But that's about all Augusta offers James Brown fans.

Augusta has two claims to fame: The Masters Tournament and the Godfather of Soul. The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame is an attempt to draw some of the Augusta National Golf Club's international interest downtown. But for Mr. Brown, all we've got is a few signs on Ninth Street and WAAW-FM (94.7), Mr. Brown's radio station on Broad Street.

There are a few other scattered sights. A stage costume - a fitted white suit and red ruffled shirt - stands in a gallery in the Augusta Museum of History.

Could Augusta do more - and possibly benefit more - from what many consider a resource as valuable to the local community as golf?

Perhaps a museum, a shrine to an authentic entertainment icon, is in order.

Consider the history.

James Brown was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He has been given lifetime achievement awards by both the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York and the Grammy Awards. He has had 94 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. His pioneering funk sound laid the groundwork for hip hop and, at 68, he continues to tour, playing 150 sold-out shows a year. All this from an entertainer who lived most of his life as an Augustan.

''He's definitely in the upper echelon of artists," said Jim Henke, the curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. ''If you look at the other people we inducted in that first batch, it speaks clearly to that. I mean, when hip hop started, it was James Brown that they all sampled. From a cultural standpoint, James Brown was one of the first artists to stand up to talk, and sing, about the problems he saw in the black community. Certainly he belongs in the same class as Elvis or Chuck Berry or the Beatles."

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE for Augusta to honor this home-grown legend with a museum?

Already, Mr. Brown has talked to the Augusta Museum of History about a temporary exhibit of memorabilia to be shown in conjunction with a history of rock 'n' roll photo exhibition. As early as 1996, Mr. Brown was talking about opening a museum in Augusta.

''This is a really unique opportunity that we have here," said Barry White, the executive director of the Augusta Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. ''When you are marketing a city, you look for the uniqueness. Having James Brown here is something that is very unique, and it's something we could share with people that visit. It's something you can only get here."

Mr. Brown also expressed interest in a museum, saying that he would consider becoming involved if he thought the community was serious and if it would have a positive effect on the community.

''I don't see a lot of progress that I would like to see," Mr. Brown said, motioning to the Broad Street vista outside the windows of his radio station. ''I walked barefoot out on those streets, and I want to see this place come back. So don't worry about a James Brown museum unless you are worried about kids eating and sleeping, because a James Brown museum could probably do a lot of money."

Indeed, music museums do have a history of boosting tourism. Last year, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon had approximately 80,000 visitors. Larger museums, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, see nearly a million a year. The Experience Music Project in Seattle, a museum dedicated to the cultural impact of rock 'n' roll, opened in 2000 and had more than 780,000 visitors in its first year.

''It's extremely important that we explore this opportunity," said Mr. White of the Augusta Visitors Bureau. ''We are actually in the early stages of some pretty extensive research on how, as a city, we can move forward and what people like about us now. So that's a great question to put out there: How do people respond to James Brown? It makes all this less speculative when you can back it up with some numbers."

Some numbers that might be involved in the equation are those pertaining to the Augusta Golf & Gardens, which will include the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, an interactive museum.

Leisure and Recreation Concepts Inc. prepared a feasibility study on the project and estimated that the attraction would draw 296,000 visitors in its first year. The garden portion of the project opened last year, but there is no projected opening date for the museum.

The museum and gardens have a budget of $32 million. The project is being funded by state and local taxes and private and corporate donations. The Southern Co. has already committed to put up the final $9 million for the museum's completion.

IN OTHER CITIES, museums have been set up by private foundations, as line items on city budgets, through hotel and motel taxes, with funding from state or federal agencies, or through corporate sponsors. Usually, the answer is a combination of some or all of the above. The common thread, however, is a commitment from the community.

''I think it will take some good, sound figures that show that people would come see this, that there is an interest," Mr. White said. ''But I think if people could see that this could be one of the top three attractions here, with hard figures to back it up, we could get some support."

Mr. White said the secret to any attraction's success depends on one thing: location. Preferable locations for Mr. Brown's museum would be easily accessible and in close proximity to food, lodging and, if possible, other attractions.

''I would like to see it downtown," he said. ''A James Brown museum may or may not be the attraction that gets people here. It may be a combination of several museums and attractions. But I do think it would be a benefit, particularly if it were within walking distance of other attractions, such as the Morris and the Augusta Golf & Gardens."

Some possible sites in the downtown area include the historic Miller Theatre on the 700 block of Broad Street; the Woolworth's building on the corner of Eighth and Broad streets; the site of the old King George Pub on the riverwalk at Eighth Street; or a parcel of land owned by the Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corp. at the corner of Walton Way and, appropriately, James Brown Boulevard.

MR. BROWN HIMSELF expressed hope that such a museum could be built downtown, an area he says is in desperate need of revitalization.

''Ellis Street is totally antiquated and dilapidated," he said. ''We need to bring our streets back. Reynolds Street needs bringing back. Telfair Street needs bringing back. But we have to want to do something. This is the area that made Augusta. It's historical."

Brown's ups and downs

May 3, 1933: James Brown is born in Barnwell, S.C. Mr. Brown was raised in Augusta.

1953: Mr. Brown joins the Gospel Starlighters. The group eventually shifted its focus from gospel to secular music and changed its name to the Famous Flames, with Mr. Brown as the featured performer.

Nov. 1, 1955: The Famous Flames record Please Please Please at radio station WIBB in Macon.

Jan. 23, 1956: Mr. Brown and the Famous Flames sign to the King/Federal record label.

Feb. 4, 1956: Mr. Brown and the Famous Flames re-cut Please Please Please at the King/Federal studios in Cincinnati. The record reaches No. 5 on the R&B chart.

Oct. 1, 1958: Mr. Brown's first No. 1 hit, Try Me, is released. The song became the best-selling R&B single of 1958.

Oct. 24, 1962: Mr. Brown records his performance at New York's Apollo Theater. The resulting live album, Live at the Apollo, Vol. 1 peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart in 1962.

Feb. 1, 1965: Mr. Brown records Papa's Got a Brand New Bag. The classic single topped the R&B charts in the summer of 1965 and cracked the Top 10 on the pop singles chart, an almost unheard of feat for an R&B single at that time.

1965: Mr. Brown has the No. 3 single of the year - I Got You (I Feel Good).

June 4, 1966: Mr. Brown reaches No. 8 on the pop chart with It's A Man's Man's Man's World.

1967: Mr. Brown records Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud. The single, which peaked at No. 10, is considered revolutionary for its overt political message and its unique sound, which would come to be referred to as funk.

1970: Mr. Brown records Get Up (Sex Machine).

May 12, 1970: Mr. Brown returns to Augusta to plead for peace during the city's race riots.

1971: Mr. Brown records Hot Pants.

July 1, 1971: Mr. Brown signs with Polydor Records.

September 1972: Get On the Good Foot sits at No. 1 on the R&B chart for a month and peaks at No. 18 in the pop Top 40. The single's success cements Mr. Brown's place in music history, and he gains the moniker The Godfather of Soul.

Jan. 5, 1974: Mr. Brown releases The Payback. The album will eventually be certified gold, with more than 500,000 copies sold.

Sept. 1, 1974: Mr. Brown, on a bill with B.B. King, Etta James, Bill Withers and the Spinners, performs for more than 120,000 people at a music festival in Zaire.

1980: Mr. Brown makes a cameo appearance in the John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd comedy The Blues Brothers, playing a minister.

1983: Mr. Brown is inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Jan. 11, 1986: Living in America, from the Rocky IV soundtrack, reaches No. 4 on the Hot 100 chart, becoming Mr. Brown's biggest pop hit since I Got You (I Feel Good).

1986: Mr. Brown is named as one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

April 5, 1988: Mr. Brown turns himself in to Aiken County authorities and is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. The charges stemmed from an alleged attack on his then-wife Adrienne. The charges were later dropped when Mrs. Brown refused to testify.

Dec. 15, 1988: Mr. Brown is sentenced to a six-year prison term on various assault, drug possession and vehicular charges. He serves more than two years and is paroled Feb. 27, 1991.

Feb. 25, 1992: Mr. Brown accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards.

Feb. 25, 1993: Mr. Brown accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award at the fourth annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards.

Nov. 20, 1993: The city of Augusta renames the section of Ninth Street between Broad and Twiggs streets James Brown Boulevard.

June 15, 2000: Mr. Brown is inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, to be built on the campus of New York University.

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or suhles@hotmail.com.