But it's gonna take more than a gust a wind to blow that august Augusta building down!

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/georgia-ra...

Is that a pioneer homeless fellow between the columns at the corner? Must be one of the first! He has a hat, and bundles, but no shopping cart or tent.

Wonder what his story really is.

[Um, that's a nursemaid with two baby carriages. - Dave]

The Georgia Railroad and Banking Company (it did both) was chartered way back in the 1830s, making it one of the earliest railroads in the US. Over time the banking side of the business proved to be the more profitable and survived the Civil War and the Depression before eventually being absorbed in a series of mergers beginning in 1986. Today the parent company is Wells Fargo. The railroad also has disappeared in the usual run of corporate mergers, with CSX now controlling what is left of their old lines.

In "downtown" Augusta, there was a bank on the corner of Seventh and Broad Street from the 1830s until 2015! In 1967, sadly a large (sky scraper) building was erected to replace the beautifully designed bank pictured above. In 2015, Wells Fargo closed its branch (which was housed in the "skyscraper" built in '67).

In 1916, Augusta had a horrible fire that burned much of the town. However, the bank pictured in 1903 survived. My great grandfather took several photographs of the aftermath of the fire and floods through the years. He was a pediatrician in Augusta. His doctor's office was in the Lamar building on Broad Street. The Lamar building still stands today. I wish we still had the old glass plate negatives from the photographs he took.