c. 1925, architect: Egerton Swartwout (primary), Dennis & Dennis (associate), style: Classical Revival, Greek revival, capacity: 2,688 (1700 on the main floor and 988 in the cantilevered balcony), materials: reinforced concrete, steel, brick, hollow tile, Indiana limestone, and copper
The Grand Opera House
c. 1905, architect: W.R Gunn, style: Gothic Revival, materials: brick
Third Street Park
"A city within a park" The importance of greenery and open spaces was important to Macon’s earliest city planners. The original plat drawn in 1823 to plan the city included squares, recreational areas, and parks. Farmers bringing their produce to market found the scattered parks handy places to tether and feed their horses. Parks were also vital in the growing city because they stood in the way of the most destructive force of the time: fire. During the 1850s, when people relied on candles and lanterns for illumination in homes and shops made of wood, fire ravaged the downtown area and much of Bibb County. Only the parks and open spaces kept the fires from spreading into widespread destruction. The green areas also became the focal points of the community, as important structures such as the Federal Building, the Bibb County Courthouse, many business firms, the library, churches, hotels, and more, were all surrounded by these wide green medians.
341 Third St.
c. 341 Third Street 1838
The Armory Building
c. 1884, style: Victorian, material: brick, iron, stone, terra cotta, and politico limestone, architect: D.B. Woodruff, features: corner crenelated turret, arched central doorway of iron, brick, stone, terra cotta, and oolitic limestone, spandrels with military emblems in terra cotta flanked by four storefronts
Bankers Insurance Building (Hotel 45)
c. 1923, c. 1939-41, style: art deco; architect of 1939 addition: W. Elliott Dunwody Jr.
Macon City Hall
c. 1836; style: Greek Revival
Telephone Exchange Building
c. 1905; style: Victorian; features: brownstone trim, including the window and entrance decoration, walls of the three and a half story building are brick with curved arches to balance the horizontal lines of the facade; material: foundation is limestone
Emerson-Holmes Building
c. 1859; style: Italianate/Art Nouveau; architect: Griffith Thomas
Washington Block Building
c. Washington Block Building 1875
11. Library Ballroom
c. 1889, designer: D.B. Woodruff, style: Victorian, features: turret, stained-glass windows, rusticated stone lintels and sills
The Capitol Theatre
In 1897, the building that is now known at the Capitol Theatre was built to house the Commercial Savings and Loan bank. The bank closed a few years later, and the building was occupied by the Strong Shoe Company from 1900-1915. In 1917, the Capitol was converted into a movie theater and opened to the public. This was the first public venue in Macon to offer air conditioning. In 1975, the Capitol Theatre closed its doors. Tony Long, who is responsible for the preservation of many historic buildings in Macon, spearheaded a group of preservationists who wanted to renovate the building. They raised $1.2 million dollars for the renovation. In 2006, the venue reopened as a movie house and concert venue. Several years later, the Moonhanger Group purchased the buildings and it thrives today as one of Macon's premier concert venues.
The Douglass Theatre
The Douglass Theatre was founded in 1921 by Charles Henry Douglass, an African-American entrepreneur who was an established theatre developer well versed in the vaudeville and entertainment business. The Douglass was a part of the Theater Owners Booking Association – a chain of 40 theatres that served as an agency for many African American artists and performers.The theatre remained in operation until the 1970s. It was dormant for many years before being saved from demolition in the 1990s by a community group that became the non-profit "Friends of the Douglass Theatre." A major renovation added central heating and air throughout the complex. State of the art stage lighting, sound and cinema equipment (including 35mm and 70 mm film formats with digital surround sound) were also added. New seating was installed and a portion of the first level was converted to an entrance lobby and waiting area to the annex area.The theatre hosts many public and private events and parties, and serves as the viewing venue for the Macon Film Guild at the Douglass Theatre, which shows select foreign and independent films.
The Dempsey Hotel
c. 1913, architect: W.L. Stoddart (New York), style: Neoclassical/Art Deco
William Augustus Bootle Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
c. 1905-1908; architect: James Knox Taylor; style: Beaux Arts Classicism; primary material: white marble
The Terminal Station
c. 1916; style: Beaux Arts; architect: Alfred Fellheimer of NY; sculptor of eagles: Adolph Alexander Weinman; materials: limestone, style, marble, ornamental plaster ceiling
341 Third St.
From 1823 to 1865, slave trading was firmly entrenched in Macon's social and economic fabric. While there were larger slave markets in the southeast, Macon was a well-known slave trading center, and Poplar Street was the principal location for these slave markets. In 1859, G.H. Noel built Noel's Brick Mart at the corner of Second and Poplar, behind where the Telephone Exchange building stands today. This was the first building in Macon designed to house the enslaved. During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America bought the building and converted it into a munitions laboratory which employed white women and children, in addition to relying on the labor of enslaved persons to make cartridges and bullets for the Civil War. Other marts were erected at the corner of nearly every block of Poplar Street. Slave traders rented space in these marts to house enslaved people. After the end of the Civil War, the building was put to use as a dance hall, stable, and carriage repair shop before being partially destroyed by fire in August 1885. Post-Civil War Poplar Street served as a marketplace for the newly freed to set up stalls and sell their own produce and goods along with the cotton markets and the City Market. The Macon-Bibb Bicentennial Committee, Washington Memorial Library, The Griffith Family Foundation, and Wesleyan College erected this marker to help future generations remember those who suffered under the horrors of the slave trade in Macon and throughout the United States.
Visit Macon
Every great tour start here! Once the home of Macon’s Trailway Station, Visit Macon is now the go-to stop for all things Macon. Our team will help kickstart your adventure as you begin your self-guided journey exploring Macon's beautiful architecture and staple attractions. Macon also offers an extremely walkable downtown with many sites within! Be sure to take advantage of our great downtown restaurants, shopping and history and tag #thenandnow all along your journey!
