Muscogee County Courthouse
Columbus Georgia

Distinguished by its monumental scale and formal entrance plaza, this 14-story tower with matching 3-story wings was built in 1970 when Moscogee County and the City of Columbus merged. Designed by Columbus architect Edward W. Neal, it houses combined city and county governmental functions.

Like many Georgia courthouses, the Government Center is the tallest building in the downtown, but there is not a clock tower or dome that dominates the skyline but rather an office tower, a reflection of the growth of urban government in this century. As citizens increasingly demanded more and better urban services, it became necessary to build more and more office space to house the officials needed to run the programs. In major cities the high-rise office building has thus become a symbol of local government.

Columbus, of course, was once a small town. The first courthouse here was no more than a "rude wooden structure" that stood in the 1500 block of First Avenue. The second, a stately Greek Revival building of modest size, constructed in 1838, consisted of two stories atop a raised basement. It had a hipped roof and a portico with four columns. The third was a much larger 1896 Neoclassical/Beaux-Arts structure that served the county for three-quarters of a century. It was demolished during construction of the present complex.

Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 1200
Columbus, Georgia 31902
(706) 327-1566

Directions
From U.S. 27 (Veterans Parkway) southbound in downtown Columbus,
turn right (west) on Tenth Street.
The Government Center is three blocks on the left.