{"nrhp_refnum":"73000608","name":"Baber, Ambrose, House","other_names":["Riverside Clinic"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"577-587 Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Macon","county":"Bibb County","state":"GA","lat":32.83918831500006,"lon":-83.62616383699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-08-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-bay, two-story brick house with a raised basement at 577-587 Walnut Street in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, built in 1829-1830 for Dr. Ambrose Baber and later used as the Riverside Clinic hospital.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of Macon's oldest and most interesting houses, with outstanding architectural features such as its Greek key cornice and skylit circular stairway. It is also tied to prominent owners, including Dr. Ambrose Baber, Col. John Basil Lamar and Gen. Howell Cobb.","narrative":"Built in 1829-1830 on what was then the outskirts of Macon, this house was designed in an early Republic style for Dr. Ambrose Baber. It is a five-bay, two-story brick building over a raised basement, with stuccoed walls scored to resemble stone, a slightly projecting pedimented central section and a cornice with a Greek key design. Inside, a circular stairway rises around a skylight. The grounds were once enclosed by a ten-foot brick wall and laid out in terraces with boxwood, cedar, magnolia and mimosa. Baber was a physician, state senator and diplomat who helped found Macon's first church. After he left in 1841, the house passed to Col. John Basil Lamar, a Confederate officer killed in 1862, and then to his sister, wife of Gen. Howell Cobb. It was converted to hospital use in 1929, which brought a new entrance stoop and wing additions, though the original proportions remain largely intact. It still operates as Riverside Clinic.","period_of_significance":"1829-1830","architect_builder":"Dr. Ambrose Baber (builder)","architectural_style":"Early Republic style","criteria":[],"status_note":"In excellent condition and occupied; operated as Riverside Clinic, a private hospital, with altered exterior and 1920s-30s wing additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.232045-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73000608.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000608/e0a9928877-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000608/e0a9928877-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Timkemp","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrose_Baber_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Timkemp</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:Ambrose_Baber_House.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/93206984","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134130124"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/bibb-county/baber-ambrose-house-73000608/"}