midtown columbus driving tour

Weracoba/St. Elmo and
Peacock Woods/Dimon Circle
The Dinglewood Historic District is a small, residential neighborhood
compromised of c. 1859 Dinglewood house; early 20th-century residences;
Weracaboa/St. Elmo The history of the district begins with the founding of
a privately-owned, central, circular park; and a city-owned park. The
Columbus and with the city’s most famous antebellum mansion, St. Elmo, built
district developed around Dinglewood, the two-story, Italianate-style
circa 1830. Another smaller antebellum house, Highland Hall, dating from
house designed for Colonel Joel Early Hurt. The 30-acre estate was
the1850s, is also within the district. Both structures are listed in the National
subdivided in the early 20th century, and sixteen houses were constructed
between 1917 and 1951. Common house styles in the district include
Georgian, Bungalow, Ranch, Colonial Revival, English Vernacular
Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival.
1
Drive), a two-story, Italianate-style,
Georgian house was designed for Colonel
into Gordon’s nest, is a vivid demonstration of how an original Greek
Joel Early Hurt by Columbus architects
Revival home can evolve into a “period home.” Constructed in 1837, it
and builders Barringer and Morton in
was extensively remodeled around 1918 by architect T. Firth Lockwood.
1858. Hurt spared no expense when
In 1949 it was restored by architect James J.W. Biggers, Sr. to approximate
building his home. He even installed private
its original conception. The most recent additions include a swimming
water and gas works on the property.
pool and pool house.
Located on either side of the Dinglewood
House are two c. 1858 houses reportedly
built for the craftsman who constructed the Dinglewood House.
2 Sarling Fountain (Buena Vista
Road and Wynnton Road) The
subdivision. Sale of lots along the streetcar line peaked from 1918 to
1925. Also within this district—at 1519 Stark Avenue—is the
ten-acre lot. The house is a
childhood home of Carson McCullers (1917-1967) the renowned
Greek Revival, raised cottage
novelist and playwright.
of community among its residents. Its canopy of mature hardwood trees shelters
the city’s – and perhaps one of the state’s – largest and most intact 1920s/1930s
concentration of middle-class Craftsman Bungalow, Tudor Revival, Classical,
and Mission Revival style homes. Of the 440 surviving houses in the district,
85% were constructed by 1941.
religious circles, by her sister Mrs.
received a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1955.
Desire Franklin. The Carrara marble fountain has a center sculpture
7 The Wynn House
of a woman called “Mrs. Columbus.” It has often been said to depict
(1240 Wynnton Road)
a Columbus girl looking toward Fort Benning for a husband,
but when the fountain was last cleaned, it was returned facing the
wrong direction.
3 The Elms (1846 Buena Vista Road) The original Greek Revival
English Vernacular Revival, Mission/Spanish Revival, and Craftsman.
a large central hall. A twoto have been the original detached kitchen. The pedimented front porch
has four square-sectioned columns and fine cast-iron balustrade and
Jones drew all the plans for
ornamental trim.
in1833.
The
materials used to build this house, with the exception of the marble and
president of the corporation that owned the Ledger-Enquirer, which
Some of the architectural styles in this district include Colonial Revival,
deep, symmetrically flanking
Avenue) Colonel Seaborn
completed
woman in Columbus’ civic, social, and
that was originally two rooms
story rear addition was built about 1905, incorporating what is thought
9 St. Elmo (2808 18th
house was begun in 1828 and
this subdivision of lots. Previous homeowner Alvah H. Chapman, was
Avenue to serve the Wynnton area. Owner of the street carline and
family and originally sat on a
trolley line served as an impetus for
memorial to Lenora Sarling, a leading
1950s. In the 1880s, a streetcar line was constructed along Wildwood
own Queen Anne estate here as he developed the Wildwood Circle
Dorado, land of beauty. The
Revival home, situated between two antebellum estates, is an example of
is used by over a 1,000 people each day.
century streetcar suburb—continued to develop through the mid-
was built in 1857 by the Ellis
1888 by John Francis Flournoy. The
City of Columbus in 1929 as a
Street to 13th Street and the park now offers a wide range of activities and
The Wildwood Circle-Hillcrest Historic District—an early 20th
the Muscogee Real Estate Company, John Francis Flournoy, built his
his home and called it El
subdivisions. This 1920 Colonial
known as Weracoba Park, it remains Lakebottom to many Columbusites.
The city of Columbus expanded the park to include the portion from 17th
17th Street) Highland Hall
Line trolley line was established in
fountain and park were given to the
recreational facility. The lake was drained in 1926, and while officially
Wildwood Circle/Hillcrest
and Wynnton Village
prior to the Civil War.
6 1410 Wynnton Road The Belt
dividing the antebellum estates into
the site of Columbus High School with the remainder continuing as a
Register, and they illustrate the area’s original use as a setting for suburban estates
residential, recreational, educational, and commercial area with a strong sense
5 Gordonido (1420 Wynnton Road), which translates from Spanish
In 1924, the city purchased this park, a major portion of which became
12 Highland Hall (1504
Today, the Weracoba/St. Elmo Historic District is a vibrant multi-use
Dinglewood (1429 Dinglewood
!
Dinglewood and Overlook
! MIDTOWN COLUMBUS DRIVING TOUR
the mahogany, were taken from the property itself. A small lake now fills
the place where the clay was removed. In 1883, Colonel Seaborn Jones
brought his wife and children, a daughter and a son, to El Dorado. That
same year, Henry L. Benning, an aspiring young lawyer, wrote a friend:
“Above all things (I advise if you desire ease and happiness) marry. Marry
a lady of accomplishment, i.e. worth $100,000. It will be better than
quibbling. I am anxious to experiment at least.” In 1839, Benning, for
was constructed in 1838
whom Fort Benning is named, married Colonel Seaborn Jones’ daughter.
by Colonel William L.
Many historic personages were entertained at El Dorado among them were
Wynn. The Greek Revival
President Millard Fillmore, President James K. Polk, Henry Clay, General
The Peacock Woods-Dimon Circle Historic District The development
of The Peacock Woods-Dimon Circle Historic District began in 1922. John
Flournoy’s Peacock Woods subdivision comprises the northern half of the district
and Samuel Kelly Dimon’s Dimon Circle subdivision, the southern portion.
Flournoy, a prominent and prolific Columbus developer, hired the nationally
acclaimed landscape architect Earle S. Dapper to design Peacock Woods as a
picturesque neighborhood with curving streets and park-like settings. Dimon
Circle was subdivided from Dimon’s family property in 1922. Additional lots
were added to the development in 1928. The center of the district (known as
Rock Park) was developed by Charlie Frank Williams and the southwest
portion(known as Wynnton Heights) was subdivided by Hezikiah Land. The
district includes abroad range of architectural styles including Colonial Revival,
Craftsman, English Vernacular Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and one
1954 California Ranch.
15 Hillcrest (1652 Carter Avenue) was built in 1890 by successful
Columbus businessman John Francis Flournoy for his second wife,
Mary Reynolds Flournoy. This elaborate Queen Anne style house
with Eastlake details was designed by L.E. Thornton. With all of its
complicated architectural spaces and all of the detailed surface
ornamentation, this house has a commanding presence as it sits atop
the hill for which it was named. Mr. Flournoy also developed
Wildwood Park, located in front of his home, from 1890 to1919.
The park and its multi-acre lake were important attractions in
style Georgian house was
Winfield Scott, and Edwin Booth. Also, here Mrs. Jones’ niece, Augusta
Columbus and when the lake was drained it later became known as
house was built in 1844 by Lambert Spencer. Lloyd G. Bowers, a cotton
sold to Henry Hurt, who
Jane Evans Wilson, finished her celebrated novel, “St. Elmo.” In1878, the
Weracoba Park. The house remained in the Flournoy family for 105
merchant from Massachusetts who had also been a food blockade-
remodeled and added on
home was purchased by Captain and Mrs. James J. Slade who changed its
years. Hillcrest certainly continues to be the centerpiece of the
runner for the South during the Civil War, purchased the house and
to the house in 1852. Hurt would then sell the home and 100 acres in
name to St. Elmo in honor of the novel which it had inspired.
Wildwood Circle-Hillcrest Historic District.
twelve acres in 1862. Mr.
Bowers added the two, large
hexagonal wings in1868 and
commissioned a painter to
fresco the ceilings. Mrs.
Bowers, with the help of an
English gardener, laid out a beautiful formal garden in the shape of a
butterfly and planted elm trees along the front sidewalk. The Elms
remained in the Bowers family until 1966.
The Wynn’s Hill-Overlook Historic District is an outstanding
example of an early- to mid 20th-century residential neighborhood
developed from several antebellum estates. In 1834, Colonel William L.
Wynn purchased 100 acres of land located on a rise east of downtown
Columbus, just beyond the city limits. Wynnton Road was an important
thoroughfare that also served as the early property line that divided Wynn’s
land from John Woolfolk’s land (portions of which were later sold to Joel
Early Hurt, builder of Dinglewood, among others). During the 1920s, a
majority of the district was purchased and developed by Lloyd G. Bowers
who hired nationally acclaimed landscape architect, Earle S. Draper, to
design a picturesque neighborhood. Draper’s signature style of curvilinear
streets and park-like settings can also be seen in the Peacock Woods-Dimon
Circle Historic District and in the 1920s expansion of the village at the
Bibb Mill (located outside of MidTown). With the incorporation of the
larger Wynnton area into the city limits in the mid-1920s, residential
construction boomed; a second peak in building occurred in the 1940s.
Some of the architectural styles in this district include Greek Revival,
1855 to Colonel Hines Holt.
16 Tranquilla (north corner of Wildwood Avenue and 16th
In 1905, the Holts sold the home and 18 acres to John Thomas Cooper.
Street) The home was built in 1906 by Mallory Reynolds Flournoy,
Using a team of mules, Cooper moved the home forward approximately
son of John Francis Flournoy. The home passed to Reynolds’s wife,
300 feet in 1906. The Cooper family developed the Oak Circle
Mattie Hatcher Flournoy, after his death in 1920. Her daughter,
subdivision on the land behind the Wynn House. In the late 1950s, it was
Mary Passailaigue, a Columbus artist, inherited the house in 1956
purchased by the Christian Fellowship Association and is still owned by
and began to remodel. The
this organization today.
front of the house lost its
8 The Columbus Museum and
Gardens (1251 Wynnton Road)
built in 1934 for A.O. Blackmar. The home was designed by Atlanta-based
the largest art and history museum
architect, James Mitchell. The house sits far back on the lot to allow for
in Georgia and one of the largest
the large picturesque garden.
Museum is particularly known for
its concentration on American art
and the history of the region. There are 15 permanent collections and
traveling exhibition galleries of fine and decorative art located within the
Museum. This site was originally home to Columbus financier W.C.
Bradley and the gardens surrounding the museum were designed in the
1920s by the firm founded by the landscape architect Frederick Law
Olmsted. For more information on the Museum’s history, please locate
the outdoor interpretive panels. The Museum is located in the Wynn’s
Hill/Overlook Historic District.
Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday: 10
a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.–5:00 p.m.; Monday: Closed. Free Admission.
10 St. Elmo School and Shopping Center In 1930, the city of Columbus
14 1617 Summit Drive Neel
Reid of the Atlanta firm of
style. It was in use as a neighborhood school until 1990 when St. Elmo
Hentz, Reid and Adler designed
became a school for the gifted.
this Neoclassical Revival home
Across the street stands “Columbus’
in 1926 for R.E Dismukes. Mr.
first true shopping center.” The St.
Reid was responsible for every
Elmo Shopping Center, completed
aspect of design including
in 1939 in a Norman or English
interior
Village Style, initially consisted of
landscape design. This home is
three storefronts.
significant as one of the last and
11 Weracoba Park is the oldest, large-scale, daily use recreational facility
within the city. John Flournoy’s Columbus Railroad Company built
Wildwood (now Weracoba) Park in 1890 as a private,
diversified amusement area. In addition to increasing
Revival, Mediterranean Revival and Post Modern.
streetcar riders, the park promoted the sale of the
This Greek Revival mansion
was built in 1888
by Mr. Andrew H.
Shepherd for his
wife, Lucy Banks,
and daughter, Pauline. It was originally situated much
closer to Wynnton Road. The house was moved back
on the lot and enlarged around 1910 when the four
fluted Corinthian columns were added to the facade of
the home. As well as this Neo-Classical renovation, it is also
noted for its “pyramid” shaped roof. The house was occupied
by the Shepherd/Johnson/Feimster family until 1978.
surrounding real estate, in which Flournoy also had a
major investment. A shallow lake was created and
picnic shelters occupied four islands, which were
the original weatherboarding,
and a classical, central portico
with coupled Corinthian
columns replaced the wrap-
built St. Elmo School, designed by Charles F. Hickman in the English Revival
Neoclassical Revival, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, English Vernacular
4 1413 Wynnton Road
as a brick facade covered
home located in the Peacock Woods-Dimon Circle Historic District. It was
opened to the public in1953. It is
museums in the Southeast. The
original Victorian character
13 2021 Brookside Drive is an excellent example of a stone French Revival
decoration
and
finest examples of his designs.
Mr. Robert Dismuke was a very good friend of General George Marshall
who spent many Christmas holidays here. Once during World War II, while
on a quick visit to Fort Benning, General Marshall came in to speak to
Mr. Dismuke and left two gentlemen in the car. Later it was learned, the
two men left in the car were Sir Anthony Eden, Great Britain’s Foreign
Secretary and later Prime Minister, and Field Marshall Sir John Dill, Chief
of the Imperial General Staff (the professional head of the British Army).
around porch.
17 The Smith-McCullers House Museum (1519 Stark Avenue)
is located in the childhood home of Carson McCullers. Born Lula
Carson Smith in Columbus, Georgia on February 19, 1917, McCullers
lived in the house from 1927 to 1934 and often returned to the house
from the late 1930s through 1944 to recover from her frequent
illnesses. Many of McCullers’ works were conceived, written,
or rewritten in the house,
including The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter and Member of
the Wedding. In her unfinished
autobiography,
McCullers
described the importance of
Columbus and her home on
Stark: “I loved my home with
its garden and the old familiar furniture... but on the whole Columbus
gave me that same tranquility and calm that was so necessary to my
work.” The home was donated to Columbus State University, which
linked with high arched, Japanese-like bridges
then opened The Carson McCullers Center for Writers and
trimmed with thousands of small electric lights. A
Musicians. The Center operates the museum, presents extensive
bathhouse encouraged swimming, and rentals of
educational and cultural programs for the community, maintains an
flat-bottom boats promoted fishing and courting.
ever-growing archive of materials related to the life and work of
The lake formed the centerpiece of an Olmstedian
McCullers, and offers fellowships for writers and composers who live
space, which stretched up the hillside to the east
for periods of time in the Smith-McCullers home in Columbus.
and had streets and paths winding through open expanses of grass and
trees. A dance pavilion featured various local orchestras, bands concerts
on Sunday afternoon, and even vaudeville acts. Other activities included
a small bowling alley and a zoo with deer, small monkeys, and a bear.
Museum open by appointment only. To schedule individual or group
tours, please contact the McCullers Center at 706.545.4021 or e-mail
[email protected].
Hillcrest (1652 Carter Avenue)
NR
WYNNTO
7
D.
8
historic districts in the United States. #
6
3
5
4
2
NT
WYN
six contiguous historic districts, one of the largest contiguous
1
22,000 residents, the international headquarters of Aflac and
21
.
16TH AVE
park-like settings and cultural amenities. It is home to over
MidTown today is a vibrant, diverse, in-town community with
13TH ST.
T.
HS
13T
12TH
ST .
RD.
ON
VE.
rapidly developing MidTown area.
20
and in that same year the city limits of Columbus grew to include the
13TH AVE.
1925, the completion of the 13th Street viaduct made automobile access easier
example of John Flournoy and began carving neighborhoods out of once rural land. In
15TH AVE.
16TH AVE.
17TH AVE.
downtown Columbus, pushed people outside the city limits. After World War I and the creation of Fort Benning, MidTown
Population increases, national trends, a growing middle-class, and a fire that destroyed one and a half blocks of houses in
School, circling around the northern edge of the new Wildwood Park and returning to downtown on 18th Street.
[that] pulled one or two cars eastward from downtown out 10th Street up the hill into Wynnton, turning north at Wynnton
Company and created the Belt Line trolley, “a coke-burning, steam-powered dummy engine
Americans. In 1887, John F. Flournoy and Louis F. Garrard purchased the Columbus Railroad
20TH ST.
businesses like law, commerce, or manufacturing.
10
22ND ST.
D.
NR
TO
OT
LB
TA
O
LB
TA
the lower lying, Chattahoochee riverbanks. While many of the owners of these suburban villas had
hills of what is now the MidTown area, were attractive to those looking to escape the mosquitoes of
just beyond the original city limits to build their large, suburban estates and gardens. The gentle
HISTORIC MIDTOWN COLUMBUS
ON
M
AR
W
13TH AVE.
hortly after the founding of Columbus, Georgia in 1828, wealthy Columbusites began to look
TT
17TH AVE.
working plantations in other areas, these estates were for their urban-based
D
RAR
GARST.
.
RD
RIN
SP
9
GS
RD
17
RD
.
T.
HS
16T
15
17TH ST.
17TH ST.
Wildwood Circle/Hillcrest
Dinglewood
.
18TH AVE.
KEE AV
E
After the Civil War, the invention of the street-car made suburban life possible for more
13TH ST.
N
CO
MA
16
COLUMBUS
HIGH SCHOOL
18TH ST.
In that same year, the two partners formed the Muscogee Real Estate Company and began to subdivide lots for
SUMMIT
DR.
13
17TH ST.
residential development.
13TH AVE.
CHERO
!MIDTOWN"
15
14
12
LINWOOD
BLVD.
17TH
AVE.
S T.
.
AVE
AR D
EST
RR
18TH
AVE.
FOR
GA
Wynn’s Hill/Overlook
Y
TR .
UN RD
COLUB
C
HILTON AVE
COLUMBUS
18
VE.
Many factors contributed to the boom of development that occurred in MidTown in the early part of the 20th century.
11
WER
AC
PARKOBA
EBERH
A
AVE. RT
flourished and it was at this time that the majority of MidTown was developed. Other Columbus entrepreneurs followed the
DIM
O
S T. N
EROK
EE A V
E.
.
T A VE
18TH AVE.
CH
S
FORE
RA
RTE
DRIVING TOUR
19
E.
CA
S
V
AR A
A
CK
CO
18TH AVE.
MUNRO AVE.
EBERHART AVE.
PEA
CED
WILDWOOD AVE.
STARK AVE.
HILTON AVE.
18 Butt-Banks Home (1236
comfort, he built this raised Greek Revival mansion in 1837 in the
circa 1840 by Moses Butt and his
deep rose-colored bricks covered with stucco. This was marked off
Wildwood Avenue) was built
little village of “Wynnton.” The main house was built of handmade
wife Priscilla Banks Butt, sister of
in large rectangles to resemble blocks of stone. This house has been
Wynnton Village
Weracoba/St. Elmo
Peacock Woods/Dimon Circle
COUNTRY CLUB
OF COLUMBUS
.
John Banks, builder of The
in the Banks’ family since1837 and is presently owned and lived in
Cedars. The house was originally
by a direct descendant of John Banks.
located further back on Wildwood
The Wynnton Village Historic District is an example of an early-
Avenue. Originally a Greek Revival house with a columned portico,
the home was later architecturally changed to become a combination
of Classical and Victorian elements. It is now the headquarters for
MidTown, Inc., a non-profit, community revitalization organization.
In support of community, conservation and diversity, MidTown, Inc.,
through education and advocacy, works to sustain and enhance the
neighborhoods and businesses within MidTown Columbus.
Open Monday-Friday 10 AM-5 PM
to mid-20th-century residential neighborhood developed from antebellum
estates and in response to the streetcar line, which ran along the southern
and eastern boundaries of the district. The evolution of Wynnton Village
spans over 150 years from its antebellum estates, to its village center
developed in the mid-1800s, to the beginning of streetcar suburbs in
the1890s, to intense residential development from 1919 through the
1940s and then serving as a prime location for multi-family dwellings
for World War II-era Fort Benning officers. Architectural styles vary
from early examples of Greek and Gothic Revival to popular early 20th
century styles including Craftsman, Colonial Revival and English
1236 Wildwood Avenue • Columbus, Georgia 31906
706.494.1663 • midtowncolumbusga.org
Vernacular Revival.
21
WooIfolk
House
(1615 12th Street) The
house, which originally sat
on 100-acres, was built in
1834 for John Woolfolk.
Enrico Lopez, a Cuban,
might have designed and
built the house, as well as the similar Wynn House and Gordonido.
900 Front Avenue • Columbus, Georgia 31901
1.800.999.1613 • visitcolumbusga.com
19 Wynnton Arts Academy (2303 Wynnton Road) was
The architecture and floor plan is typical Greek Revival. After the
landowners. The original building, located in the center of the school
transferred by inheritance and purchase. The house was turned into
established in 1837 for the children of the wealthy Wynnton
complex, was built in 1843 and is still in use today as a museum and
art gallery. The National Register lists Wynnton Arts Academy as the
oldest school in continuous use in the State of Georgia.
Museum open by appointment only. To schedule a tour call
706.748.3147
20 The Cedars (2039 13th Street, pictured on left) Colonel John
Banks, the original owner of “The Cedars,” was an extremely
prominent lawyer in Georgia in the early days of Columbus. Colonel
Banks moved to Columbus from Elberton, Georgia, in 1836. He and
Photos courtesy Columbus Convention and Vistors Bureau
his wife Sara had a large family, and to accommodate them in
death of John Woolfolk in 1861, the property was frequently
apartments during the mid-twentieth century. It has since been
restored to a single-family residence.