Blees was a Prussian immigrant who arrived in Macon in 1889 to take over as headmaster of St. James Academy, an Episcopalian military school for boys.

In 1896, Blees inherited his father's coal and iron mining interests in Germany, and he used his newfound wealth to benefit the City of Macon, including building commercial buildings, the town's first theater and sewage system; a local horseless carriage factory, the First National Bank of Macon, and financing the paving of the town's streets.

High coffered ceilings in the large open areas of the first floor were supported by Tuscan style iron columns and pilasters.

Galleried apartments at the second and third floor levels surrounded this grand open space, recessed behind a two-story Tuscan order colonnade.

In 1915 Dr. Arthur G. Hildreth and Charles E. and Harry M. Still, sons of Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of the profession of osteopathic medicine, established a sanatorium devoted to the treatment and care of all types of nervous and mental disorders.

Today, the old Academic Hall and Gymnasium of Blees Academy are on the National Register of Historic Places and serve as low income housing for the citizens of Macon.