[MattSal]

There is a huge lacking of anything pertaining to the Georgia's Second City, also known to you outsiders as Augusta, or to the majority of the world as "the place where The Masters is held".

Therefore, I feel, as an Augusta resident (technically Columbia County), that it is my duty, neigh my priviledge to entertain your fancy about this city. The following photos were all taken within the last 2 months from the area surrounding University Hospital. Enjoy.

Some unknown apartment buildings:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/372155602_ea1de74d66.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/372155596_50797a0652.jpg?v=0

Two newly constructed buildings in the MCG complex:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/372155604_9961b368ef.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/372155603_f99da3aea8.jpg?v=0

Looking down D'antignac Street:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/372155612_4a59f44819.jpg?v=0

The Radisson Hotel and Convention Center:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/372175470_0660cafd36.jpg?v=0

Downtown Augusta:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/372175473_a3a30e2d53.jpg?v=0

And a grand little surprise for you peeps, a panorama:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/372175458_bdc4d30e15_b.jpg
Click here for full panorama (http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5603/panoil8.jpg)

Any questions?

[cabasse]

thanks, we don't see nearly enough of this city on here... second biggest, second oldest, and i was relatively impressed when i drove through a few years back.

nice panorama too.

[MattSal]

thanks, we don't see nearly enough of this city on here... second biggest, second oldest, and i was relatively impressed when i drove through a few years back.

nice panorama too.

We certainly do not, thank you.:yes:

[tomtheastronomer]

i'm an augusta native, who after moving all over ended up back in atlanta. i get to see atlanta all the time here...but not augusta!

any new projects going on there?

[Atlguy33]

Fantastic photos, thanks for posting!

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Mattsal, those are great photos. You should do the Hill as well.

Tomtheastronomer, we have a new city hall building that should be fairly tall I guess, and some new condos along the river that they're actually starting (I can't believe it). Plus, some genius decided to build two condo towers across the street from the Augusta National so that people on the top floors can see in (of course, the National made him shorten the buildings, heheehe).

University Hospital and the Medical College are both in the midst of enlarging, so we should see some good things come out of those places.

[Randy Sandford]

Great pics, Matt (especially the pano)! I didn't realize there was hilly terrain in the Augusta area. I thought it would be flatter.

[MattSal]

Great pics, Matt (especially the pano)! I didn't realize there was hilly terrain in the Augusta area. I thought it would be flatter.

The hills that you seen in the panorama are across the Savannah River in South Carolina. No one lives there (okay maybe a few people ;) ).

[MattSal]

Here are some more photos, though these are from last summer and in no way "recent". Don't worry though, Augusta rarely ever changes. :rolleyes:

The Ramada Plaza Hotel
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/315171155_db6fa76096.jpg?v=0

The Lamar Building
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/102/315171154_4e36e028ae.jpg?v=0

The Wachovia Building
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/115/289529234_2c80adb56d.jpg?v=0

James Brown's statue on Broad Street
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/106/315171153_deee0fa51b.jpg?v=0

The SunTrust Building
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/100/289529227_f0025f355d.jpg?v=0

Lamar and the Marion Building
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/289516587_4d035b525b.jpg?v=0

I have some even older photos, if ya'll would like to see them as well.

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Very cool. Yeah, I'd like to see them.

[cactuspunk]

Lamar and the Marion Building
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/289516587_4d035b525b.jpg?v=0

What is that hideous addition on top of that beautiful building? My god that is awful.

[cabasse]

im pei... on drugs?

[zigzag]

Augusta, Columbus or Macon does not impress me in the least.

[MattSal]

What is that hideous addition on top of that beautiful building? My god that is awful.

The penthouse addition that I.M. Pei did. You know, living in Augusta most of my life, I've grown accustomed to it and actually think without it the building would lose much of its identity, but the majority of people would say it looks like crap. Oh well, to each his own.:rolleyes:

[MattSal]

More photos, these are like over two years old...

Skyline coming down the Calhoun Expressway:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/289529239_b19f1c516b.jpg?v=0

Skyline from University again:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/119/289529241_1d5018521f.jpg?v=0

St. John Towers:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/115/315171151_a68ff18cb8.jpg?v=0

Skyline from the Georgia Avenue bridge:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/99/289529236_dfe520dac9.jpg?v=0

[Lakelander]

I was in Augusta about two weeks ago for a Wedding and took at least 100 pics of old textile mills, Artist Row, Downtown, the riverwalk and an urban neighborhood just to the South of downtown. I'll try to get a few of them uploaded here, by the end of the week.

[AphroHippi]

Thanks for the nice pics MattSal! I grew up in Augusta and still have family there.

A little more info on that "hideous addition": the penthouse was commissioned by the building's former owner and past state senator, Eugene Holley. At one time a huge lighted cross was mounted on top of the penthouse and according to the story at the time, senator Holley had a "Christian conversion" in which he saw Jesus placing the cross on top of the building. Maybe his own guilty conscious got the best of him as he was later convicted of some wrongdoing (which escapes me at the moment) and sent to prison.

About the hilly terrain: Augusta's southern, northern and western suburbs are hilly. While Augusta's official elevation (at the municipal bldg) is only 143 feet, the highest elevations in west Augusta reach about 500 feet.

There's a cool spot to see all of downtown Augusta from the southside, driving on the Bobby Jones Expressway at the Deans Bridge Road overpass (especially going westbound), it gives me the feeling of driving on a small mountain. Also coming in from Aiken, SC on US 1, at the Bobby Jones Expressway, you'd get a cool view of downtown and the medical center area.

The Piedmont in bed with the Plains, that's Augusta!

[scguy]

Pillsbury, I noticed you said in your post they are finally starting the two condo towers on the riverfront. Was there an announcement made recently or are they still doing ground testing?

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

SCGuy, no, nothing big. I went to St. Paul's Episcopal next door to the site a couple of weeks ago and they had the whole thing fenced in. I was amazed that dirt was actually being moved......

I used to work in the Lamar Building on the 15th and 16th floors. The penthouse is weird----total glass and a glass elevator to take you up. I always got the sense that the building was like that building in Ghostbusters--like a gateway to the netherworld. Oh yeah, one time I got trapped in there while it was dark-----scary scary scary. :( I have a picture from my aunt's Butler yearbook from the 70s with that cross on top of it. It looks weird.

Interesting sidenote: all of you Augustans and former Augustans. Ever heard about Broad Street, being covered over after the flood in the late 1800s and how in the basement of many buildings on Broad, you can actually see old storefronts? Anybody heard of this? My dad went down there and saw it---of course I never believed him (he is the same person who once told me when I was about 6 years old--very solemn might I add--that he'd just run over the Easter Bunny). But the historians at ASU tell me it's true. I'm going down there. It's between 8th and 7th Streets on Broad, directly below the behind Word of Mouth.

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

[QUOTE=AphroHippi;2600892]Maybe his own guilty conscious got the best of him as he was later convicted of some wrongdoing (which escapes me at the moment) and sent to prison.
[QUOTE]

I love hearing about Augusta politicians, because it always ends with, "he was later convicted of _________."

Yeah, Augusta is hilly. I never thought about it before. I like the view from the Hill, right at that Summerville Ridge. Another good place is on Brown Road in south Richmond---at night you can see the whole city. Same with Mike Padgett Highway in s. Richmond.

[Buckley]

Aren't these hills really just 2 long ridges forming the sides of the Savannah River Valley-perhaps exaggerated by the confluence of the piedmont and coastal plain?

[MattSal]

Thanks for the nice pics MattSal! I grew up in Augusta and still have family there . . .

There's a cool spot to see all of downtown Augusta from the southside, driving on the Bobby Jones Expressway at the Deans Bridge Road overpass (especially going westbound), it gives me the feeling of driving on a small mountain. Also coming in from Aiken, SC on US 1, at the Bobby Jones Expressway, you'd get a cool view of downtown and the medical center area.

This is so far the best picture I have been able to get from Deans Bridge Road, which is actually considerably difficult, considering you are usually in a moving vehicle of 50 mph or so.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/375841735_5ebb8118c7.jpg?v=0

This is a view of the Augusta skyline in foggy weather:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/372175467_3106f0b3b5.jpg?v=0

This is St. John Towers, an assisted-living complex:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/372155609_91fe9721fc.jpg?v=0

This is some Confederate statue downtown:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/375841746_cbdfcc2edd.jpg?v=0

This is Augusta as seen from across the river:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/375841741_4bfdd50024.jpg?v=0

University Hospital is located about half a mile from downtown, it is the location of most of the skyline shots done:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/375841731_6ead692e48.jpg?v=0

Another picture of St. John Towers:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/163/375841729_27fb35ac91.jpg?v=0

Another view of Lamar Building and its penthouse:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/375841727_f535c476da.jpg?v=0

Keep in mind most of these later pics are just that - later. They aren't very recent, though the thread's title implies so. :)

[scguy]

Here is a pic from US 1 coming in from North Augusta/Aiken. Blurry but one of the best views. Id be willing to bet there are some good views from the top floor of the Southern Weslyan building in North Augusta too.
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/7/1/30/f_Augustaski_85f8m_fccd245.jpg

[MattSal]

Where is the Southern Weslyan building?

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Here is a pic from US 1 coming in from North Augusta/Aiken. Blurry but one of the best views. Id be willing to bet there are some good views from the top floor of the Southern Weslyan building in North Augusta too.
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/7/1/30/f_Augustaski_85f8m_fccd245.jpg

That's a tough shot to get.

Mattsal, I think the Southern Weslyan Building is that 3 floor building on Martintown Road, just after it loops around from Highway 1.

[rbp]

This is so far the best picture I have been able to get from Deans Bridge Road, which is actually considerably difficult, considering you are usually in a moving vehicle of 50 mph or so.


For a better shot there, the Wal-Mart or Waffle House parking lots southwest of Bobby Jones may be safer options. I saw that view many times growing up in Wrens.

I'd love to see pictures of the Bon Air and more of Sacred Heart. Not quite Savannah... but still pretty impressive.

[scguy]

rbp, check out Urbanplanet.org for some pics of Summerville area I took a while back. There should be some of the Bon Aire, Partridge Inn, George Walton condos and some other interesting buildings in that neighborhood. They should be in the Augusta threads.

[MattSal]

I'll be downtown again today, and I will most definitely take some more pictures. :)

[AphroHippi]

rbp and scguy, I love the pics. I agree about the Deans Bridge/Bobby Jones shot being difficult to capture.

Some more images of the Lamar bldg and its penthouse history as well as an old aerial of Broad Street.

Please forgive me for not having the rest of the penthouse article...I dugg deep to get this out my old Augusta scrapbook that I created when I was 13.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8880/augustaskylinebroadsthl2.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=augustaskylinebroadsthl2.jpg)

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/5421/penthousearticletk5.th.jpg (http://img456.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousearticletk5.jpg)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3625/penthousecrossld6.th.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousecrossld6.jpg)

[cabasse]

that's amazing. i had no idea there used to be cross on top. i'm glad they removed it; it just didn't belong, in more ways than one. maybe the penthouse itself will come off one day, as unique as it is.

isn't there one day out of the year they open it up to the public, like during the masters? i think i read that on one of these message boards, though it sounds like a false rumor more than anything.

[MattSal]

that's amazing. i had no idea there used to be cross on top. i'm glad they removed it; it just didn't belong, in more ways than one. maybe the penthouse itself will come off one day, as unique as it is.

isn't there one day out of the year they open it up to the public, like during the masters? i think i read that on one of these message boards, though it sounds like a false rumor more than anything.

I have heard that they open up the 17th floor balcony during Masters Week, though I'm not sure if that is true anymore. Guess we will find out this April.

Just to tempt your tastes, this is the only picture I was able to find from up there:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5134/augusta017sd4.jpg

[AphroHippi]

Please forgive me for not crediting the source of my pics: The Augusta Chronicle Wednesday morning, August 5, 1981.

More images of the penthouse,

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/3832/penthousemanontoprd9.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousemanontoprd9.jpg)

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7250/penthousebroadstlookinghn8.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousebroadstlookinghn8.jpg)


As this is a "recent photos of Augusta, Ga" thread, please forgive me for posting old photos, I felt they were relevant to the topic/questions on the Southern Finance Bldg/ Lamar bldg's penthouse.

[MattSal]

Please forgive me for not crediting the source of my pics: The Augusta Chronicle Wednesday morning, August 5, 1981.

More images of the penthouse,

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/3832/penthousemanontoprd9.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousemanontoprd9.jpg)

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7250/penthousebroadstlookinghn8.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=penthousebroadstlookinghn8.jpg)


As this is a "recent photos of Augusta, Ga" thread, please forgive me for posting old photos, I felt they were relevant to the topic/questions on the Southern Finance Bldg/ Lamar bldg's penthouse.

Those are some pretty cool pics. Don't worry about the name, I should probably have changed it.

I took about 50 photos yesterday so I'll get some of those on here tomorrow if I can.

[tomtheastronomer]

as an augusta native, i have to say i hope they never take the top off the lamar building.

i realize as someone who's studied design that its a terrible bastardation of two totally different archictectural styles, but its really come to be a huge landmark of augusta. kind of like our space needle. its silly, but to imagine downtown augusta without that bizarre pyramid in the sky above makes me sad.

not to mention all the funny urban legends its spawned, like it was secretly built by the masons or that it lines up astronomically and proportionally to the pyramids at giza (:

[AphroHippi]

This is a picture of the back of the SF/ Lamar bldg (I didn't have any frontal images) courtesy of my "Story of Augusta" high school textbook by Edward Cashin.
Notice that the back of the building does not have the addition with the heliport.

I remember the building's original top (it had a flagpole on top) and I remember seeing alternative designs for the penthouse in the Augusta Chronicle as a child.



http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5721/backoflamarbldgpr0.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=backoflamarbldgpr0.jpg)

[MattSal]

I have to agree with you tomtheastronomer, I think the building would lose its identity without the penthouse. It really does make downtown that much more unique (the rest is thanks to the giant pink tower).

@AphroHippi: That's pretty crazy. I have seen a better picture of the lamar without the penthouse, I'll see if I can dig it up somewhere.

And I will most definitely try to get those pics up tomorrow after school. You guys should like them. I have finally been able to correctly identify and catalog every building of 5 or more stories in Richmond County according to Emporis and SSP. :D

[MattSal]

I found it! This is what the Lamar Building used to look like. Notice the older Marion Building is of course right next door.
http://72.9.241.50/~wa4kcy/augusta1960.jpg

[AphroHippi]

Thanks MattSal, this is a great postcard! Though I remember the hip styled roof top, and it looked good it doesn't yell "Augusta" like the penthouse does. I think the penthouse better symbolize the quirkyness and independence that is Augusta.

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

^ Yes, Augusta in all its eccentric freakiness needs to have that weird penthouse.

Mattsal, I used to have that view from the 15th floor balcony where I worked. My little brother once tried to crawl onto the ledge.......:shrug:

Aphrohippi, those photos are awesome. Did downtown's side streets used to be one way?

[AphroHippi]

Pillsbury Doughboy, I don't remember many one way side streets other than 8th (southbound), and 9th (northbound).

[MattSal]

^ Yes, Augusta in all its eccentric freakiness needs to have that weird penthouse.

Mattsal, I used to have that view from the 15th floor balcony where I worked. My little brother once tried to crawl onto the ledge.......:shrug:

Aphrohippi, those photos are awesome. Did downtown's side streets used to be one way?

Do the people at the Lamar Building let people come in with cameras and just go to random floors?:yes:

[MattSal]

Here are those photos I promised you guys. This is as recent as it it gets, these were taken on Sunday. I will be downtown again tomorrow, see if I can't get some more.

Confederate Powderworks, from the top of University
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/383034243_b8a82cc64a.jpg?v=0

James Brown Arena, from same place
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/383034245_b1658659ac.jpg?v=0

Top of M.M. Scott Apts, over treetops
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/383034248_54d30464d8.jpg?v=0

Maxwell House Apts, right near downtown
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/383034260_79d6ec5462.jpg?v=0

Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, near MCG
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/383034264_d9501a902a.jpg?v=0

MCG and the Children's Hospital (colorful one)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/383034267_971900ac1f.jpg?v=0

Ramada Plaza Hotel, tallest hotel in city I think
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/383042961_1f4539553d.jpg?v=0

The Richmond County Jail in the distance
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/383042966_a2f8f19f79.jpg?v=0

The ever beautiful Sacred Heart Cultural Center, used to be a church of course, sitting right next to Calhoun Expressway, as seen from top floor of University
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/383042967_c6a31e3e47.jpg?v=0

Building 2 of the University Hospital complex, as seen from the top floor of Building 1
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/383042969_78c357c4e9.jpg?v=0

The crown of University
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/383042975_4a42af1d63.jpg?v=0

Lamar, SunTrust, and Riverplace Condominiums, oh and some powerlines
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/383047645_01d75b38a0.jpg?v=0

Two panoramas...

The front of University Hospital, as seen from a nearby parking deck
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/383042972_b99e8bfa08_b.jpg

The back/side of University, from another parking deck
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/383047643_c63519f6a4_b.jpg

Hope you've enjoyed this. If you guys want photos of something, like just ask. I'm always willing and sometimes actually ready.

[scguy]

MattSal, great pics. I took some off the 11th floor of the Peabody apartments this past summer that look alot like some of those. I just walked in an asked if I could go up to the upper floors and take some pics and they said go ahead!

Some ones of the Summerville area would be great too.

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Those are great Mattsal.

I second those of Summerville!!! Actually, I'd like to go into those apartments across from the Partridge Inn and take some pictures of downtown.........awesome view (not talking about Bon Aire---talking about the other smaller apartment complex).

Mattsal, the Lamar Building used to careless what anyone did, but now they've got a guard downstairs who likes to harass people coming in. You'd think you were in New York City with all the security. If you go, tell them you're going up to one of the law firms or something.

[MattSal]

Today was my last day downtown for a good while. I took a panorama from the 9th floor of University Hospital, going from the Radisson/Marriott all the way to the James Brown Arena. I'll get that posted later.

[AphroHippi]

MattSal, the pics are nice! I've never seen Augusta in this light before. What's amazing to this 16 year former Augusta resident, is how hilly the surrounding areas are.

[MattSal]

This is my last treat to you guys. I mentioned it earlier, but here it is in the flesh: A panorama that goes from One Tenth Street all the way to the James Brown Arena, taken from a little window on the 9th floor of University Hospital.

http://i16.tinypic.com/2n7gvu0.jpg

I won't be going downtown anymore frequently, except for certain occasions I'm sure. I hope you guys have enjoyed this thread and, especially, this look at Georgia's Second City. If ya'll have any questions just buzz me in. :)

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[scguy]

MattSal, that panorama is great! Best pic of DT Ive ever seen I think. One question about your earlier MCG pic. What is all that under construction below the hospitals?

[MattSal]

Wow thanks. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, lol. :D

The construction . . . they tore down the old psychiatric wing of University Hospital and they are building a new structure in the complex. My dad informed me that it is going to be around 4 stories tall, but that they are laying foundations for expansion up to like 7-8 stories.

Not really an addition to the skyline, but an addition nonetheless. :rolleyes:

[AphroHippi]

MattSal, the pan of DT is hot! It brings back my memories of drawing the skyline from that angle, now it's just more buildings!

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Very nice shots Mattsal. I played golf yesterday at the River Club and the views from it were amazing. The old town looked pretty good....

[Topher1]

Yeah, great shots! I have to give some love to the pano. Definately the most complete downtown shot I've seen. It really shows not only how much the city has decayed and let itself go, but also the enormous workspace the city has available to grow and achieve its potential...

[MattSal]

Yeah, great shots! I have to give some love to the pano. Definately the most complete downtown shot I've seen. It really shows not only how much the city has decayed and let itself go, but also the enormous workspace the city has available to grow and achieve its potential...

I concur. I still eagerly await the day when Augusta will earn its place as Georgia's Second City.

[AphroHippi]

Please forgive me if this is deemed inappropriate or boring as hell...

I just finished building my website (non e-commerce at the moment) recently and on the art page, I have links to my proposals for the Augusta area circa 1982. These are all of my drawings, words and I didn't have to do this because of a school project

I was 16 at the time with a lot of time...

thanks

http://kachiza.com/artfashion.htm

[AphroHippi]

sorry for the double post

[demmeri]

you guys need pics of the new APT buses on here....i hated augusta, but those things are sweet!