Walking Tour of Historic Macon Georgia

Entries on This Tour

The Tubman African American Museum features many permanent and travelling exhibits which showcase African American art, history, and culture. Permanent collection highlights include a beautiful and educational mural, the Inventors Gallery, local history and Georgia artists exhibit, and folk art exhibit. The original Tubman Museum opened in 1982. Construction for a new facility was completed in 2015 and opened to the public May 16, 2015. Patrons will not want to miss the incredible mural which the museum refers to as its “signature piece”. This acrylic and oil mural measures an impressive 68 inches tall by 55 feet long and allows visitors to explore the lives of prominent past and present African Americans. The Inventors Gallery introduces patrons to innovative African Americans who are typically not recognized for their contributions. The local history and Georgia artists exhibit showcases some of the best works of local artists as well as artifacts pertaining to Macon and Georgia history. African American folk art is also featured in these exhibits. In addition to permanent collections, the Tubman Museum offers a variety of travelling exhibits that can be booked at venues throughout the country. The museum also hosts various public events that occur throughout the year.

2. Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is the largest state sports hall of fame in America. With everything from over 3,000 artifacts in its collection to several interactive exhibits designed for both kids and adults, the Hall of Fame aims to “celebrate outstanding athletic accomplishments of Georgians and to inspire the youth of our state to excellence.” Inside of the 43,000-square-foot facility that resembles a turn-of-the-century ballpark, the museum invites visitors to explore through its 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, and to experience the history of sports in Georgia. The Hall of Fame Corridor celebrates over 400 inductees, and throughout the year, the museum hosts several education events, ranging from summer camps to sports clinics to ballroom dancing.

3. William Arthur Fickling, Sr. - Father of Cherry Blossoms

William Arthur Fickling, Sr., was a real estate magnate credited with giving Macon its cherry trees and making the town the cherry tree capital of the USA. A lifelong resident of Macon, Fickling, Sr. gained his wealth and prominence with the 1937 merger of his fledging real estate company with B. Sanders Walker, Jr.'s insurance agency, which formed the Fickling & Walker Realty and Insurance. In 1949, with his newfound wealth, Fickling, Sr. built his dream home on Ingleside Avenue, and in the front yard was planted a mysterious tree, which, in the early spring bloomed in a profusion of small, white to light pink blossoms. It wasn’t until 1952, during a trip to Washington D.C., that Fickling discovered the type of tree that was in his front yard — a Japanese Yoshino Cherry Tree. Eventually, Fickling began giving away cherry trees to his friends and neighbors. The City of Macon took over his philanthropy, and to this day, more than 300,000 cherry trees in Macon are credited to his generosity and love of community. Today, the annual International Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates what is now known as the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.”

4. Wilson's Raid to Macon

Wilson's Raid to Macon was a series of battles and skirmishes, conducted by Union Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi [US] from March 22 to April 20, 1865. The campaign included battles and skirmishes in the following cities: Houston, Black warrior River, Elyton, Columbiana, Shelby, Tannehill, Brierfield, The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Trion (now Vance), Plantersville, Selma, Marion, and Montgomery, Alabama. From Montgomery the campaign continued into Georgia starting in West Point and continuing through Columbus, where a claim is made to be the "Last Battle of the Civil War". Macon, Georgia was captured shortly afterward on April 20, 1865 without resistance, concluding the campaign.

5. Otis Redding Foundation and Otis Redding Mini-Museum

The Otis Redding Foundation and its Otis Redding Mini-Museum celebrate the music and the life of Macon resident Otis Redding. This foundation and museum aim to “to empower, enrich, and motivate all young people through programs involving music, writing, and instrumentation.” At the museum, visitors can explore several exhibits that provide insight into Redding’s songwriting, producing and singing talents, as well as discover memorabilia and other items reflecting a career that yielded 13 albums and 15 Top 10 Hits. In addition to the Otis Redding Mini-Museum, Otis Redding fans can also visit the Otis Redding Statue at Ocmulgee Heritage Trail Gateway Park.

6. Grand Opera House

As the centerpiece of the Macon GA performing arts and music scene, the Grand Opera House is a historical and architecturally significant building that has been in operation since its construction in 1884. Originally known as the Academy of Music, the Grand Opera House was once the largest stage in the entire southeast and seated upwards of 2,418 people (almost a fifth of the Macon population in the 1880s and 1890s). The Grand Opera House gained famed in its early years through its use of live horses and chariots in the 1908 production of Ben-Hur, as well as a WWI fundraising effort conducted by Charlie Chaplin and the John Philip Sousa band. By the late-1930s, interest for vaudeville at the Grand Opera House faded and the theater was turning into a cinema. Today, after a near-demolition that would have turned the Grand Opera House into a parking lot, and its subsequent addition to the National Register of Historic Places, the Grand Opera House still continues to host many Broadway touring companies, music acts, the Macon Symphony Orchestra, and community theatre productions, among other performances and events.

7. The Cannonball House

If thoughts of the old Confederacy and the Civil War seem a distant thought in the mind of visitors to Macon, the Cannonball House, named after a Union cannon that once "bounced" into the family parlor, may startle the unsuspecting visitor. Built as a planter's townhouse in 1853, today the Greek Revival-style house is Civil War Museum, managed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Interestingly, the house also contains the recreated "Founders' parlors" (or meeting rooms) of the world's first two sororities, the Adelphean (ΑΔΙΙ) and Philomathean (ΦΜ) societies. They were recreated from Wesleyan College, where the sororities first began in 1851 and 1852.

8. Hay House

One of Georgia's most distinguished structures, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It was built from 1855 to 1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the more restrained Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period. Hay House is designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, unusual for residential architecture, most particularly in the South in the 1850s. It is chiefly characterized by arches and curves, as opposed to the Greek Revival style which is composed mainly with straight lines. Notice that all the windows are round arches. Symmetry is also fundamental to this style. The central block of the house is flanked by two wings which are identical, at least from the exterior. The two-story octagonal cupola crowns the house and gives it a sense of vertical lift. The cupola serves as part of the ventilation system, acting as a chimney which helps to draw the hot air up and out of the house. The house itself contains more than 16,000 square feet in 24 principal rooms. When constructed, it had hot and cold running water, three bathrooms, an intercom system, central heat, and an advanced ventilating system. Hay House is constantly undergoing research and restoration, while remaining open to the public, thereby showing visitors interesting and informative procedures. Today, Hay House is open to visitors. Tours are held daily. Some of the plants in the landscaping of the home date back to the 19th century. Renovations continue to occur to keep Hay House up to date. Upcoming projects include a redesign of the gift shop, including new insulation, and writing specifications for mortar repairs outside of the building. Half of the money raised in the capital campaign was allocated for restoration of the exterior, cupola, and most public rooms of the house

9. St. Joseph's Catholic Church

The St. Joseph's Catholic Church is one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Macon. With its twin towers standing 200 feet tall and its stained glass windows, this church is an esteemed example of Neo-Gothic architecture. One of the more spectacular features of this church is its 67 stained glass windows, each portraying the incidents in the lives of the Holy Family and the Saints. Moreover, the church’s organ, built by Pilcher’s and Sons of Louisville, Kentucky, contains over 1,000 pipes ranging in size from a standard thermometer to the thirty-two foot resultant in the pedal board. Work on the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was begun on 1889 and it was dedicated in 1892. As a central element of the Macon community while reflecting the history of the Catholic parish in the area, the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

10. Sidney Lanier Cottage

The Sidney Lanier Cottage was constructed around 1840, but the home's real fame would come a short time later in the form of Sidney Lanier, who was born in the cottage in 1842. Today the house, while also on the National Register of Historic Places, holds the extra honors of a Landmark of American Music and a Landmark of American Poetry. These honors are a direct result of the young man that lived his first years of life in the house--the budding genius that would one day be known as both poet and musician. Though his life was cut short by a long struggle with tuberculosis (resulting from his five-month stay as prisoner of war in a federal prison as a young man), his works are still commemorated today.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Walking Tour of Historic Macon Georgia

Created by Clio Admin on October 14th 2018, 9:40:57 pm.

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This walking tour begins at Sidney Lanier Cottage and winds its way down Macon's famed Mulberry Street before concluding at the Tubman Museum. Highlights of the tour include the Johnston-Felton-Hay House which is a National Historic Landmark, the Otis Redding Foundation and Museum, and the Cannonball House, a historic Macon home that earned this nickname after a Union cannon sent a projectile that "bounced" into the family parlor. We hope to add more entries to this tour with the help of local people and institutions who create individual entries in Clio.

Entries on This Tour

Walking Tour of Historic Macon Georgia

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