The Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah located on Troup Square is another delightful architectural work from John Norris, whose Savannah legacy included my very first Postcard from Savannah (PFS): The Mercer-Williams House; as well as last week’s PFS: The Cockspur Island Lighthouse.
Read MoreCockspur Island sits aside the south channel of the Savannah River and is located a short distance northwest of Tybee Island. Sail twelve miles upstream to the west and you’ll reach the Savannah port.
Read MoreYou might say the restoration movement of Savannah was born by Arnold’s decisive decision to surrender Savannah and Sherman’s subsequent restraint from burning the port city to the ground.
Read MoreThe First Congregational Church of Savannah was founded in 1869, just after the Civil War ended, to serve the spiritual, cultural, and educational needs of the city’s African-American population. Notably, the founding congregation included whites and African-Americans, and unique to the church itself is that it emerged directly from a school founded to educate newly freed slaves.
Read MoreThe pink and purple blooming hydrangea plants in front of the house are a mainstay here in Savannah. Naturally, they never become a tiresome scene in the line of sight of this artist’s green eyes.
Read MoreWho was Louisa Porter? She was married to the president of the Bank of Georgia and later became a philanthropist, helping to create the Industrial Relief Society and Home for the Friendless which, after her death, was renamed ‘The Louisa Porter Home for Girls.’ So, the short answer to the question I asked above — Louisa Porter is an angel.
Read MoreAfter Juliette settled her husband’s complicated affairs (pun intended!), Daisey met the founder of the Boy Scouts while living in London. In 1912, she returned to Savannah to begin the Girl Scout movement. Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts by Stacy Cordery tells that story well.
Read MoreUsing artistic skills developed late in life, he memorialized an odyssey every bit as eventful as that experienced by Homer’s Odysseus — which became quite an accomplishment for an eight-year-old initially shanghaied on the waterfront of Savannah to serve as a cabin boy on a merchant ship.
Read MoreIn another important manner, the house marked the beginning of the restoration of Savannah’s Historic District when seven determined women banded together to buy the house in 1955, just as a recking ball was swinging fast and furious in its direction. The Davenport House is the beacon of the restoration movement in Savannah and an important testament to the enormous power of grassroots activism.
Read MoreOriginally built in 1895, this building was created for the Citizens Bank and was the first ‘skyscraper’ to tower over Savannah. All 5.5 stories of it!
Read MoreOne thing, a revolution among colonies, led to another, a plantation outside Savannah, which led to another, a Yale-educated tutor traveling the American South, to another, a Civil War over slavery, to another, Russia’s conquest of Kazakhstan, to a final thing — this painting by a Russian-American artist.
Read MoreLike so many of Savannah’s historic buildings, a fire led to the redesign of the building’s interior in 1897. Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, as well as famous songwriter Johnny Mercer attended this parish. You can sit upon Johnny Mercer’s bench in Johnson Square while admiring this scene.
Read MoreThe Georgia Historical Society was founded here in Savannah in 1839 and has been responsible for collecting and organizing the artifacts of Georgia’s history ever since.
Read MoreThe beautiful fountain painted here originated at the Wormsloe Plantation. It was moved in the 1970s to its present location on Columbia Square by Wainwright and Eudora DeRenne Roebling, direct descendants of Nobel Jones.
Read MoreThis en plein air painting features the red door at Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, located on the southwest trust lot of Calhoun Square in Savannah’s Historic District.
Read MoreI have a deeply personal and nostalgic love for this beautiful building, primarily because I attended some of my favorite classes here while I studied art at SCAD; and also, because this building reminds me of the school I attended as a child.
Read MoreShe was a legendary Savannahian whose endearing story spread across the oceans; starting here in Savannah to reach every port throughout the world.
Read MoreIt took until the early 1800s before the congregation built its first Synagogue in Savannah; in fact, the first Synagogue ever erected in Georgia. In March 1878, construction began on the current Synagogue located on Monterey Square; that building expanded to its present size in 1957. It is magnificent!
Read MoreA large contingency of Savannah’s early population immigrated from Ireland, many during the Irish Famine. Later, they set aside Emmet Park as a dedication to their hero.
Read MoreOverall, Lafayette Square might be the most beautiful in Savannah. The Square was created in 1837 and named after the French-aristocratic Revolutionary War hero and friend to George Washington. The Cathedral of St. John’s the Baptist displays an imposing presence, towering over the square as it does.
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