Elements of Urbanism: Augusta

[Metro Jacksonville]

Elements of Urbanism: Augusta



Metro Jacksonville visits the urban core of Georgia's second largest metropolitan area: Augusta.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-mar-elements-of-urbanism-augusta

[vicupstate]

Augusta is like Jax in that it has tremendous potential, and some great old buildings that (for the most part) are under-utilized.

Augusta should concentrate on Broad Street as it could an amazing showplace, if done correctly.  I would do everything possible to fill the vacant buildings, while going overboard to beautify the public realm. It would take time and money but it could be SO beautiful and unique that it would be on par with anything in New Orleans (sort of like a cross between Canal Street, Bourbon Street and Garden District) or Savannah, Charleston or anywhere else for that matter. 

The city is trying hard, but it is a smaller city and often doesn't get the details right.  Two examples would be the pink condo building (tallest building in the city) and the Darth Vader penthouse on the Lamar building.  They both stand out in a negative way.

Also, like Jax, Augusta's efforts are spread over a pretty vast area, which dilutes the progress. 

I have visited the city over a 10+ year period and seen some real progress, but there is still a lot to do.

[dougskiles]

Augusta is a nice place.  I did a triathlon there 3 years ago - swam in the river (that part wasn't so nice), most of the bike course was across the river in South Carolina, and the run was multiple laps up and down Broad Street and the historic residential district.  What impressed me most was the hospitality.  The locals really went out of their way to support the event.  It was fun.

[thelakelander]

Yes, downtown Augusta strikes me as a place with a ton of potential.  Like Jax, they've demolished a lot of their original building fabric.  However, it appears some sort of effort was made to limit demolitions on Broad Street.  Btw, in recent years, they've been considering a streetcar system that would connect downtown to the medical district.



http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/04/22/augusta-readies-streetcar-proposal/

[Gravity]

How romantic.

In reality this place, especially downtown is an abandoned dump.
Sure, there are pockets of activity but as walk-able as this area is, everyone still drives. Even down the road to get lunch

You left out the part about the signal-less railroad crossings. Anytime the train comes thru they have to lay on the horn. Makes business in the buildings impossible to conduct.

Didnt take much of a suburb to get people to leave the area too. The area is still prone to flooding and despite the small population does have a homeless situation similar to jax.

There are a few cool modernly renovated apartments downtown, and very affordable. If you can find a job.

[ben says]

How romantic.

In reality this place, especially downtown is an abandoned dump.
Sure, there are pockets of activity but as walk-able as this area is, everyone still drives. Even down the road to get lunch

You left out the part about the signal-less railroad crossings. Anytime the train comes thru they have to lay on the horn. Makes business in the buildings impossible to conduct.

Didnt take much of a suburb to get people to leave the area too. The area is still prone to flooding and despite the small population does have a homeless situation similar to jax.

There are a few cool modernly renovated apartments downtown, and very affordable. If you can find a job.

I've never been, so I can't really comment. All I can add is: the pictures look great, looks like a cute, small town. That being said, out of the four people I know who've been there more than once, all four say the same thing: it's a dump.

[thelakelander]

Are they referring specifically to downtown Augusta or the entire city as a whole?  It's not Winter Park or Greenville but its no Flint or Youngstown either.

[vicupstate]

Every Downtown that sparkles today, was a dump within the  last 20 years or so.   The 'bones' of the urban fabric are still there in Augusta.  Sure it would happen faster if the city were larger, but towns a fraction of it's size have already pulled it off.   

[Wacca Pilatka]

Augusta's an interesting place from a photographic perspective.  You captured it very well, and much better than I could, as usual.

[simms3]

I, too, have heard that Augusta is a dump.  I drove through so long ago I barely remember, but it's not known for much outside the Masters and now the only nuclear expansion in the country in decades.

Still, these pictures do look nice - it looks like it has really good bones.  It's not a growing city.  If you were raised in Augusta, you most likely left to live in Atlanta as soon as you were 18, or another big city in another state.

Georgia does have a lot of gems, though.  Decatur, Athens and Columbus are all pretty impressive cities.  Augusta doesn't look non-impressive, but I don't think it has any nice areas, and the people there are pretty slow-paced and content with the way things are, and there is nothing progressive about the place.

[Ocklawaha]

Augusta has a Streetcar plan in place...

BUT

Augusta razed the magnificent old Union Station... We didn't, THANK GOD!

So who's ahead?

[thelakelander]

Georgia does have a lot of gems, though.  Decatur, Athens and Columbus are all pretty impressive cities.  Augusta doesn't look non-impressive, but I don't think it has any nice areas, and the people there are pretty slow-paced and content with the way things are, and there is nothing progressive about the place.

I'll be in Atlanta this weekend.  Decatur is one of my scheduled photo stops.

[lewyn]

Decatur isn't a city in the same way Athens and Columbus are- its an inner ring streetcar suburb, kind of like Avondale or San Marco only an independent municipality and a bit further out (6 miles as opposed to 1 or 2).

[ben says]

Decatur isn't a city in the same way Athens and Columbus are- its an inner ring streetcar suburb, kind of like Avondale or San Marco only an independent municipality and a bit further out (6 miles as opposed to 1 or 2).

Is that the same for DeKalb?

[Tacachale]

Decatur isn't a city in the same way Athens and Columbus are- its an inner ring streetcar suburb, kind of like Avondale or San Marco only an independent municipality and a bit further out (6 miles as opposed to 1 or 2).

Is that the same for DeKalb?

Decatur is in DeKalb County.

I have good friends who are currently in Augusta for work. We visited them up there a while back. I didn't think it was so bad at all. While it they do sometimes have the appearance of revitalization projects that were abandonded halfway through, downtown and the historic neighborhoods have some pretty impressive architecture. There is an entire former Confederate powderworks facility that we just stumbled upon randomly, one of my favorite memories ever.

Downtown in particular has some pretty cool venues that seem to be fairly well supported; during our visit we had some specialty enchiladas and beers, checked out a ceramicist's studio, and caught a hockey game. The wider area has some other interesting features, such as the pleasant little burgh of Aiken, South Carolina.