A historic Macon building that was in danger of being lost will be demolished

For the first time, a building on the Historic Macon Foundation’s successful Fading Five list is declared lost, but it is being replaced with an iconic industrial structure.

The list began in 2015 with the aim of identifying historic properties in danger. Once on the list, buildings only come off when declared either saved or lost. Until Wednesday, the only buildings to come off had been saved.

Max Crook, chair of the board of trustees for Historic Macon, said four of the five properties on last year’s list are still on it. The only one to come off is the A.E. Barnes Duplexes on Spring Street next the Medical Center, Navicent Health. The Macon-Bibb County Hospital Authority owns the property and plans to demolish the buildings.

Crook said Historic Macon had explored the possibility of relocating the two brick buildings, but it proved too costly. Navicent offered to donate the $20,000 it would cost to demolish the buildings and a nearby vacant tract as a new location, but Crook said it was still too expensive.

“We can’t save them all,” Crook said after making the announcement. “We tried real, real hard to save those.”

Replacing it on the list is the coaling tower on Seventh Street. It was built in 1910 for the Central of Georgia Railroad, and Crook remembers as a child watching steam engines refuel with coal at the tower. The coal would move down a long chute that is still there, jutting from the tall building partly covered with vines..

“I just think it’s one of the most iconic buildings in all of Macon,” he said.

Ethiel Garlington, executive director of Historic Macon, said there has been no creative new use identified for the building. The goal is simply for the owner of the property, Transco Railcar, Inc., to not tear it down and maintain it as is. Crook said he believes from discussions with the company that Transco recognizes the historic importance of the building and will save it.

Since its inception, six of the 11 buildings that have made the Fading Five have been saved. Although four from the 2017 list are still on it, Garlington said there is “positive momentum” for those that remain.

The buildings still on the list are:

• Train Recreation Center at 715 Oglethorpe St., which was completed in 1920 to provide free recreational opportunities for Bibb Manufacturing Co. employees.
  
  
• Guy E. Paine House at 2733 Hillcrest Avenue, built in about 1912 for Guy E. Paine, a prominent Macon resident who served as president of the Chamber of Commerce.
• Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center at 1389 Jefferson St. Formerly a historically black church in the Pleasant Hill area, it later became part of a nonprofit group that made it a performing arts center but couldn’t afford to keep it up.
• Cotton Avenue District, formerly a major center for black businesses in the era of segregation. Although still on the list, Historic Macon cites significant progress in revitalization of the area.

The announcement was made at the old Fire Hall #4 on Third Street. Crook said that using Fading Five funds, Historic Macon is under contract to purchase the building for preservation. Crook said the station was built in 1868 and is believed to be the oldest surviving fire hall in Georgia.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 2:48 PM.