Macon Magazine

28 maconmagazine.com | February/March 2026 STORY BY KAILEY RHODES | PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMI GAUDET T W O N E W P A R K S S I G N A L A N E W C H A P T E R F O R P U B L I C S P A C E I N M A C O N children playing, artists creating, neighbors gathering, and visitors picnicking — as well as a civic plaza for demonstrations or protests and a place to reflect on Black history. Cooke emphasized that public spaces play an essential civic role. "Public space is where democracy becomes visible," she said. "The square belongs to the people, and our job is to make sure it stays that way." Future art installations in the park are being planned by the board. SPIRIT OF MACON Just a few blocks away, another new park reflects a different approach to public space. Spirit of Macon Park, a pocket park near the downtown transfer station at Terminal Station, grew not from the parks department, but from an unlikely source: Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority. The idea began with art. After attending a press event at the Macon transfer station, public information officer Jami Gaudet walked to the end of the street and noticed two blank panels at the corners of Fifth and Poplar. That moment sparked a broader conversation — one that brought together transit staff from across the ROSA PARKS SQUARE R osa Parks Square has long occupied a prominent place in downtown Macon — across from City Hall at the corner of Poplar and First Streets — but its newly reimagined state marks a meaningful shift in how the city is thinking about public spaces. "This new chapter represents intention," said Andrea Cooke, chairperson of the Friends of Rosa Parks Square Board. "We are no longer just preserving a legacy; we are activating it." Named by Mayor C. Jack Ellis for the civil rights icon whose act of resistance helped reshape the nation, Rosa Parks Square has always carried historical significance. What has changed, Cooke said, is how the space now functions in daily life after recently completing a $2.5 million renovation. "Monuments ask us to remember. Public spaces invite us to participate," she said. "Rosa Parks Square matters because it is a place where history and daily life meet." Rather than serving solely as a commemorative site, the square is now designed to be lived in. Its amphitheater seating and wide lawn hope to host organization. "To reimagine the space, we gathered together the manager of the terminal station, a bus operator, the head of paratransit, a dispatch supervisor," Gaudet said. "It is truly an expression of a community's collective imagination, from folks who previously hadn't served in this capacity." The panels did not stay blank for long. What started as a public art initiative soon expanded — quite literally, spanning across Poplar Street in a colorful splash on a tunnel supporting railroad tracks. As artist and professor Abraham Abebe's murals transformed once-blank walls into vibrant expressions of community identity, attention turned to the surrounding area — an overgrown, underutilized corner that posed safety concerns for riders and pedestrians alike. "This was a scary intersection," Gaudet said. "We had an opportunity to change that, not just visually, but functionally." Spirit of Macon Park came together through collaboration across city departments and community partners, including Parks and Beautification, Public Works, local designers like landscape architect Wimberly Treadwell, and national funders, such

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