The Heart of Georgia: Macon

The Sun Belt has seen substantial population growth since the 1960s from an influx of people seeking a warm and sunny climate, a surge in retiring baby boomers, and growing economic opportunities.

Mulberry St

Mulberry Street is the city’s premier office and institutional address. On this boulevard, you’ll find landmarks such as the Grand Opera House, Bibb County Courthouse, Federal Courthouse, and Macon’s tallest office building, Fickling & Company.

This is Bibb County’s fourth courthouse. The first was a one-room building built in 1825, the second was a brick building constructed in 1828. The third was a large, three-story structure with a clock tower, completed in 1870. The current courthouse was completed in 1924. A jail was added to the top floor in 1926; the entire structure was remodeled in 1940 as a WPA project. The lobby floors are made of marble.

Completed in 1969, the 211-foot, 15-story Fickling & Company building is the tallest structure in Macon.

Macon’s Grand Opera House was built in 1883-84.

Cotton Avenue

Cotton Avenue Plaza is the site of Macon’s Confederate Memorial to Men of Bibb County. The statue was originally erected near the Bibb County Courthouse in 1879.

The Macon City Auditorium was completed in 1925 and designed by New York architect Egerton Swartwout.