It was just days ago that, astonishingly, downtown Macon’s renaissance was featured on the front page of Atlanta’s daily newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a publication that serves a region of over 6 million people.
And why not? Macon has just emerged from a year-long celebration of its 200th anniversary, and during those festive months many of the city’s residents took a close look not only at its history – warts and all – but also at its assets. They were amazed at what they saw. In something like the annual arrival of Santa Claus, the city had been transformed while they weren’t looking.
In the 1970s, Macon was in decline. The magnificent old homes in the intown historic district were being steadily converted into low-rent apartments, churches were closing and businesses were fleeing downtown for the new (at that time) Macon Mall.
In the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, white parents were abandoning public schools for the dozen or more private “academies” in the suburbs. Macon was also hanging on to some archaic social codes. For example, women were excluded from membership in the prestigious civic clubs.
But seeds were being planted, and many of them are in full bloom today. The newly formed Intown Macon Neighborhood Association went to work with the fine old homes, going so far as to create a recycling program manned by volunteers. The historic Douglass Theatre was saved from the wrecking ball by a handful of zealous citizens. Ditto for Alexander II Elementary, so essential to the survival of the intown residential area.
An inspired young theater director converted an abandoned cafeteria into a downtown theater, a success that was followed by transformation of an abandoned theater across the street. Nearby, the visionary priest at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church was creating on Walnut Street the beginnings of today’s Harriet Tubman Museum. With downtown entertainment opportunities suddenly exploding, The Telegraph leapt in with extensive support of these ventures.
Extraordinary things are still unfolding — at Mercer’s Townsend School of Music, the Otis Redding Foundation, the soon-to-be Ocmulgee National Park and others.
The Visit Macon website, once a bland affair, has recently developed considerable pizzazz, noting that Macon’s transformation is showing up in all sorts of media coverage. CNN’s feature on “America’s Best Towns,” for example, produced the headline “How the Southern City of Macon went from ‘ghost town’ to ‘popping’ destination.”
Those seeds planted back in the ‘70s and ‘80s are turning into lavish gardens. While this renaissance is cause for great celebration, it would be foolhardy not to acknowledge that much work remains. Macon is still afflicted with poverty; its school system enjoys the support of only a portion of the citizenry and too many people lack access to health care.
The biggest issue that begs for attention is communication. While all of the wondrous things that have been mentioned above – museums, theater, music and education – will transform lives, far too many of our neighbors have no acquaintance with them. Far too many people have no idea that Macon is a wonderful place to live. They deserve to be told. That information would transform their lives and their children’s lives.
Wealth is in part a state of mind. Let’s spread it around.
Larry Fennelly can be contacted at [email protected]
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