Although it’s hard to miss, the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center may not be on everyone’s top architectural sites in Historic Madison. The building, originally a public school constructed just 30 years after the Civil War, was a groundbreaking idea at the time.
Over the entrance to the main building, are the words “Graded School”. My first thought was – You mean there were schools where they didn’t grade the work? But, it actually refers to the fact that most schools of the time were single room structures with all ages in the same class area. This was an innovative structure where the different age groups were in separate classrooms. It was also unique in being brick, where most schools of the day were simper, wooden structures.
The building is in the Romanesque Revival style, popular at the end of the eighteenth century. There are a mix of interesting elements all over the building but especially along the roofline. This was used as a public school up until 1957 when new facilities were constructed. Saved from demolition in the early 1960’s by a local group called the Morgan County Foundation, it was re-purposed for use as the Public Library headquarters. In the 1970’s when the library outgrew the space, it was renovated and converted to it’s current function as the area’s Performing and Visual Arts center.
Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
434 South Main Street
Madison, GA 30650
Nikon D500
Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD
32mm @ f/8.0 – 1/1600 sec – ISO 400
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