{"nrhp_refnum":"71000261","name":"Mercer University Administration Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Coleman Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Macon","county":"Bibb County","state":"GA","lat":32.83178178500003,"lon":-83.64816014499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-08-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story brick administration building on the Mercer University campus on Coleman Avenue in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, built in 1872-1874 to designs by Chicago architect Gurdon P. Randall.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a superb example of Victorian Gothic style and construction, built entirely of brick with no steel supporting its large towers and steeples. It has been a Macon landmark and the symbol of Mercer University since it was built. It also reflects Randall's work as a nationally known designer of colleges and churches, and the university's history as a leading Baptist institution.","narrative":"Rising four stories in brick, the Administration Building at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, is a Victorian Gothic landmark completed in 1872-1874. Chicago architect Gurdon P. Randall, a specialist in college and church design, drew the plans, and he revised them after the 1871 Chicago fire, adding fire-protection features such as solid brick interior walls, thicker exterior walls and sand beneath the fireplaces. No steel supports its large towers and steeples. A fire in 1910 damaged the tallest tower, and the rebuilt steeple came out about twelve and a half feet shorter than the original. Otherwise the building looks as it did when new. It faces Tatnall Square Park and has long symbolized the university, which moved to Macon in 1871 after the city gave money and land for a campus. The listing recognizes both its architecture and its place in the institution's history. Trustees planned a faithful exterior restoration.","period_of_significance":"1872-1874","architect_builder":"G.P. Randall (Gurdon P. Randall of Chicago)","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in educational use, in good condition and largely unaltered. Trustees planned an exterior restoration costing about $750,000, with the first two floors of the interior preserved and the upper floors modernized.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:41.466352-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/71000261.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000261/0974f3cc2b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000261/0974f3cc2b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Korea2006","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercer_University_Administration_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Korea2006</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercer_University_Administration_Building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"74000658","name":"Macon Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/macon-historic-district-74000658/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207057","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124413788"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/bibb-county/mercer-university-administration-building-71000261/"}