Historic Macon announces 2016 ‘Fading Five’ properties

Hope for the future of historic properties that have long been vacant and neglected was renewed Wednesday for buildings and places on this year’s “Fading Five” list, which was announced by the Historic Macon Foundation.

Atop this year’s list is downtown’s Cotton Avenue District, a historic African-American business district, which carried over from last year’s inaugural list.

Comprised of Pine, Spring, New and Forsyth streets, the district is under great pressure because of surrounding development, Historic Macon Executive Director Ethiel Garlington said at a news conference.

“We didn’t feel there was enough progress or success to declare this one saved,” Garlington said, adding that self-guided walking tours are among efforts being made to help the area.

New efforts will focus on Steward Chapel AME Church, which is “an incredible architectural gem. ... It is an anchor to the Cotton Avenue District in terms of their history and legacy,” Garlington said.

The 2016 “Fading Five” list also includes: “The Grotto” at 461 Forest Hill Road; the John B. Brooks House at 169 Lamar St.; the Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center at 1389 Jefferson St.; and the Train Recreation Center at 715 Oglethorpe St.

Historic Macon will work with the owners of each building to develop a plan for restoring the structure and find new owners and uses.

Four properties on the brink of becoming lost to time and neglect are now on the path to revitalization because of the 2015 “Fading Five” initiative.

The Schofield Iron Works Complex in the 500 block of Fifth Street was purchased by the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority in 2015 after being vacant for two decades. Historic Macon bought the Thomas Jefferson Ware House at 1107 Oglethorpe St. and has plans to sell it with a covenant for single-family use.

Hundreds attended an Ingleside community meeting in April to give input regarding the future of Alexander IV Elementary School at 3769 Ridge Ave.

Garlington said a request for proposals will soon be released to find a developer for the school, which opened in 1932 but has been vacant for long stretches.

Wednesday’s announcement was made in the future living room of John and Stephanie Chipley, a couple currently living in north Macon. The Chipleys bought the Bonnybrae-Bedgood House, beside Mercer University’s law school at 1073 Georgia Ave. It is currently being renovated and will include a private area for the Chipleys as well as two apartments for law students.

The Grotto at 461 Forest Road

A century ago, the Grotto was place where students and teachers of St. Stanislaus College could find respite. However, after the school burned in 1921, Garlington said time, neglect and changes in ownership led to the 100-acre retreat becoming a hot spot for vandalism.

“It’s this gorgeous piece of property,” Garlington said, adding that the grotto is earthed in a forest of old-growth hardwood trees.

A shrine to Saint Bernadette and a reflection pool were built by the college’s Jesuits shortly after La Societe Catholique Religieuse purchased the property in 1901.

In 1929, the land was sold to private developers, then subdivided and partially developed.

A 30-acre tract containing the grotto remains undisturbed.

“We’re hoping to work with the property owner to put conservation easements on this property, maybe find a way this could be open to public access so people can appreciate this,” Garlington said. “There’s active vandalism at this sight. There’s demolition by neglect. We’re hoping ... to find a new, sensitive buyer ... because of its significance to the community.”

John B. Brooks House at 169 Lamar St.

No one famous ever lived at the 20th century-style house in the Vineville Historic District, and it’s vernacular style is no architectural marvel, Garlington said.

It was owned by a man named John Brooks, who in 1916 made headlines in The Telegraph after appearing in court charged with distilling whiskey. Various tenants owned the house over the years before 2007, when it and other houses on the street were sold to Lamar Street Limited LLC.

“We believe there are houses like this across the community that still have viable use, that can be saved and can have a ripple effect,” Garlington said.

Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center at 1389 Jefferson St.

There at the intersection of Jefferson and Monroe streets in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, a boarded up building is slowly being swallowed by tall grass and kudzu.

Members of the First Congregational Church, a historically black congregation, had been worshipping since 1868 before the church took root on Jefferson Street in 1917. Its services were dedicated to the “higher development and improvement” of Macon’s black community.

“The history of this church has always been to educate and reach out to the neighborhood,” Garlington said.

It remained vacant from 1991 until it was sold in 1997 to the Booker T. Washington Community Center, which used it as a performing arts studio. The building was named in honor of Bobby Jones, the first black professor to earn tenure at Mercer University and the author of “Macon Black and White.”

The building closed a few years ago because the center lacked resources to make repairs, but Garlington said he hopes to find a new use for it.

Train Recreation Center at 715 Oglethorpe St.

Though it sits in a prominent location at the corner of First and Oglethorpe streets, the craftsman-style recreation center built in 1920 is noticed by few.

Rot, water and neglect have been harsh to the Train Recreation Center, which is the last downtown building built by the Bibb Manufacturing Co. The facility reflects a national reform movement that demanded fair and humane treatment for textile mill employees.

The city of Macon bought the building in 1966 and its deed restricted it to public or charitable use.

“This building has a lot of viable use,” Garlington said. “It sits on the gateway to downtown and the gateway to Beall’s Hill.”

There’s more than just a historic building on the property.

The company bought the land in 1850 because it contains a “never failing spring,” which supplied water to a nearby mill.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Historic Macon announces 2016 ‘Fading Five’ properties."