guitar playing influenced Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.
Cotton Avenue
In the midst of Jim Crow laws forcing African Americans to establish separate business districts, Cotton Avenue grew into a major hub for African-American businesses such as barbershops, lawyers offices, shoemakers and dentists. It quickly became the main-street for African-American Businesses in Macon. Cotton Avenue developed as the primary conduit so that cotton could be transported easily to the river, resulting in it being the only street that runs diagonally through the city, which makes it fairly easy to spot today.
Otis Redding Foundation
After the passing of Otis Redding in 1967, Redding’s family continued his legacy through philanthropic contributions to the community. Redding lived, worked, and performed in Macon. His legacy is deeply woven into Macon music history, both in life and in death through the Otis Redding Foundation. The foundation offers initiatives like summer camps focused on music and creative arts, as well as other youth centric programs to foster the talent and abilities of tomorrow’s music legends. They are also in the process of constructing the new Otis Redding Center for the Arts!
Macon City Auditorium
A 2,700 seat venue, built in 1923 in the grandiose style of greek and roman architecture, the Macon City Auditorium continues to host major acts and events today. Through the years, the auditorium has hosted many notable events like the homecoming concerts of James Brown, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers Band. The auditorium was also the site of Otis Redding's final homegoing – his memorial service following the tragic plane crash that took his life at age 26.In 1947, Macon native, Little Richard, was a young teen working as a concession clerk at the Macon City Auditorium the night Sister Rosetta Tharpe, often referred to as “the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll,” came to perform. Before Tharpe’s show, Little Richard found his way backstage and serenaded her with one of her own signature songs. Blown away, Sister Rosetta Tharpe offered to pay Little Richard to open her show, which became his first paid performance, and away he went to become one of music’s most legendary names and “the architect of rock and roll.”
Rosa Parks Square
The park houses several markers dedicated to significant people in the community: Rosa Parks, who was preeminent in the civil rights movement, and known in part for the story of her acclaimed move on the bus; Rodney Davis, who is the only Maconite to have received the Medal of Honor, which he received posthumously for saving his men by throwing himself on top of an exploding grenade in Vietnam; Osa Bell MaCay, who was known as the Mayor of Pleasant Hill; and several others.
Redwal Music Company
In the late 1960s, Otis Redding was one of the world's biggest recording artists, dubbed "the King of Soul." Redding was represented by Phil and Alan Walden, a pair of brothers that made a family business representing soul performers like Sam & Dave, Al Green and Percy Sledge. Redding joined together with the Waldens to create Redwal Music Company, an R&B music production company. Redwal became Macon's first integrated office building and at its height, Redwal employed more African-American musicians than MoTown. However, Redding’s death in 1967 left the Walden brothers questioning whether or not they could continue without him. To move forward, Capricorn Records was established, the genre of Southern Rock was born, and the legacy of Otis Redding lives on.
Percy Welch's Hotel
In the 1950’s, soul musician and businessman, Percy Welch, owned two African American hotels in Macon. Welch is largely credited in supporting the careers of Otis Redding, and Little Richard. Welch’s hotel was where Little Richard and other African American musicians would stay when they would visit Macon.
Walton Building
Named for World War I veteran and prominent Civil Rights activist Dr. D.T. Walton Sr., the Walton building housed many successful African American owned businesses, including Walton’s Dentist Office, Dixon John Radio Service and J L Montgomery Home Art Supply.Image Credit: @Flickr via John Bennett
H&H
One of Macon’s oldest independent restaurants, H&H was founded in 1959 by two African American businesswomen, Inez Hill and Louise Hudson. They earned the affection of The Allman Brothers Band, whom “Mama Inez” and “Mama Louise” would feed for free in the days when the struggling musicians could barely afford to eat. Since then, the soul food restaurant has become a place of pilgrimage for Southern music fans and musicians from around the world. Though Mama Inez passed away in 2007 and Mama Louise passed away in 2022, the pioneering women are memorialized, along with the Allman Brothers Band, in a mural on the side of H&H and in the spirit of love they left behind. The "H," as it is affectionately called, is still open Monday-Saturday and features soul food breakfast and lunch delights.
Steward Chapel AME Church
A “beacon of light in a world of darkness [during] the 1960’s” is how Wanda West, a Steward African Methodist Episcopal parishioner, describes this place. Between the 1950’s and 1980’s, this nearly 200-year-old church welcomed influential guests including Dr. Benjamin E. Mays who spoke on the significance of Brown vs. Kansas Board of Education, Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune on appreciating womanhood, and most famously, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to a crowd of 600 in the pouring rain. It is one of Macon’s historic churches, and was established 1865. A hundred years later, in 1957 MLK spoke here with the speech, “there is no East and no West, no North, no South but one great fellowship of love.”
Ruth Hartley Mosely Memorial Women's Center
Born in 1886, Ruth Hartley Mosely was a civil rights activist, businesswoman, philanthropist, licensed mortician, and pioneer for African American education in Macon. Mosley studied to become a nurse, serving in many different facilities, such as the Georgia State Sanatorium, where she became the first African American female head nurse of the “Colored Females Department” at age 24. After marrying Richard Hartley, Mosley moved to Macon, where the two opened a funeral home together. She returned to school, studying to become a licensed mortician. After her husband’s death, Ruth remarried and became a public health nurse at Bibb County Schools. She was a leader in the Macon NAACP chapter, where she organized sit-ins and served as a founding member of the Booker T. Washington Community Center. When she passed away in 1935, she left two trust funds, one creating the Ruth Hartley Mosley Memorial Women’s Center and the other providing assistance to students in need who are seeking to become nurses or other healthcare providers.
First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church is considered Macon’s oldest African American church. When first established in 1835, blacks and whites worshipped at the First Baptist Church. The two acted largely as two distinct bodies, each led by ministers and deacons of their own color. By 1839, the number of black congregation members had outgrown the white congregation members by almost a hundred parishioners. Due to the lack of space, the black congregation members were forced to move their service to the parking lot until finally moving to the current location in 1897. The congregation grew to almost 2,000 members until part of their congregation departed to form Tremont Baptist Church.
St Joseph's Catholic Church
Although it is an iconic part of Macon’s skyline, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church wasn't complete until 1903. However, the congregation has been worshipping together since 1841. Largely regarded as one of Macon’s most beautiful landmarks, featuring stained-glass windows, carved white-Italian marble, and 200-foot spires touching the sky, St. Joseph’s was constructed over 14 years by a work crew of skilled African Americans.
Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church
Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church is the oldest black Presbyterian church in Georgia. Since its establishment in 1838, the church has been associated with some of the most influential African American people, families, leaders and businesses in the state and the Nation. The original structure was completed in 1875, and in 1904 the church underwent remodeling, adding brick veneer and Greek revival features to its wooden structure.
Holsey Temple CME Church
Holsey Temple CME Church has been an established African American Church in Macon for more than 150 years, originally constructed on Washington Avenue. After fire and tornadoes destroyed the church's original wooden structure, members rebuilt it into the brick structure that is standing today. Much of the church's original features still stand, like the original pews and windows.
Henry McNeal Turner Post Office
Henry McNeal Turner was Macon’s first African American Postmaster. Turner was an abolitionist, politician, and A.M.E. Bishop. After being appointed to the Freedmen’s Bureau in Georgia, he settled in Macon and was elected to the state legislature in 1868. Turner was a very influential and vigorous Bishop for the AME Church. In 1885, he became the first AME bishop to ordain a woman when he ordained Sarah Ann Hughes as a deacon.
Tattnall Square Park
Established in 1853, Tattnall Square Park is one of the oldest public parks in the country. The park is home to Macon’s first playground, built-in 1911. Like most public spaces in America, the park was segregated until the 1960s. One of the most prominent features of the park is the Tattnall Square Fountain, which became nonfunctional during the Great Depression. The children of Elam Alexander School during that time were asked what words make the world a better place, the fountain has since been restored, and the four entrances were renamed after the students’ answers: Hope, Love, Peace, and Justice.
Pleasant Hill Historic District
The first and oldest African American neighborhood in Macon, Pleasant Hill is one of the earliest black neighborhoods in Georgia. The birthplace of notable African-Americans like civil-rights leader William B. Randall, entertainers like Little Richard, Lena Horne, Reverend Pearly Brown, and artist Henry W. Lucas.First developed between 1870-1936, it was comprised of servants who needed housing near College Street. It grew to be a community for all professions. Lawyers, shoemakers, cooks, tailors, draymen, and educators, all lived together in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood.Today, there are over 500 homes in the district. Before the Civil War, the education of African Americans was prohibited. Even though the law was disbanded in 1865, there were still no public schools for African-Americans in Bibb County until 1872. However, at least two private schools for African-Americans were founded in 1865. One was founded by freedman Edward Woodliff, and the other was named Lewis High School, later renamed Ballard Normal School in 1876. Writer John Oliver Killens wrote his popular Youngblood novel parallelling his upbringing in Pleasant Hill.Photo Credit: Mercer University Library
Robert E. Lee Building
The Robert E. Lee building stands in place of the townhouse where Ellen Craft was a slave. Ellen Craft and her husband William made a triumphant escape from slavery, documented in the book 1000 Miles for Freedom. The two were favored by their owners, allowed to accept work at other houses in the community and keep small bits of their earnings. After saving enough for train tickets, the two devised an ingenious yet dangerous plan.Utilizing her skin’s light pigmentation, Ellen disguised herself as a wealthy white man. William acted as her manservant. The pair then traveled up from Macon to Boston under the guise of seeking medical attention. They managed to travel over 1000 miles in their disguise, eventually finding refuge and safety with abolitionists in Boston.This building is the former home of WIBB. In 1954, the city’s first black DJ, Hamp Swain became “King Bee” Many people say Swain gave James Brown his big break when he played "Please, Please, Please" on the channel in 1956. Swain also hosted “The Teenage Party,” a teen talent competition, where a young local singer named Otis Redding competed and won several times. In 2008, King Bee was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame for his long and significant radio career.
The Grand Opera House
Opened in 1891, The Grand Opera House is now known as an historic venue space, hosting entertainment of all kinds for every audience. However, in 1904, The Grand housed a segregated balcony, where up to a thousand people would cram onto steeply stacked benches in a poorly ventilated, dimly lit area.While the balcony has been preserved, its usage today is far from its original purpose of the past.
William Augustus Bootle Federal Building
Completed in 1908, the William Augustus Bootle Federal Building was constructed to be home to Bibb county’s new courthouse and post office. In 1998, the building was renamed to honor Judge William Augustus Bootle, the judge responsible for multiple landmark Civil Rights cases.Judge Bootle was responsible for ordering the desegregation of the Macon Bus System in 1962, the integration of the University of Georgia in 1961, and the Bibb County Public School System in 1970.
Grant's Lounge
Macon’s first truly integrated bar, Grant’s Lounge, was founded in 1971 by Ed Grant Sr. Because it was located between the Capricorn Records studio on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Capricorn’s executive offices on Cotton Avenue, Grant’s success was bound to grow as they became known as “the original home of Southern Rock.” It was on Grant’s stage that an up-and-coming Marshall Tucker Band was discovered and quickly signed by Capricorn Records. Other acts that performed here include Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, Boz Scaggs, Eddie Hinton, Eric Quincy Tate, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, then known as Mudcrutch. Recently renovated, Grant's is still open today hosting local and touring bands, its signature Sunday Nite Jam, and the Wednesday night Macon Music Revue, a musical trip through the city's music history featuring Charles Davis & the Velvet Sound.
Tremont Temple Baptist Church
Tremont Temple Baptist Church is a historic African American Church in Macon, Georgia and has been on the cutting edge of social and civic issues since her inception in 1897. Tremont Temple Baptist Church served as a place of worship as well as an organizational space for local African American businesses. Since the 1910’s Tremont Temple has been a meeting location where preachers spoke on the importance of supporting black business, and during the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950’s and mid 1960’s, the church served as a representative voice for civil liberty. Tremont Temple was a physical marker of local African American history due to its uncommon design, texture, and materials that are impossible to replicate. Through the years, Tremont has hosted notable figures in their pulpit, including Martin Luther King, Jr. While the church gathered at the historic building downtown for more than 110 years, the congregation relocated in 2007, and the historic building was demolished in 2014 after numerous citizens and organizations worked to try and preserve the structure.
Doctor's Building
Completed in 1928, the Doctor’s Building stood directly between what was then known as the Macon Hospital and the Middle Georgia Sanatorium. The building was originally three stories, but McCowan Construction added a matching fourth story under the direction of Dennis and Dennis Architects. Even before this 1939 addition, the building housed 18 doctors, a dentist, x-ray facilities, and a medical library. The building was demolished in 2013 after it was determined that the building no longer met the needs of a modern medical facility. It was replaced with a landscaped area and surfaced parking lot.
Douglass House
Mr. Charles Douglass, one of Macon’s foremost entrepreneurs and African American citizens, built the elegant house that once stood here. Douglass had many businesses throughout town, but perhaps the best known were his hotel and Douglass Theatre, which still stands on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The house’s demolition in November 2014 highlights the development pressure in the neighborhood. As a small silver lining, the loss of the Douglass House and Tremont Temple Baptist Church played a key role in creating a new appreciation for the entire Cotton Avenue area.
Atrium Health Navicent - The Medical Center
Founded as the Macon Hospital in 1895, The Medical Center is one of the largest employers in the county. However, when it opened, most people detested hospitals as cesspools where society’s poorest members went to die. Not long after opening, the Macon Hospital served 126 people in a single year and only lost eight patients. These statistics convinced many of the individuals who had been against opening the hospital that it was a worthwhile facility. By 1908, the hospital had “modern” operating rooms, its own laundry facility, and segregated patient wards. The original brick building no longer stands, but the facility still operates today as Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center.
Coplin Warehouse
This warehouse was home to numerous businesses throughout the 1890’s and into the twentieth century. From Glenda’s Hair Cove to Allen’s Iron Company, this warehouse has only housed mom and pop companies. Small business was the heart of the African American economic environment in towns like Macon and throughout the nation during the segregated era that lasted more than half of the twentieth century. Companies such as Glenda’s Hair Cove sustained the economic interest of African Americans within their communities for decades.
Macon Pharmacy
Built in 1914, this structure was originally the Macon Pharmacy, which had previously been open next door. By 1916, the Macon Pharmacy had moved on again, but the White Elk Water Company took up residence in this building. The Independent Cash Market moved in during 1920, but the property is more famous for also housing the Muecke Orchestra on the top floor at that time. The group would practice and perform on the second level. In 1986, the Macon Heritage Foundation assisted Alex C. Habersham, owner of the building, with the rehab of this structure by providing tax credit consulting services.
The Black Pages
Founded in 1991 by Alex C. Habersham, The Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages and Resource Guide is the perfect example of the Cotton Avenue DIstrict’s renaissance. The publication serves as a liaison between minority businesses and local citizens. Habersham’s aim is to improve the African American community economically through black consumerism of local business. This company not only produces an annual publication, but also assists small local businesses with everything from marketing to website construction.
City Hall
Originally constructed as the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company, Macon’s City hall was built in 1838. After the building changed ownership several times, between 1848 and 1860, Macon City Council purchased the property and moved offices to this location. In 1864, it was temporarily the state capitol during Sherman’s March through Milledgeville. During the 1960’s it served as the setting for many Civil Rights protests, and it remains an active locale for free assembly in the city.
Hutchings Funeral Home
This business dates back to 1895 when C.H. Hubbard hired C.H. Hutchings, Sr. as the manager for his undertaking business. Although Hutchings, Sr. left this partnership fifteen years later, he stayed in the funeral business. He and his sons opened C.H. Hutchings and Sons in 1910. In 1927, the business moved to a new building at the current locations and has added on and adapted this structure to fit its needs ever since. Today, the business is still in the family with Sharon Hutchings and Starr Hutchings Purdue at the helm.
Mitchell Building
Although this space is empty today, it once was the site of an African American owned building that stretched through the block from New Street to Cotton Avenue. Originally constructed as the Knights of Pythian Temple in 1914, it was later bought by Dr. and Mrs. Clarence Mitchell. The Mitchell Building was one of the largest black-owned and operated office buildings in Macon. The first story of the building contatined retail, while the higher floors served as apartments and a hotel. After demolition, part of it was converted into Macon's first "pocket park" called Capricorn Park.
Tic Toc Lounge
Back in the 50s, Ann’s Tic Toc Lounge, a restaurant and nightclub owned by Ann Howard, was the place to be. “Miss Ann,” as she was lovingly known, created a place where all – black, white, gay, and straight – were welcomed to enjoy the nightlife — together. Beginning in his teenage years, Little Richard Penniman often performed here, and had a job washing dishes in the kitchen to earn extra money when he needed it. Later in life, Little Richard touched on his memories from the once influential establishment in two songs from his 1956 debut album, Here's Little Richard — “Long Tall Sally” and “Miss Ann.”
Black-Owned Businesses
If you are looking to support Black-Owned Businesses in Macon, there's an easy way to now view several of our popular eateries, attractions and shops!With the help of Macon Black Pages, Visit Macon has compiled a Black-Owned Business Directory to compliment our Black Heritage Trail.Just click the link below to learn about each business, hours of operation, and contact information.
Linwood Cemetery
Many prominent African-Americans are buried at Linwood including doctors, lawyers, bankers, businessmen, and beloved teachers. Many graves belong to veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the war in Vietnam. There may be as many as four thousand graves located here. Established in 1894, Linwood Cemetery is located within the Pleasant Hill Historic District of Macon, Georgia and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Linwood Cemetery is the resting place for many of Middle Georgia's most prominent African-American citizens.
