Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

Good first
impressions are
important, and bad
first impressions
are hard to change.
Communities need
to realize there is a
return on perception
that is over and
above the return
on investment. The
perception of a place
affects its whole
well-being.
ED MCMAHON
A fellow with the Urban Land
Institute
Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy
Justin Lacroix patrols Broad Street in
downtown Augusta by bicycle.
COMPARE...
Building: Old Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Exchange
Address: 937 Ellis St.
Owner: Michael Harrison, Augusta
Size: 9,000 square feet
Year built: 1906
Tax-assessed value: $64,105
Condition: Vacant, stabilized
History: Augusta was the first city in Georgia with full telephone
service. Southern Bell, an entity known today as AT&T,
operated its telephone exchange in several downtown buildings
before developing its own three-story facility at 937 Ellis St.
It occupied the building until it moved into larger offices at
nearby 937 Greene St. in 1940. The building had numerous
tenants over the years, including a thrift store, but has been
vacant for most of the past two decades. Harrison, a real estate
broker, did not return messages seeking comment on the
building.
The three-story building at 937 Ellis St. once housed the Southern Bell Telephone &
Telegraph Exchange. It has fallen into disrepair during two decades of vacancy.
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