Garage apartments were a phenomenon linked to the growing importance of automobiles in the 20th century, and an example of innovation in utilitarian architecture. From what I can tell, they were most popular from the 1930s to the 1960s. They are still being built today in more modern forms.
South Metter Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Wildwood Court was the first multi-family apartment complex built in Columbus, begun in 1926 and completed in 1927. Nearly a century later, it is still in use. The garden-style apartments consist of two buildings, arranged in a U-shape around a central court. Several other complexes followed in the district, many of which are also still in use.
Hillcrest-Wildwood Circle Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Built in 1950, the Virginia Apartments are a Colonial Revival multi-unit complex made up of two identical buildings, located side by side. Many of the original elements survive in the apartments, but doors, shutters and windows have been replaced. This was the first place my parents lived after they got married in 1967. My mother said that many newlyweds lived here at the time.
The apartments were owned by John Henry “Jack” Mayes, Jr., (1914-1989), the son of British immigrant “Captain Jack” Mayes (1881-1960), who ran the Fitzgerald Cotton Mills. Jack, Jr.’s brother, Garbert (1906-1954), who was also involved in the mills, was the father of author Frances Mayes.
Structures of this nature, even when used as a primary residence, are referred to as garage apartments, and were considered very modern in the 1920s and 1930s, the height of their popularity. Variations are still being built today. They featured a garage on the lower level and an apartment, usually a bedroom, bathroom, and combined living area and kitchen on the upper level. Since most were part of properties that featured a primary residence, they were often rental properties. In a sense, they were the carriage houses of the early automobile era. Surviving examples are often still used for rental income or as guest houses.
This store was built by Amanda Toomer and later included a pharmacy, the first such Black-owned business in Perry. The Toomer family ran the store and lived upstairs. Mrs. Toomer was also a stockholder in the Georgia Southern Railroad and a landowner. She was the sister-in-law of Amanda America Dickson Toomer, the wealthiest African-American woman in the United States after the Civil War.
In 1915, it was converted to the Toomer Brothers Mortuary and, according to local Black History sources, the bodies of the deceased were tastefully displayed in the windows of the first floor. Years later, it became an apartment building and has been home to some of Mrs. Toomer’s descendants.
J. Neel Reid was perhaps the busiest architect in the state when W. J. & O. J. Massee commissioned a large residential building in Macon. The resulting apartment tower, completed in 1924, quickly became a source of pride for the city.
In Reid’s papers, the Massee Apartments, as they’re known today, were referred to as the W. J. & O. J. Massee Apartment Hotel. The Georgian Revival landmark was one of the tallest buildings in Macon at the time of its construction, and remains a fashionable residential address in the College Street neighborhood.
Macon Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
So far, I’ve been unable to locate any history for this building, which is used as a quadraplex apartment house today. It may have originated as a boarding house, or even a private residence. It has likely been expanded and therefore overlooked by historic surveys.
I’m unsure as to the history of this apartment building, but it may be the only example of Streamline Moderne architecture in Albany. It appears to have been remodeled at some point, but it was likely built mid-century.
One resource dates this structure to 1894 while another dates it to 1920. The architecture, to me, indicates the 1920 date is more likely.
Named for its roof, the Slate Row was built to house the engineers who were constructing the grand home of William Johnston [the Johnston-Felton-Hay House]. It is considered to be among the earliest apartment buildings in Macon. Architecturally, they’re described in the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places (1973) as “a simplified version of the Second Empire style apartment house that has been converted into a modern condominium building.” James B. Ayers, the contractor hired by Johnston, employed numerous enslaved artisans, according to research by Mercer Law student Nathan Corbitt. One of those artisans was Primus Moore, who worked on the construction of the Hay House. He was also responsible for all of the plaster work at Macon City Hall and was even paid by the city after Emancipation to continue the work.
National Register of Historic Places