Macon’s offerings were both diverse and interesting. After driving and admiring the antebellum buildings, we stopped at the Hay House, a historical landmark built from 1855-1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival Style. With 18,000 square feet and 24 bathrooms, it is almost as big as some of the newer Naples “mansions.” Then it was on to the “Cannonball House,” a Greek Revival Mansion built in 1853. It was struck by a cannonball in 1864, hence its name. I thought there might have been evidence of the cannonball strike, but, alas, no, only the name remained. From there we went to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Construction was started in 1889 and finished in 1903. With over 60 stained glass windows, it is a magnificent structure. It takes up most of a downtown block and is the third largest building in Macon. The front doors were locked, but undaunted, I kept trying side doors until I found one unlocked. I was well rewarded for my efforts as the interior was breathtaking. I will add that there was a sign at the front door saying that the church was open during the day. Apparently one just had to “be in the know” as to which door to open or really persistent in finding that door.
Then getting a little less serious we toured The Allman Brothers Band Museum at the Big House. The Big House became the place where members of The Allman Brothers Band, their roadies, friends and families lived from 1970 to 1973. That was the time the “magic” of the band was just taking place and spreading onward from this small town.
There are always “juicy” tidbits with known celebrities, and, this band is no exception. Very sad happenings were the deaths of two of the original band members at age 24, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, just a year apart, both of whom died in motorcycle accidents. Even if we do not know The Allman Brothers, we all know of Cher. She and Gregg Allman were married in 1975, and, they had a son, Elijah Blue. They divorced, remarried and then broke up for good in 1978, all this in 3 years! Gregg Allman died of liver cancer at age 69.
We always try to choose local restaurants when we travel. Lunch was at Brassiere Circa, which although had an in-town street name address turned out to be more in the suburbs of Macon. We were the only tourists there and were well rewarded for the drive that took us through pretty residential and college areas. We had dinner at a local restaurant called The Tic Toc, and, the meal was delicious. We had made the reservations earlier, which was fortunate as we probably would not have entered had we not been committed. Blocking the sidewalk and all the parking spaces in front was a long line of motorcycles with a huge crowd of bikers on the street. We were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into, but, they were polite in letting us walk through their group, and, to their credit they did not call us “ma’am and sir.”