The White's Building

Today was an historic moment for Augusta. For years, we have worked to encourage growth in our downtown district. A renaissance, if you will. Downtown Augusta is a great place to be: skirting the Savannah River, it boasts of historic charm and natural beauty. The problem is that when the malls came in the 70s, downtown's energy died. Stores closed and moved to the 'burbs, leaving big vacant boxes behind.

The White's Bldg, once the site of one of Augusta's premier department stores, has been vacant since 1978. Several developers from Atlanta recently purchased the structure and have painstakingly transformed the 5 story building into elegant retail and residential spaces. They were careful to salvage and restore the building's historic architectural elements, to which they added the latest in green-building technology.

The result is stunning. The ribbon cutting today hosted over 200 people (my guess). Photos can be found here. The White's Bldg. represents the first multi-million $ project downtown has seen in over a decade. Work on White's has spurred a litany of other projects in the district, including landscaping, signage, boutiques, a new road, and tons of businesses relocating to the area.

After a long winter, Augusta's finally on its way back up. Watch out!

The Miller Theater

A few years ago, God relocated me to Augusta, Georgia - this seemingly-sleepy little town in the deep South. (for the cool lighting-bolt-from-the-sky story about how God moved me here, e-mail me... maybe I'll post this later, but it's besides the point right now).

Anyway, since my move 4 years ago, I have continually been surprised by Augusta's hidden gems. The Miller Theater is my most recent discovery.

In reality, the Miller is nothing new to those who have been instrumental in its survival, and who remember it in its hayday. But for me, I have been working on the same block as this historic Art-Deco theater for the last 4 years without being the wiser.

The entrance is a tiny set of doors wedged between downtown buildings. But once inside, you are surrounded by a grand corridor that screams of classic architecture. At the end of the corridor's red carpet, you enter into the largest theater in the region - able to seat over 1,200 guests - with an 80' fly space, a movable orchestra pit, organ, hand-painted murals, and plenty of dressing room space for the largest ensemble cast.

The Miller was purchased a few years ago by a local philanthropist, who sought to save the building from demolition-by-neglect. He repaired the leaky roof and other critical features, and is looking to donate or sell it to a charity who can use it. Here are some photos from the open house event