The Black Broadway of the South

Located in the heart of Georgia, Macon is a city of 160,000 that is well known for its music heritage. Associated with a number of musicians, including the Allman Brothers Band, Otis Redding, Little Richard and James Brown, Macon was also a hub for Southern rock.

440 Broadway was built in 1918 for Lamar, Taylor & Riley Wholesale Drugs.

The Visit Macon visitors center is located at 459 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Looking north along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard from Poplar Street.

Looking west at Hollingsworth Park in the median of Poplar Street. Historically, the median was the location of Macon’s City Market, where farmers and artisans sold their goods to the public. Built in 1888, the City Market building was razed and replaced with a park in 1916.

The former Planters Hotel building is located on the left.

The former Winchester-Moore Company at 500 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

The Lofts at Capricorn is an infill mixed-use development anchored by the historic Capricorn Studios building. The 50,000 project includes 137 apartment units and 17,000 square feet of retail space. The development occupies a site that was once home to a Central of Georgia Railroad freight depot.

Opening its doors in 1969, a variety of musicians, including the Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band and Wet Willie, recorded at Capricorn Studio. Called the Birthplace of Southern Rock, the venue has been fully restored as Mercer Music at Capricorn.

Mercer Music at Capricorn offers two recording studios, a music incubator for aspiring young musicians and an interpretive area that tells the story of Capricorn and Macon’s music heritage through historic artifacts, static exhibits and interactive digital kiosks.

The former Georgia Southern & Florida Railroad general offices and freight house was completed in 1912.

The Broadway Lofts are located in an old sewing factory built in 1916 for Happ Brothers. Happ Brothers made overalls in this building until ceasing production in the late-1980s.

Built in 1949, the Roxy Theater was a venue for Black patrons during the Jim Crow era. Located one block from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, the Quonset hut-style building is on Historic Macon’s Fading Five list of endangered places across the county.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com