Douglasville Commercial Historic District

Downtown Douglasville, Georgia, is a five-block commercial district arranged along Broad and Church Streets, facing the railroad tracks. The town was planned in 1874-1875 as the new Douglas County seat, with its street grid and courthouse square oriented to the Georgia Western Railroad. Most buildings are one- or two-story brick structures from the late 1800s and early 1900s, including plain commercial storefronts with display windows and decorative brickwork. Notable examples include the 1905 Douglasville Banking Company building in the Beaux Arts style, the 1885 Selman Drug and Jewelry Company building in the Italianate style, and a 1920s Gulf Oil station in the Tudor Revival style. The district was the commercial center for the county, with banks, stores, a Masonic lodge and services for surrounding communities. It was listed for its architecture and its role in local commerce, transportation and town planning. Development between 1874 and 1941 was fairly continuous, and after World War II growth moved mostly outside the district.