>> throughout 2014, c-span's cities tour has featured the history of communities throughout the country. today we feature the music of several of these cities. ♪ ♪ >> so right now we're at the douglas theater. probably one of the most famous

landmarks in macon, georgia. it was started by an entrepreneur and macon's first african-american millionaire. and it became a corner stone to the music industry and performing african-american artists throughout the south. he was an important figure because he was macon's first african-american millionaire. but started out with humble beginnings. he was the son of a former slave who began working as soon as he was old enough to do it. he began working with the florida blossoms circuit. and how to network different venues that would play or showcase. led to the ground work for the circuit as we call it today.

it would also become an important movie theater venue for african-american film makers. so it became a premiere spot in entertainment industry. and it made macon an important stop along the way. in fact, the street the douglas theater is on became known as the black broadway of the south. and so the douglas theater and charles douglas himself were just really important in building that network. of entertainment and touring possibilities. and what's interesting when you get into the later years, into the 1950s, the jazz led to eventually the formation of rhythm and blues. and it was here that some of the premiere soul artists such as james brown and otis redding actually graced the stage. ♪

rhythm in blues began getting its start not long after the break of little richard. call little richard the architect of rock 'n' roll. but he became an inspiration for african-american artists here in macon if he can make it maybe they could, too. those 45s newly pressed. they couldn't put their finger on that sound. young artists like otis redding would come to local talent shows to perform and try to gain some notoriety. the douglas became a host of probably the most well-known talent show in the area. it was broadcast live on the radio on wibb. and it was here during those talent shows that young otis who is known as rock house redding would win consistently. i mean, nobody could beat him. nobody could outplay him.

and one of the listeners on that radio station happened to be my uncle phil walden who eventually would become a business partner and manager with otis redding. phil heard that early sound of otis that would later make him famous. that amazing soul that he was able to project. that's something that you could just feel. i mean, it was truly music you could feel. ♪ >> for whatever reason. whatever fate may have it here in macon, georgia. these two young guys, a black guy and a white guy in a segregated south were able to look at each other, shake hands and form this unbelievable partnership that would lead to the commercial success of southern soul music. the douglas theater is just a beautiful example of the rich

history and architecture in macon. the theater survived through the roaring '20s and the great depression and then through the interjection of rhythm and blues. but in the '70s, it did eventually fall into disrepair. and it was closed down, and eventually questionable if it could ever open again. it was severely dilapidated. and in the late '90s, with the help of a private businessman and then the city working together, they were able to restore this theater to a lot of its original glory. you know, i still get chills when i see that stage and think about all the people who have walked across it. and have performed here. now we actively use it as a community. you can see anything from art house films on the big screen to local talent shows today with some of our rising stars. it's a beautiful piece of history of macon, probably one

of my favorite parts of it is if you look at the paintings on the wall, the actual chain stencilling represents the bondage of slavery. but then in the corners, the chains are broken, representing that freedom. and, you know, it was here that with rhythm and blues so much happened in that sense of race relations. and with the foresight of charles douglas -- that it grew into over the years way past his lifetime. >> to learn more about the cities and watch videos from historic sites around the country, visit c-span.org/local content. this is american history tv on c-span 3. >> project runway cohost tim

gunn to discuss first ladies' fashion choices and how they represented the styles of the times in which they lived as well as their individual personalities. joining the panel is lisa kathleen grady, the curator of the first ladies collection of the national museum of american history. the national archives hosted this 90-minute event. >> hello, everyone. how are you? thank you for being here. we're going to have a rousing evening, i hope. certainly an interesting one and an interesting discussion. and i have to say, the whole topic of what the first lady wears, we know is frequent topic of discussion. and we have lisa kathleen grady here who wrote the book of the first ladies' collection. and i would speculate you run