White arrows denote location of the Square within the photo.
Machen Square History
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Newcastle Street looking south toward Machen Square West.
Machen Square is the northernmost square in the original design for Brunswick, called Old Town. It was originally named Machen Place, denoting its smaller size in relation to the major squares in the city. For over a century, the space and most of the nearby lots were undeveloped, or held simple privately owned buildings. In fact, Machen does not even appear on the 1826 official map of the city.
By the late 19th century, when the city enjoyed a time of growth and prosperity, landmark structures were built adjacent to or near Machen Square. The space assumed its rightful place in the importance of the Newcastle Street downtown corridor.
In the mid-20th century, a frenzy of “modernization” swept through the city, and many landmarks in the Old Town area were defaced or destroyed. Machen Square’s magnificent National Bank of Brunswick building was demolished, along with the nearby Oglethorpe Hotel and B&B Train Depot. The historic Ritz Theater remains, although with major alterations.
Machen Square has been the beneficiary of extensive renovation, recovery and beautification efforts by Signature Squares of Brunswick. Today, Machen Square functions as a refreshing space for visitors to relax, enjoy a sparkling sculpture fountain and reflect on Brunswick’s architectural heritage.
Machen Square West
In the early 1880s, a welcome wave of prosperity created a need for more financial institutions in Brunswick. Major Columbia Downing, successful local businessman and leader, chartered the National Bank of Brunswick in 1884. On the southern side of Machen Square West, the bank built a grand facility. Well-known Savannah-based architect Alfred Eichberg, who also designed Historic City Hall, drew the plans for the building. The project was completed in 1894.
Masterpiece on Machen Square
The three-story National Bank of Brunswick was an excellent example of the popular Richardson-Romanesque revival style. Notable features of the genre were alternating bands of red brick and contrasting light gray granite. Blocks of rough-cut, or rusticated, stone formed the bases of sturdy pillars supporting an arcade row of recessed arches along the building’s front entrance. Typical Victorian touches were incorporated into the design, including a group of benign imaginary beasts peering through acanthus leaves, beaming down on bank customers and passers-by.
The National Bank of Brunswick Building, 1894. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
A Hospitality Landmark
The bank’s location was advantageous in several respects. The business district was expanding northward into what was known as New Town. An enormously ambitious project, the magnificent Oglethorpe Hotel, was completed in 1888 on the adjoining block. This Victorian masterpiece was the pride of Brunswick, offering 125 spacious guest rooms, modern conveniences, fine dining and a grand ballroom that hosted civic functions and celebrations for over seven decades. Development of the hotel was a decade-long community effort, requiring commitments from civic leaders, local investors and a group of out-of-state financial backers to realize the dream. Tourists from all over the nation flocked to Brunswick to enjoy the mild climate and scenic beauty of the Georgia coast, and to partake of the healing mineral waters from the Hanover Square
fountain.
THE OGLETHORPE HOTEL. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.

A “New Look”
In 1958, the bank changed its name to the First National Bank of Brunswick, and sold the building to the S.H. Kress Corporation, which operated an adjacent 5¢-10¢-25¢ store. Both structures were demolished and replaced by a retail store, styled in what a local newspaper article called "a new look" that would replace "two monuments to the past." The two buildings were combined into a single two-story structure with a porcelain-enamel façade on the Newcastle Street frontage. At the request of the Chamber of Commerce, developers included a public restroom—the only one in the downtown area—as well as a luncheon counter.
The S. H. Kress 5¢-10¢-25¢ store, circa 1905. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.

EXPLORE THE GOOGLE STREET VIEW MAP. INITIAL VIEW: The former Kress store, today.
Demolition Fever
Soon, another episode of demolition fever changed the landscape of Brunswick forever. The Oglethorpe Hotel was torn down and replaced by a three-story flat-roofed motor hotel called the Cabana Inn. Local citizens were dismayed, but plans were set in motion without any recourse for preservationists at the time.
THE OGLETHORPE HOTEL DURING DEMOLITION. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
Brunswick resident, Huling Tower Armstrong, Director of Engineering for local Naval Air Station Glynco, was invited to visit the site before the demolition was complete, and was allowed to salvage hundreds of the Hotel’s signature pink and white Italian marble tiles from the dining room. Plans to use the tiles in a home project never materialized, and after his death, his children, Katharine Armstrong Clark of Dublin, Georgia and Richard Fielder Armstrong of St. Simons Island, donated hundreds of tiles to Signature Squares in 2006 in their parents' honor. An artistic presentation of these tiles will greet visitors to the Square as they enter from Newcastle Street.
Mr. and Mrs. Huling Tower Armstrong. Courtesy of Katharine Armstrong Fielder, and Richard and Martha Armstrong.

Engraved tiles at the entry of Machen Square West. Courtesy Troup Nightingale, Southeastern Photography, 2020.
Machen SQUARE EAST
A Dramatic Neighbor
When the city’s growth spread into the 1500 block of Newcastle Street, Machen Square acquired an important neighbor—the Grand Opera House. The building was completed in only three months, and sported castle-like crenelations across its Newcastle Street frontage. In keeping with the prevailing style of architecture of the city at the turn of the century, the construction was in red brick with contrasting granite elements. Third story windows were topped with a lively collection of stonework "tiaras."
THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE WITH ITS ORIGINAL BRICKWORK. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
The Grand Opera House with the main awning removed. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
The Hollywood Era
In the mid-1920s, local Dixie Investment Company purchased the Opera House and transformed the Victorian structure into an Art Deco moving picture palace, renaming it The Ritz. The complex roofline was squared off, and the façade of the building was painted white, subduing the contrasting stonework and brick into a monochrome appearance. In 2001, a major renovation project restored much of the original coloration, and further work preserved the vintage windows and cascading glass sign in 2010-2011.
Program for the reopening of the Ritz Theater after an extensive restoration in 2001. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
Floats and Flutes
Machen Square was a convenient spot for push-cart vendors who sold everything from ice cream to comic books to tourists and townspeople in the summer months. Popular local shops, selling fine clothing, jewelry and shoes, bordered Machen Square. Professional and medical offices typically occupied the upper floors of Newcastle Street retail stores. Like other squares in Brunswick, Machen was also an ideal place to gather and watch parades. The Glynn Academy Jazz band also offered free concerts in Machen Square, much to the delight of downtown business people and shoppers.
Sailors and WAVES from Brunswick’s Naval Air Station Glynco march TOWARD Machen Square, 1944. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.
Historic Discovery
In 2009, Alex and Carol Snyder of Brunswick discovered that a pile of massive granite pieces in their back yard were elements of the original National Bank of Brunswick façade. A former owner of the home had placed the stones on the property’s creek bank for erosion control. The Snyders generously donated the elaborately carved blocks to Signature Squares of Brunswick.
A stone capital from the bank building with a typical animal motif. Courtesy Carol Snyder.
Landscape architect Jerry Spencer
incorporated the stonework in a charming fountain in Machen Square East. A grant from the DeLong-Sweet Foundation funded the recovery and transformation of the space into a community park for all to enjoy.
GRANITE DETAILS FROM THE OLD NATIONAL BANK BUILDING NOW RETURNED TO MACHEN SQUARE EAST. Courtesy Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.

EXPLORE THE GOOGLE STREET VIEW MAP.
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