Savannah Sights: Historic public squares

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Gen. Oglethorpe and Col. Bull laid out their new settlement in 1733 in a series of wards, in which commercial and residential buildings surround a public square. The original four public squares were Johnson, Ellis, Telfair, and Wright. By the mid 19th century, there were 24 public squares in Savannah. Two squares, Elbert and Liberty, both along Montomery St., have been lost to modern construction, and a third one, Ellis, once lost, is being restored.

• Calhoun Square, Calhoun Square was laid out in 1851, one of the last squares. It is on Abercorn Street with the cross streets being Taylor and Gordon. It was named for John C. Calhoun a well known South Carolina politician. Massie School and Wesley Monumental Methodist Church are on this square.

• Chatham Square, Chatham Square was laid out in 1847, one of the last squares. It is on Barnard Street with the cross streets being Taylor and Gordon. It was named for William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. On the Southeast corner of the square is Gordon Row, fifteen four story townhouses built as rental housing. The Barnard Street School, now one of the buildings of the Savannah College of Art and Design is on the Northwest corner of the square.

• Chippewa Square, This square was laid out in 1815 and named for a battle in the War of 1812. In 1820, this square was a center of nighlife as the William Jay designed theater (still there although greatly altered) was on this square. The classical First Baptist Church and the Charles Cluskey designed Moses Eastman House at 17 W. McDonough are also on Chippewa. North of the square is Independent Presbyterian Church on Bull St. at Oglethorpe. The center of this square is James Edward Oglethorpe's monument. The square is also notable for being the square with the bus stop in the movie Forrest Gump. (The bus stop bench doesn't actually exist, it was a movie prop.)

• Columbia Square, In the center of this square is the Wormsloe Fountain, placed there in 1970 as a memorial to Augusta and Wymberly DeRenne, descendants of Noble Jones. Davenport House, the house saved in 1955 by seven women who went on to found Historic Savannah Foundation, is located on the North side of this square. It is also the site of current preservation activities. The Frederic Ball House and the former law offices on the Western side of the square next to the Kehoe House. The Stone House, dating from the 1820s has been restored. The Universalist Church, on the Southwest corner of the square, is the former Sheftall House.

• Crawford Square, This square was laid out in the 1840s and named to honor William Harris Crawford who was Secretary of the Treasury under President Madison and once thought to be a prime contender for President of the United States. It is the only square that is still fenced as all the squares were at one time. Crawford Square is on Houston Street between Perry and Hull Streets.

• Elbert Square, This square is one of two lost squares. It was located on Montgomery St. directly across from the westside entrance to the Civic Center and is represented by a small grassy area today. The square was laid out in 1801 and named for Samuel Elbert, planter and Revolutionary soldier. In 1969 the "Flame of Freedom" was placed here, but subsequently it was moved to Liberty Square in front of the Courthouse.

• Ellis Square, This square is one of the original four squares, laid out in 1733. It was also referred to as Marketplace Square because that was its use. The square was named for Henry Ellis, second Royal Governor. Unfortunately, in 1954, this entire square, on Barnard Street between W. Bryan and W. Congress Streets, was covered by a city parking garage. This parking garage was torn down in 2007 and is being replaced by an underground parking structure, Savannah's first, with Ellis Square restored on top.
  • On the west side of Ellis Square, the City Market complex extends for two blocks over to Franklin Square. Ellis was the site of the Old City Market, which was demolished in the early 1950s to make way for the infamous parking garage. The loss of the Old City Market upset residents to the extent that efforts began to prevent further losses of irreplaceable building s

• Franklin Square, This square is located on Montgomery Street between Congress and Bryan Streets. It was named for Benjamin Franklin who had been the Georgia Colony's agent in London. It was laid out in 1791 and for many years the City's water tower was here so it was referred to as Water Tower or Reservoir Square. The First African Baptist Church is located on the West side of the square and the end of the City Market complex is on the East side. Franklin Square was restored in the 1980s, the same time period when the City Market complex was built.

• Greene Square, This square was named to honor Gen. Nathanial Greene, second in command to George Washington in the American Revolution. On the Southwest corner, the Meyerhoff house is built of Savannah Gray Brick and a sign on the house notes that these bricks were made at the Hermitage Plantation.
  • The Second African Baptist Church, dating to 1802 is on the West side of the square. At this church, Sherman made his famous "Forty Acres and a Mule" promise to the newly freed slaves. Also on this square is the 1801 wooden building that was the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum

• Johnson Square, This is the City's first square, laid out in 1733. It was named for Robert Johnson, Governor of South Carolina when the Georgia colony was founded. The public mill and oven were located on this square and it was the site of the earliest church, Christ Church, which is still there; but not in the original building. The Savannah Bank Building, now First Union, was the City's first "skyscraper." It was built in 1911 on the Northeast corner of Bull Street and Bryan. This is the banking square and many of the City's banks are located here. In the center of the square is the Nathanial Greene Monument.

• LaFayette Square, This square, located on Abercorn Street between Charlton and Harris Streets was laid out in 1837. Until 1846, the City jail was located here; but when it was moved, Andrew Low purchased some of the land and built in 1849 what we now refer to as the Andrew Low House. This house, on the West side of the square, is next to the Battersby-Hartridge House, the only Charleston style house in the City.
  • The Hamilton Turner House is also on this square as is the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home. This home, now operated as a public museum, is where the renowned Georgia author lived as a child.
  • On the North side of the square is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and its school buildings.

• Liberty Square, This is one of two lost squares. It was located on Montgomery Street in front of the present County Courthouse. It was laid out in 1799 and named to celebrate the freedom and independence gained through the Revolution and to honor the "Sons of Liberty" who had fought for independence. The "Flame of Freedom" is now on this site.

• Madison Square, This square was named to honor President James Madison and laid out in 1837. It is on Bull Street with Harris and Charlton providing boundaries. On the West side of the square there is St. John's Episcopal Church and its parish house, the Green-Meldrim House which is open to the public. On the corner of Charlton and Bull, there is the Scottish Rite Temple designed by Hyman Witcover who was also the architect for the present Savannah City Hall. Across from that is the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory, now one of the Savannah College of Art and Design's buildings. The DeSoto Hilton Hotel, on the Northeast corner, was built in the 1960s after the original DeSoto was torn down.
  • The site was originally the Oglethorpe Barracks, c. 1834, the site of early military parades.
  • The center of Madison Square is the Sgt. Jasper Monument.

• Monterey Square, In 1847, the Irish Jasper Greens, a Savannah military group, returned from the Mexican war and this name (Monterey) was given to honor one of the battles in that war. All of the buildings on this square except one (the United Way building) are original to the square.
  • Temple Mickve Israel is here with its museum which is open to the public.
  • On the Southwest corner, at 3 W. Gordon, is the Noble Hardee House, completed in 1869 as a double house but later converted into a single dwelling. Also on this square is the Mercer-Williams House and the 1857 built Oglethorpe Club building.
  • The Pulaski Monument is in the center of Monterey Square.

• Oglethorpe Square, This square is on Abercorn Street between State and York Streets. It was laid out in 1742 and named for the founder of Georgia, James Edward Oglethorpe. In its earliest days it was referred to as "Upper New Square."
  • On the East side of this square there is the Owens-Thomas House, which many feel is the finest example of Regency architecture in the United States. Originally the Unitarian Church, now the Baptist Center (Jingle Bells Church), sits on the square.
  • On the Sourthwest corner is the Urban Health Center, originally built in 1907 as the Marine Hospital.

• Orleans Square, This square, located on Barnard St., between Perry and Hull Streets, was laid out in 1815 and named to honor the heroes of the War of 1812. The German Societies placed a fountain and benches in this square in the late 1980s.
  • The house with the massive columns on the East side of the square was built in 1844 for Aaron Champion. It is known as the Champion-McAlpin House which is owned by the Society of Cincinnati in the state of Georgia. Across the square is the Civic Center, completed in 1970.

• Pulaski Square, This square on Barnard Street between Harris and Charlton Streets was laid out in 1837 and named for Count Casimir Pulaski, the highest ranking foreign officer to die in the American Revolution.
  • The red brick Jewish Education Alliance building on the East side of the square is now a dormitory for the Savannah College of Art and Design. The house on the Northwest corner of Barnard and Harris is new housing, completed in 1993. The house across from it is the 1839 house of Francis Bartow, a Confederate hero. It is now several apartments.

• Reynolds Square, Located on Abercorn Street between Congress and Bryan Streets, this square was named for James Reynolds, a Georgia Royal Governor.
  • On the Northeast trust lot, the Filature House was located. This center of the silkworm effort was the first large building in the colony and used as a meeting center before it burned down in the mid 1800s. The Corps of Engineers building is now on that site.
  • The Pink House is one of the few houses to survive the Great Fire of 1796. Across St. Juilian Street from it, also on the West side of the square is the Oliver Sturgiss House. He was a partner with William Scarbrough in the Steamship Savannah venture. The Southwest trust lot on this square was the site of the parsonage in the earliest colonial days. The Christ Church Parish House is on the Northeast corner.
  • The square also houses the John Wesley Monument.

• Telfair Square, From 1733 to 1883, this square was named St. James Square and was one of the most fashionable residential areas. It was renamed to honor Edward Telfair, three time governor of Georiga (1786-1792) and his family. Located on Barnard Street between York and State Streets.
  • The Telfair family home, now the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the oldest art museums in the South. The Trinity Methodist Church and the Federal Buildings which were completed in the 1980s are on this square.

• Troup Square, This square, located on Habersham between Charlton and Harris Streets, was laid out in 1851. It was named for George Michael Troup, Congressional Representative, Governor, and Senator. There was only one other square, Washington Square, named for a person who was alive when so honored.
  • On the West side of the square there are the high stoop McDonough Row Houses, built in 1882 that were the object of one of the first historic restoration efforts in the 1960s when federal funds became available for historic preservation activities.
  • Kennedy Row, low stoop brick houses on the West side of the square, were built in 1872 and also rehabilitated in the Troup Square Renewal Project.
  • Also on the West side of the squre, there is a dog fountain that was reinstalled in the 1980s.
  • The Armillary Sphere in the center of the square was created in the 1970s and represents an ancient astronomical device. It originally had gold continents inside and twelve Zodiacs on the rim; but were removed to prevent theft or further vandalism.

• Warren Square, This square, laid out in 1791, is on Habersham Street between Bryan and Congress Streets. It was named for General Joseph Warren, killed in the 1775 battle of Bunker Hill. The city parking garage covers the two western Trust Lots.
  • The Spencer House, built in 1791, on the West side of the square, underwent a total resoration in the 1980s. A private philanthropist has completely redone the double house on the Northwest corner of Habersham Street in 1993.
  • On St. Julian Street between this square and Washington Square there are some of the oldest houses in the historic district.

• Washington Square, This square, on Houston Street, is near the site of the old Trustees Garden. It was named for George Washington. For many years, until the mid-twentieth century, this square was the scene of the biggest New Year's Eve bonfires, many often taller than the houses around the square.
  • The Seaman's House, operated by the Port Society to serve the needs of visiting seaman, is on the Southwest side of the square.
  • The Mulberry Inn, also on this square, was originally a cotton warehouse, built in the 1860s, then a Coca-Cola bottling plant before being converted to an inn.

• Whitefield Square, This square, on Habersham between Taylor and Gordon Streets, is named for the Rev. George Whitefield, an early minister in the colony, friend of John Wesley, and founder of the Bethesda Orphanage in 1740. Done in 1851, this was the last of the City's squares. Around the square there are wooden Victorian houses, a later style in the historic district.
  • On the North side of the square are two very tall, modern buildings: the Red Cross and the Rose of Sharon apartments. Also on this square is the First Congregational Church.

• Wright Square, This is one of the oldest of the City's squares, laid out in 1733. It is on Bull Street between State and York Streets. It was originally called Percival Square to honor Viscount Percival, later the Earl of Egmont. It was renamed to honor James Wright, Georgia's last Royal Governor.
  • It was commonly called "Court House Square," as from its earliest days to the present, it has held a courthouse on the site. The present yellow brick courthouse, on the east side, was designed by William Gibbons Preston and was renovated in 1992 for continued use by County offices.
  • Next to the Court House, also on the east side of the square, on a Trust Lot, is the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, built in 1844. Also on the square is the United States Post Office, built in 1899 of Georgia Marble. Around the top of the building there are panels of all different types of marble quarried in Georgia.
  • On this square, Tomochichi was buried in an elaborate funeral service in 1739. His monument remained as done by the early colonists until it was demolished in the early 1880s to make way for a monument to William Washington Gordon. The members of the Colonial Dames in Georgia were responsible for placing a huge boulder of Georgia granite in the Southeast side of the square in memory of Tomochichi.