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Virtual
Tour of Athens Landmarks
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The
Morton Building
The Morton Building, constructed in 1909-1910 by Monroe bowers "Pink" Morton, at one time formed the core of the downtown black business district. Although Morton had little formal education, he became a successful businessman and a prominent figure in the history of Athens. He was a contractor and owned over 30 buildings, the Morton Building being the largest. Many of Athens' black doctors, dentists, and pharmacists practiced in the Morton Building. Among these were Dr. Ida Mae Johnson Hiram, the first black woman to be licensed to practice medicine in the state, and Dr. William H. Harris, one of the founders of the Georgia State Medical Association of Colored Physicians, Dentists, and Druggists. The second floor housed the Morton Theatre, the first African-American built, owned and operated vaudeville theatre in America. The theater opened May 18, 1910 with a concert by black classical pianist Alice Carter Simmons of the Oberlin, Ohio Conservatory. Later came vaudeville acts. In 1927 one of the best known revue companies, the Butterbeans and Susie Review, came "direct from the Cotton Club" in New York. Local and regional blues musicians known to have performed at the Morton Theater include Blind Willie McTell, Curley Weaver, and Roy Dunn. Ticket stubs found in the theater suggest that national performers Duke Ellington, Cab Callaway, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Ma Rainey performed at the Morton during its heyday. During the 1930's, the theater was modified to become a movie house. In the 1950's, there was a small fire in the projection room. The fire marshal found only one wooden stairway exit from the over 500 seat theater and put a padlock on the door. Various street level businesses continued operations in the building. The Morton family sold the building in 1973 to businessman Johnny Bond. In 1979, the Morton was placed on National Register of Historic Places and the City of Athens commissions a Feasibility Study. In 1980, using a combination of state and federal funds, the nonprofit Morton Theatre Corporation purchased the building. Local bands such as Dreams So Real, The B-52's and R.E.M. occasionally used the building for rehearsal space and filming music videos, such as R.E.M.'s "The One I Love." In 1987, the citizens of Athens-Clarke County came to the rescue of the Morton Theatre through the passage of the special local option sales tax referendum that included $1.8 million for the restoration of the theater. In 1991, ownership of the building passed over to the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County and construction began in April 1992. Construction was completed in the fall of 1993. The Morton Theatre officially re-opened for business in March 1994 and has become a treasure to the community. The government provides staff to enable the theatre to function as a community performing arts center, while the non-profit Morton Theatre Corporation develops programming and maintains operating policies
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For
more detailed information. contact information and a calendar of events,
visit the Morton Building's website at 
In
1999, the Morton Building was selected as the third in a series of
holiday ornaments celebrating landmarks in Athens-Clarke County. The
ornament is on sale for $10.00 at the Athens Welcome Center (280 East
Dougherty Street, 706-353-1820).
