Self-Guided Tour of Downtown Athens
This tour includes 47 points of interest throughout historic downtown Athens and the earliest parts of University of Georgia’s campus. This tour is very walkable, beginning at the Historic Athens Welcome Center and ending nearby. Limited free parking is available at the Historic Athens Welcome Center, and metered parking is available throughout downtown. There are plenty of shopping and dining options on the route to enjoy!
1. Church-Waddel-Brumby House c.1820
280 East Dougherty Street
This Federal Period house was built in 1820 for Alonzo Church who later became president of the University of Georgia. Shortly after its construction, it was acquired by Dr. Moses Waddel who lived here as UGA President from 1820-1829. The house remained a single family dwelling for the Harris, Hardeman, and Brumby families until the mid 1960s. The Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation prevented its demolition by moving and restoring it to serve as a house museum and Welcome Center. The ChurchWaddel-Brumby House also has the distinction of being the oldest surviving residence in Athens.
2. Graduate Athens/The Foundry
295 East Dougherty Street
Historic landmarks within this site include The Hoyt House, constructed in 1829 and purchased by Rev. Nathan Hoyt in 1833. The Foundry music venue is named for the old Athens Foundry, c.1849, which cast much of the decorative ironwork for the historic homes and gardens of Athens as well as the double-barreled cannon.
3. Ware-Lyndon House, c.1845
293 Hoyt Street
This simple house of sturdy brick construction, reflecting the Italianate mode, was built in the 1840s by Dr. Edward R. Ware and remodeled by Dr. Edward Smith Lyndon, an Athens’ druggist, in 1880. Located on a prominent hill overlooking Downtown Athens and nearby Oconee River, it is the only residence remaining on its original site in Lickskillet, an early residential section of Athens. The house is now restored to its original splendor as part of the Lyndon House Arts Center.
4. Tinsley-Stern House, c.1830
193 East Hancock Avenue
When James Tinsley built this Federal style home, he located it in Athens’ first residential neighborhood. The second oldest residence in Athens, this building has been used for a variety of purposes, including a boardinghouse, a funeral home, a library, and the District Attorney’s office. It is constructed of stuccoed brick and has a hip roof, massive interior chimneys, nine over nine windows and a belt course between the two stories. The interior has been greatly remodeled.
5. First Presbyterian Church, c.1855
185 East Hancock Street
Ross Crane constructed this church in 1855 at a cost of $10,000 for a congregation which had been organized in 1820. The Church was remodeled in 1902, and recent additions have been made, but its early appearance has been retained. Interior details include a pulpit of Italian marble and pine pews trimmed in hand-hewn walnut from Whitehall Plantation. They were designed to accommodate families of different sizes, and many of the original nameplates are still on the pews.
6. U.S. Post Office, c.1941
183 East Hancock Street
This classically inspired building, which features colossal columns, was constructed as a WPA project. At the request of local citizens, the Beaux Arts design complements the classical environs in which it is located.
7. Double-Barreled Cannon, 1863
Lawn of City Hall, College and Hancock Streets
Believed to be the only double-barreled cannon in the world, this relic of the War Between the States proved to be rather impractical because its barrels were not synchronized and the cannon balls, which were chained together, never got off to the same start when fired. The cannon now faces due north, “just in case.”
8. First American Bank and Trust Company, c.1906
300 College Avenue
This building was designed by the Architect of the Treasury, James Knox Taylor, in the Second Renaissance Revival Style and housed the Post Office and the Federal Court. It was the first major commercial adaptive use project in Athens, completed in 1973.
9. City Hall, c.1904
College Avenue and Washington Street
Situated on the highest elevation in Downtown Athens, this building was designed in the Beaux Arts Classicism mode by L.F. Goodrich of Augusta and built for a cost of $50,000. From the granite base to the top of the eagle weather vane measures exactly 99 feet.
10. Costa’s Ice Cream Factory Building
133 East Washington Street
Originally, the Costa family made ice cream for use only at their ice cream shop, which was located in the Commerce Building in the early 1900s. The Costa family constructed this impressive structure as their factory and headquarters after the rise in popularity of the family’s famous Costa ice cream which they began selling in 1908. The factory produced ice cream for nearly two decades and a visit to this or other retail outlets was a fond memory for Athens residents and students of the University of Georgia long after the factory closed in 1939. The Costa family was highly regarded in Athens and the southeast for their entrepreneurship, and their establishment was credited as “one of the largest and most up-to-date ice cream plants” in the region.
11. Ben Epps’ Shop, 1904
120 East Washington Street
Ben Epps designed and built his own planes and, in 1907, flew the first airplane in Georgia. Born in Oconee County, he was educated in Athens and attended Georgia Tech. A self-taught aviator, designer, and builder, Epps built the 1907 Monoplane in this shop, where he also designed and flew new airplanes through 1930. Epps began an airport in 1917 and operated a flying service for the next 20 years until he died in 1937.
12. Morton Theatre, c.1910
Corner of Washington and Hull Streets
Built by Monroe Bowers "Pink" Morton, the Morton Theatre is one of America’s first African-American built, owned, and operated vaudeville theatres. Performers such as Duke Ellington, Louie Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Bessie Smith performed here during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Today, the restored Morton serves Athens as a community performing arts center.
13. Hot Corner
Corner of Washington and Hull Streets
The Hot Corner is a historic community and economic hub of Athens made up of landmark black business and trailblazing professionals. The Hot Corner began in the 20th century as a center of entrepreneurship and entertainment, coinciding with the construction of the AME Church on Dougherty Street which still stands today. In 1910, Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton built the Morton Building at the intersection of Hull and Washington streets, which is currently the oldest, African-American built and owned theatre in the country. In the early 1900s, the building became home to a variety of companies such as the Ellington D. Harris Drug Company, which was the first black-owned drugstore in Athens. Professionals in that building also included the practice of Dr. Ida Mae Hiram, the first black female dentist in Athens as well as the first black woman to pass the Georgia Dental Board exams, and Dr. Blanche Thompson, the first black female physician in Athens. Many black-owned businesses also resided across the street from the Morton, including a motel, food market, a few restaurants, and some barbershops. Today, Wilson’s Styling Shop, which opened its doors in the 1950s, serves as one of the modern-day anchors of the Hot Corner.
14. Old Presbyterian Manse, 1841
185 North Hull Street
One of the oldest houses in Athens, this house sits on its original lot and was built as a downtown home for Albon Chase, the second mayor of Athens and owner of Athens’ first paper mill. The Greek Revival house with elements of English Regency style is one of the last remaining of its style in Athens. The interior is original, as is the building behind the house, which served as the cookhouse and slave quarters. Albon Chase (1808-67), builder of the house, was born in New Hampshire and came to Athens in the 1830's. He bought and edited an Athens newspaper, renamed The Southern Banner, ancestor of the present Athens Banner-Herald. Reflecting the views of the editor and of Howell Cobb of Athens, leading lawyer and politician, the paper supported the Union Democrat faction led by Andrew Jackson, as opposed to the Southern Rights Democrat faction led by John Calhoun. However, after 1850, Cobb and the paper were secessionist. With Dr. John Linton, Chase established one of the South's early paper mills, the Pioneer Paper Mill on the Middle Oconee River near Athens, for which he was agent or manager. Chase was also general agent and secretary for the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, a leading Athens business.
15. Georgia Theatre, c. 1889
215 North Lumpkin Street
The Art Deco façade that exists today is a product of extensive remodeling efforts undertaken in 1935. The original building was the site of the YMCA and later converted into the Hotel Majestic and Elite Theatre. Today it serves as one of the main music venues in Athens, still offering occasional movies.
16. The Globe
199 North Lumpkin Street
During the early 1900s, this was the home of Athens Steam Laundry and later a furniture store. Transformed by a rehabilitation project, the Globe is now an English-style pub noted for its displays of work by local artists.
17. Bank of America, c.1915
110 East Clayton Street
This 9-story building was originally designed as an office building, it was later converted to hotel use, then was remodeled in the Colonial revival style in the 1960s for banking purposes.
18. Haygood Building, c.1885
151 East Clayton Street
This handsome three-story brick building reflects the Victorian Romanesque style and has distinctive architectural features, including granite window moldings and sills. The building is now used for commercial space.
19. Moss-Scott Building, c.1910
164 East Clayton Street
This Beaux Arts Classicism building, executed in a vernacular mode, was originally built to be a pool hall and a soda fountain. The building has also been the site of the Sterchi Brothers, and J.C. Penney.
20. Commerce Building, c. 1908
220 College Avenue
This building, Athens’ first "skyscraper," was originally the Southern Mutual Insurance Company building and it also housed the Georgia National Bank and Costa’s Ice Cream Parlor. Later in the decade the C&S Bank, as well as Palmer and Sons Drugs were located there.
21. Vonderleith-Moss-Heerey Building, 1870-1880
216 East Clayton Street
The only remaining pressed tin façade in Athens graces this Victorian-era, eclectic building. It originally had a corner entrance and housed a local print shop.
22. Meyers Building, c. 1892
171 College Avenue
This Victorian Romanesque style building originally had a second tower that graced the right side of the building and duplicated the one which still remains on the left side of the façade. The Grill, a restaurant, currently occupies this space. The 40 Watt Club had its origins as Curtis Crowe's 171 College Avenue loft back in 1978. Bill Tabor and Crowe joked that it was a 40 Watt Club due to the single 40-watt bulb which hung from the ceiling.
23. College Square Building, c. 1845
College Avenue and Broad Street
E.L. Newton built this building, which at one time was Athens’ finest hotel. This building housed the hotel until the 1920s. Known then as the Commercial Hotel, the name was subsequently changed to the Colonial Hotel. The present façade is of the 1920s period and represents the Colonial Revival style.
24. College Square
The heart of downtown Athens, College Square entertains an eclectic mix of UGA students, professors, Athens residents, and visitors who gather here to enjoy the cafes, shops, and concerts.
25. Athens Confederate Monument
In the median strip of Broad Street used to stand a Carrara marble obelisk mounted on a granite foundation engraved with names of the city's soldiers who were killed during the American Civil War. In 2021, the monument was relocated. It's current placement is near the site of the Battle of Barber Creek, a skirmish that occurred on August 2, 1864 between a detachment of General George Stoneman's cavalry forces and the Athens Home Guard during the Atlanta campaign.
26. The Anchor
This 4,000 pound, haze gray anchor was placed in the Broad Street median in 1990 to symbolize the community’s respect for the Navy Corps Supply School, which was located in the "Normaltown" area of Athens between 1954 and 2010. The destroyer-sized anchor was disposed by the Navy after it was determined unfit because of its bent shaft.
27. The Arch, 1857
Intersection of Broad Street and College Avenue
The Arch, constructed as part of a campus enclosure to keep out stray animals, serves as the main entrance to the University of Georgia’s campus. It is modeled after the Great Seal of the State of Georgia; the three columns represent wisdom, justice, and moderation.
28. Holmes-Hunter Building, 1903
UGA North Campus
Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the first Black students admitted to the university in January 1961. Originally known as the Academic Building, this building was rededicated on January 9, 2001 as the Holmes Hunter Building. It was in this building that Holmes and Hunter registered for classes, striking a blow against segregated public education in Georgia.
29. Demosthenian Hall, 1824
UGA North Campus
The Demosthenian Literary Society, the oldest of the two literary societies on campus, was organized in 1802. The hall was completed in 1824. The façade of this two-story structure is dominated by the Palladian window on the second story. The additional deep-set windows each have 18 small panes of glass. The decorative plaster ceiling in the second story meeting room is unusually beautiful.
30. Moore Hall, 1874
UGA North Campus
A gift to the University from the City of Athens, this Second empire style building was constructed at a cost of $25,000. The building was named after Dr. Richard Dudley Moore, a prominent and popular physician in Athens at the time. It was designed by Colonel L.H. Charbonnier, professor of mathematics and engineering (1861-1898), who later served as university president. The building is distinguished by its Mansard roof and the particularly fine entrance doors.
31. Chapel, 1832
UGA North Campus
The Greek Revival influence began to affect campus architecture when this chapel was built at a cost of $15,000. One of the earliest Greek Revival structures in Athens, this building has long been used for religious exercises, public meetings, and student activities. It is the traditional center of campus activities. In recent times students have rung the chapel bell in celebration of Georgia football victories. A large painting of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is mounted behind the stage and dominates the interior of the building. This painting, by George Cook (1783-1857), was presented to the University in 1867 by Daniel Pratt and is reputed to be the largest framed oil painting in the southeast.
32. New College, 1822-1823
UGA North Campus
The first “new college,” built in 1822-23, burned in 1830 and was rebuilt two years later. It has been used as a dormitory, classrooms and offices.
33. Old College, 1801-1806
UGA North Campus
Old College was the first permanent building to be erected on campus. With its bright Flemish bond brickwork, it was patterned after Connecticut Hall at Yale University. Visible on the North face of Old College is a plaque denoting the quarters occupied by roommates Alexander H. Stephens and Crawford W. Long in 1832. Through most of its life, Old College has served as a dormitory, although during the War Between the States, it housed refugee families from New Orleans and served as a Confederate Hospital. Today it is used for administrative offices.
34. Phi Kappa Hall, 1836
UGA North Campus
The Phi Kappa Literary Society was housed in a Greek Revival building directly across the campus quadrangle from its arch rival, the Demosthenian Society. In an era when the two literary societies were the center of extra-curricular activities on campus, students belonged to either one or the other society, and their rivalry was so serious that it often continued years later.
35. Smith’s Drug Store, c. 1885
279 East Broad Street
Designed with a classical motif, this building was the site of Dr. R.M. Smith’s Drug Store, established in the mid 1800s. The University Bank of Athens occupied the building until the end of the century. The building is now a downtown retail location.
36. Parrott Building, c. 1885
283 East Broad Street
This was the original site of the Millinery and Fancy Goods shop run by Mrs. Addie Adams and Mrs. Eva Williamson. The Athens Savings Bank began using the Victorian Romanesque building in the early 1900s.
37. Jittery Joe’s, c. 1866
295 East Broad Street
The roofline of this building features a crenelated parapet wall characteristic of Gothic architecture. The arched windows reflect an Italianate influence that adds to the charm of this Victorian-era building. The structure was built by the National Bank of Athens and was occupied by it until 1959.
38. Cat Alley
Jackson Street, between Broad and Clayton Streets
This block was once the location of an Athens butcher who, under contract, fed downtown cats kept by local shopkeepers to combat the rodent population.
39. Franklin House, c. 1845
480 East Broad Street
This building with Greek Revival detailing was built by William L. Mitchell as a hotel, with mercantile shops on the first floor. In 1866, the Childs-Nickerson Hardware Co. opened a store in this building. The company changed its name to the Athens Hardware Co. in 1885 and continued to occupy the building until 1972. In the 1970s, the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, now Historic Athens, prevented the building’s demolition.
40. Farmer’s Exchange Lofts, c.1897
582 East Broad Street
The present building on this site was constructed in 1897 by Billups Phinizy, a prominent local Athenian. A grocer occupied the first floor and there were offices on the second. The rear section of the building, which was still one story, was used as a cotton warehouse. Second story additions were added section by section between 1903 and 1926 under various owners, and are evident from the outside by the changing window sizes and configurations. Farmer’s Hardware moved into the building in 1972. In 1997, Farmer’s Hardware was converted into loft apartments.
41. Athens Banner-Herald, c.1992
One Press Place Athens’ original newspaper building was located on this site but was torn down in 1991 so that the new, enlarged building could be rebuilt on the same lot. The lobby is designed and painted to resemble an ancient Greek temple.
42. Michael Bros. Building, 1921
320 E. Clayton Street
Fire destroyed the original building on this lot, owned by Michael Dry Goods. Designed by noted architect Neil Reid, this building illustrates the Second Renaissance Revival style. Its architecture was considered so perfect for dry goods merchandising that a dry goods establishment in Augusta, GA secured permission to copy it for business. The “twin” building still stands in Augusta today.
43. The Classic Center, c.1995
300 North Thomas Street
This complex was completed in 1995, in time for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and serves as Athens’ civic and conference center. Old Fire Hall #1, which was built in 1912, was restored and incorporated into the design of the civic center at the request of local citizens.
44. Statue of Athena, c.1996
This statue was granted to Athens-Clarke County by local citizens to commemorate the 1996 Olympic games. According to Greek Mythology, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, served as a guardian to the ancient city of Athens. Athena stands nine feet tall and is carved from fine Italian marble. The inscription on her base reads, "Thus in all these ways, we will transmit the city, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us." This statement is the last line of the Athenian oath taken by the youth of ancient Athens, and appropriately articulates the sentiments of Athens, Georgia residents today.
45. Clarke County Courthouse, c. 1914
East Washington Street Situated on a lot in Lickskillet, one of Athens’ first residential neighborhoods, the Courthouse, which was the second to be constructed in Clarke County, was designed in the Beaux Arts Classicism style. Originally housing the county jail, the fourth floor windows were barred and a courtyard was located on the roof.
46. Blind Pig Tavern, c.1890
312 East Washington Street
This building is a masonry structure with heavy wood trusses; the upper floor was constructed of 2 inch thick pine. The space was originally built for a hardware store and then in 1915 became a city garage. It remained a garage until it became a printing shop, and remained so until 1988.
47. Georgian Hotel, c.1909
247 East Washington Street
A. Ten Eyck Brown, an architect from Atlanta, designed this Georgian Revival style building. Built for a cost of $200,000, this hotel introduced modern conveniences into hotel accommodations with 100 rooms, private baths, and running water. Currently this building is used for luxury condos, a bar, restaurant and event venue.