 
1. Augusta National — Washington Road: Worth a drive by, though it’s easy to miss the low-key entrance if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Guarding the three hundred-plus acre plot is a sign that says it all: Members Only. Few Augustans belong and its national membership includes Warren Buffett. 2. Sandwich City — 302 Tenth Street: The power breakfast spot for the coat-and-tie set also serves the best fried chicken lunch (when they have it). 3. James Brown Statue — middle of the 800 block of Broad Street: This bronze cape-and-microphone likeness of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, stands across the street from Georgia’s founding father, Gen. James Oglethorpe. The General seems to be conducting the Godfather from a slightly higher perch. 4. Morris Museum of Art — 1 Tenth Street: The Morris was founded in 1992 by newspaper baron William S. Morris III with the purchase of two hundred and thirty paintings in honor of his parents. It was the first museum in the United States dedicated to Southern art. There is much to see here: Southern portraiture (antebellum pasty-white folks); early, late, and mid-twentieth-century art; and works by self-taught artists. 5. Savannah Rapids Park — 3300 Evans-to-Locks Road: On an eighty-foot bluff overlooking the Savannah River, it’s here that rough rapids and shoals turn calm. A great hiking and biking trail follows the Augusta Canal into the city. The first three and a half miles to the pump station are pristine. 6. Municipal Building — 530 Greene Street: Gray marble seat of local government and courts, referred to as the Marble Palace. Mirrored windows (think highway patrolman glasses) adorn mid-century authoritarian architecture. At the rear of the building gazes Miss Justice, neither blindfolded nor wearing trooper’s specs. 7. Hildebrandt’s Food Store — 226 Ellis Street: This old-fashioned grocery and deli was established in 1879 and its wooden floors still creak. Fourth-generation owner Luanne Hildebrandt still offers the Hot Potato Salad. 8. Luigi’s Restaurant — 590 Broad Street: Another of Augusta’s oldest continuously operating restaurants, Luigi’s serves Italian and Greek food in an old-world atmosphere. Established in 1949. Locals swear by the Lemon Chicken. 9. Sconyers Bar-B-Que — 2250 Sconyers Way: Founded in 1956 by Claude and Adeline Sconyers after they could no longer make a living farming. Classic spicy-red, pit-cooked ribs and pulled-pork barbeque served with plenty of sweet tea, hon. 10. United House of Prayer — 1269 Wrightsboro Road: The charismatic church is as well known for its founder, C. M. “Sweet Daddy” Grace, as for its fire-hose baptisms. The church-run café is famous for its fried chicken and desserts, served daily. 11. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church — 605 Reynolds Street: Original site of Fort Augusta, which was built in 1735. A stone Celtic cross honors Princess Augusta, daughter-in-law of George III. The church was rebuilt in 1919 after the Great Augusta Fire of 1916. It’s full of tombstones from the nineteenth century, and buried under the altar is Confederate general Leonidas Polk, the Fighting Bishop of the Confederacy. 12. Nurseries Caroliniana — 143 Mims Grove Church Road, off Interstate 20 (actually in South Carolina): Family-owned for nearly thirty years, this is the place to find rare botanicals, including, if you’re lucky, Augusta’s Prize (wisteria introduced from Belgium in the early 1800s and still growing at Augusta National). 13. Summerville/Forest Hills — Off Walton Way: After the 1916 fire destroyed one hundred thirty businesses and more than five hundred houses downtown, many of those with means moved to the village of Summerville, called just “the Hill.” Today, this is an excellent example of historic preservation in action. Due west of Summerville is Forest Hills, a 1920s subdivision with canopies of oaks shading brick streets, and an array of twentieth-century residential architecture: Spanish colonials with tile roofs vie for curb appeal alongside flat-roofed 1950s ranches, all rather harmoniously. 14. Summerville Cemetery — corner of Johns and Cumming Roads: Here lie some of Augusta’s earliest and most influential citizens: Thomas Cumming, Georgia governor George Walker Crawford, and Supreme Court Justice Joseph Lamar. The cemetery is as lovely as any “Hill” garden. 15. Bon Air Apartments/Partridge Inn — Walton Way: While the former Bon Air Hotel is now an apartment building, the Partridge Inn, across the street, established in 1892, remains a first-class inn. “The P.I.’s” porch facing Walton Way is the place to have a drink and look out over downtown. 16. Bistro 491 — 491 Highland Avenue: The bistro is located in Surrey Center, which has the feel of an English village. Chef-owner Todd Schafer keeps a garden behind the parking lot, an interesting wine list, and ice-cold martinis. 17. Soul Bar — 984 Broad Street: This music spot, paying homage to the Godfather of Soul, was opened by CoCo Rubio during the downtown renaissance in the 1990s. |
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