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Historic Macon announces 'Fading Five'

The newest addition to the annual list is the DeWitt McCrary House, built in the 1870s

MACON, Ga. — A new property was added to Historic Macon’s fifth annual Faded Five list Thursday morning.

The Fading Five is a list of Macon’s endangered historic properties that leaders say should be preserved.

The organization revealed the list at the former Alexander IV Elementary School on Ridge Avenue.

The newest addition to is a property called the DeWitt McCrary house in east Macon near the Mill Hill Community Arts Center.

Built in the 1870s, the home has faced threats from development pressure, according to Historic Macon. The Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission denied an application for a gas station adjacent to the house.

Diana Blair, the McCrary house’s new owner, says she thinks the property needs some “tender love and care.”

“Well, the property is up for sale. I hope to be able to sell it to someone that would give it its tender love and care that it deserves,” Blair said. “The inside of the home is beautiful. There’s built-in bookshelves, the floor-to-ceiling windows, so it just has a lot of architectural value.”

Here is a list of the organization’s Fading Five properties:

  • DeWitt McCrary House, 320 Hydrolia Street: The Folk Victorian-style home was built in the 1870’s. McCrary was an 1876 Mercer University graduate and a druggist who started a pharmacy in 1881 on Main Street. His widow sold the home in 1945 for $850.
  • Train Recreation Center, 715 Oglethorpe Street: The train recreation center is owned by Macon-Bibb County. A deed stipulation the Bibb Manufacturing company placed on the property in 1966 requires it can only be used or restored by a government or nonprofit entity.
  • Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center, 1389 Jefferson Street: The Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center is deeded to the Booker T. Washington Center. The building was home to First Congregational Church over 100 years ago.
  • Coaling Tower, 989 Seventh Street: This structure was sued as a coal chute until 1965. It’s current owner, Transco railway, bought the tract it is next to. It was built in 1920 for the Central of Georgia Railroad and serves as a relic of Macon’s industrial heritage.
  • Guy E. Paine House, 2733 Hillcrest Avenue: Located in the Cherokee Heights district, this Italian Renaissance-style home was built in 1912. The first owner of the home was a man named Guy Paine who was recruited from Chicago to work for the Penn Mutual Insurance Company. The house foreclosed twice since 1988.

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