July 2008 | Augusta, Georgia | By Bill Carter

Home To The Masters & More

Site Visit By Bill Carter

Augusta, Ga., is one of those medium-sized cities that nearly everyone has heard of thanks to golf. The Masters PGA tournament, arguably the most prestigious event in all of sports, is held each April at fabled Augusta National Golf Club. But the city offers much more than the private country club.

Located 120 miles east of Atlanta, off U.S. Interstate 20, I found Augusta to offer a fascinating history and glorious period architecture supported by Southern hospitality that's preserved on a grand scale in the famously genteel home of The Masters.

Barry White, president of the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau, shared why Augusta is a small market with big offerings. "It combines a lot of interesting history with very modern amenities for meetings. We enjoy showing it off to meeting attendees because there's no other place like it."

Meeting hotels include the 145-room Partridge Inn, which was selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the first Georgia property to be included in its prestigious Historic Hotels of America collection. Located among the magnificent magnolia trees of the Summerville Historic District, atop "The Hill," the highest point in Augusta, The Partridge Inn is built on property originally owned by George Walton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This year, the inn is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a hotel. Modern amenities include an excellent restaurant and 5,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 179-room Doubletree Hotel Augusta and Convention Center features more than 12,000 square feet of event space, highlighted by its Grand Ballroom with room for up to 600. Here, you'll find the only sand volleyball court in Augusta.

The 372-room Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites features a 45,000-square-foot Conference Center and the 10,758-square-foot Oglethorpe Ballroom. This hotel's top appeal, for me, lies in the fact that it's the only hotel located on the pedestrian boardwalk along the Savannah River. Just a few steps away is the city's amphitheater.

The Sacred Heart Cultural Center is a spectacular former church built by Jesuit priests. In 1987, it opened as a public facility, featuring a barrel-vaulted ceiling, 92 stained-glass windows and intricate brickwork.

The Augusta Canal National Heritage Area stands alongside the country's only industrial power canal still in use for its original purpose. Built in 1845 to harness the power of the Savannah River, the canal made Augusta a leading textile city—the significance of the canal and textiles can be experienced today at the Canal Interpretive Center.