1736 Magazine - Vision for the Future
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Funding fades, but Augusta<br />
museum projects stay<br />
The <strong>for</strong>mer Court of Ordinary building, which is adjacent to <strong>the</strong> <strong>for</strong>mer Children of Israel Synagogue on Telfair Street, would house<br />
exhibits and memorabilia to help present <strong>the</strong> history, legacy and struggles of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people as <strong>the</strong> Augusta Jewish Museum.<br />
[MICHAEL HOLAHAN/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]<br />
By JOE HOTCHKISS<br />
Downtown Augusta<br />
doesn’t have a “cultural<br />
corridor” yet<br />
– but a door to it has<br />
been opened.<br />
The idea, conceived by downtown<br />
business and civic leaders, is to<br />
emphasize <strong>the</strong> proximity of several<br />
downtown museums and market<br />
<strong>the</strong>m to visitors as a single attraction<br />
that showcases art and history.<br />
And like <strong>the</strong> future of so many<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r projects, its progress boils<br />
down to money.<br />
Downtown boasts several<br />
museums already. The Augusta<br />
Museum of History and <strong>the</strong> Morris<br />
Museum of Art are <strong>the</strong> largest.<br />
Smaller attractions, such as <strong>the</strong><br />
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Boyhood Home of Woodrow<br />
Wilson, are housed in historic<br />
buildings that contribute to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
tourism cachet.<br />
The Augusta Commission met<br />
late last year to decide how money<br />
would be allocated in <strong>the</strong> eighth<br />
iteration of <strong>the</strong> government’s special-purpose<br />
local option sales tax.<br />
Backers of more than 100 public or<br />
private projects submitted requests<br />
to receive part of <strong>the</strong> $250 million<br />
that’s expected to be spent over <strong>the</strong><br />
42 | <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com