Macon: The city the South left behind

[bobliocatt]

What happened to Macon? Its a perfectly planned city thats been left to die.

[bobliocatt]

Something is wrong with my photo host site. If the pics don't open, right click on the red 'x' and click on "show picture"

[Neo]

My ex-wife was from Macon. I hate that place! Actually, probably moreso since she was born there. &#$*ing cheating B#$*@!!

[bobliocatt]

my bad, sorry to drum up bad memories.

[Guest donaltopablo]

Been there lately? The city itself has a lot of character and is a nice urban town (like many of the older GA cities). It's just been overshadowed by Atlanta (whose metros now touch). Also, much of Macon's growth has been suburbian so not much is changing inside the city itself.

Without that boom town image of Atlanta or the tourism of Savannah/Augusta it seems to easily get lost.

[Neo]

my bad, sorry to drum up bad memories.

Quite alright.

Macon has a lot of crime problems from hearing horror stories that my ex's family used to tell. There isn't really a good part of Macon, well, there are small parts that are decent, but it's definately not the town to live in or work in. I've heard unemployment rates are very high and the quality of jobs and life there are just terrible. It's definately not the cleanest town though there are parts that aren't that bad, but I guess it's all according to what you like. I'm from Charlotte so I guess I have high standards than someone from say Detroit. My last visit to Macon was in March or so of this year. Rid myself of the ex at the end of April.

[Brickhead]

Thanks for the pictures of Macon. I have never been there, but it looks like a pretty good size city. For some reason I always thought Macon was just a small town.

[bobliocatt]

originally posted by Neo

Macon has a lot of crime problems from hearing horror stories that my ex's family used to tell. There isn't really a good part of Macon, well, there are small parts that are decent, but it's definately not the town to live in or work in. I've heard unemployment rates are very high and the quality of jobs and life there are just terrible. It's definately not the cleanest town though there are parts that aren't that bad, but I guess it's all according to what you like. I'm from Charlotte so I guess I have high standards than someone from say Detroit. My last visit to Macon was in March or so of this year. Rid myself of the ex at the end of April.

Yeah, its definately not the cleanest place. However, I do like the city's street & parking layout, parks, and building density downtown. From the urban feel of downtown, it must have been a booming place years ago. I wonder why it stopped growing while most sunbelt cities have boomed within the same time period.

[Slim Pickens]

thanks for the pictures.. I really like the 6th shot.. imagine how it would look with cars, pedestrians, and street vendors!

Looks awfully dead though..

[turlough]

Downtown looks dead

[GRANT]

I have a sister who lives in Macon and loves it, and first of all, those are some of the worst pics I have ever seen of Macon. It is a beautiful city that once was booming, but its proximity to Atlanta basically stopped any significant growth.

It is really a bedroom community for Atlanta now, and will become more so in the next few years.

Go up Vineville Ave, there is, and used to be MAJOR money in that town, you can tell by the mansions that line that street.

It is not a TERRIBLE place to live or work.

Neo, you really do seem to cause trouble in every thread.

You are like Skylinesbest over in that other horrific place that we all know.

If you can say anything positive about a place ,then do not say it. AGAIN, how many times do we have to say it, "Every city has it goods and bads"

The Hay house- Read below PIC.

William Butler Johnston was no typical nineteenth-century Southerner. He obtained his substantial wealth through investments in banking, railroads and public utilities rather than from the agrarian cotton economy. In 1851, he married Anne Clark Tracy, 20 years his junior, and the two embarked on an extended honeymoon in Europe. During their trip, the Johnston's visited hundreds of museums, historic sites and art studios. They collected fine porcelains, sculptures and paintings as mementos of their Grand Tour. The Johnston's were inspired by the Italian architecture they observed and, upon their return to America, constructed a monumental Italian Renaissance Revival mansion in Macon.

Completed in 1859 and called the "Palace of the South," the residence was decorated and furnished in accordance with wealth and good taste. It became a beloved home for the Johnston's, their daughters and their extended family. After the death of Mrs. Johnston in 1896, daughter Mary Ellen and her husband William H. Felton lived in the house. They remodeled and redecorated parts of the house, updated the plumbing and added electricity.

After the deaths of Judge and Ms. Felton in 1926, Felton heirs sold the house to Parks Lee Hay, founder of the Banker's Health & Life Insurance Company. The Hays substantially redecorated the house to reflect the changing character of twentieth-century living, and the house at 934 Georgia Avenue continued to be recognized as a local landmark for gracious living during the Hay ownership.

After Mrs. Hay's death in 1962, her heirs established the P.L. Hay Foundation and operated the house as a private house museum. In 1977, ownership of the house was formally transferred to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The house has been operated by the Trust since that time and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

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.

Hay House (Johnston-Felton-Hay) 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.

Originally the Johnston estate was composed of 3.8 acres bordered by Nisbet Avenue to the West, Spring Street to the East, Turnpike Road, (presently Georgia Avenue) to the North, and Cherry Street to the South. The ginkgo trees, magnolias and cedars date to the 19th century and are among the few surviving early plantings.

The Hay family added the driveway and brick gateposts. They also redesigned and replanted the grounds and added the lower garden and fish pond.

For more information, contact:

Hay House

934 Georgia Ave. Macon, Georgia 31201

478-742-8155

Fax 478-745-4277

[email protected]

Hours:

Monday-Saturday: 10am - 5pm

[Guest donaltopablo]

Neo, you really do seem to cause trouble in every thread.

You are like Skylinesbest over in that other horrific place that we all know.

LOL! Grant, I like some of your views and information but I think your stretching that a bit far.

[Neo]

Neo, you really do seem to cause trouble in every thread.

You are like Skylinesbest over in that other horrific place that we all know.

Watch it or you can join them again at that place that we all know. I would encourage you to PM me and prove to me EVERY even where I have caused trouble in each thread. If you really and truly do think this then I suggest that you find yourself another board because I'll be showing up a lot here. This is NOT the best way to get on my good side.

[Neo]

If you can say anything positive about a place ,then do not say it. AGAIN, how many times do we have to say it, "Every city has it goods and bads"

I am assuming that you are directing that to me, or at least partially me. I have been to Macon a LOT considering all of my ex wife's family lives there and that's where she is from. Even SHE said it was horrible as does the rest of her family, but because they can't afford to move because of the underpaying of jobs there they are stuck. I can tell you a hundred things that are wrong with Charlotte and I have in the past. I can tell you a hundred things wrong with Chicago, and I have. In my opinion I can't find ONE good thing about Macon, GA, but it's IN MY OPINION. We are entitled to that, but when you go around saying what you have it becomes a little uncalled for. If you have further comments to make on a personal level then you need to PM the person that you have a problem with. Consider this a warning if you do not and wish to make it public instead.

[Scott]

The cities buildings look very nice and there is some cool streetscape, but automobiles seem to be an issue, like in most American cities, ruining the walkability and causing sprawl that sucks the life out of inner cities.