The Telfair Academy of Arts and Science is a historic mansion and art museum built in 1818 for Alexander Telfair, son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair. In 1875 the last living member of the Telfair family gifted the house to the Georgia Historical Society with requirements that it be made into a museum. The Georgia Historical Society hired German-born architect Detlef Lienau to add a sculpture gallery and a rotunda, and do other renovations. The Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences opened in 1886, making it the oldest public art museum in the South, and showcases two nineteenth-century period rooms and nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European art from the museum’s permanent collection.
The American Prohibition Museum is the only museum in the United States that focuses on the temperance movement and the Prohibition Era. Prohibition began in 1920 when the Eighteenth Amendment banned the production and selling of alcohol, and ended in 1933 when it was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. The museum presents the history of Prohibition and its impact on America, both good and bad. It opened in 2017 and is owned and operated by Historic Tours of America. The museum includes thirteen separate exhibits, a theater, gift shop, and a fully-stocked bar designed to resemble a speakeasy
The Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum promotes Savannah's maritime history through its many artifacts and artwork on display. These include paintings, maritime antiques, and several scale models of ships related to Savannah, including the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The museum is located in the 1818 William Scarbrough House, a National Historic Landmark and one of the first examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country. English-born architect William Jay designed the house. Only a few of his buildings have survived, a fact that gave further impetus to designate the home as a National Landmark.
Housed in the renovated depot building of the former Central of Georgia Railway Complex—which is a National Historic Landmark—the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art focuses on modern and contemporary art. It holds a collection of 45,000 works of art and features 20 exhibitions per year. The collection is comprised of paintings, sculptures, photographs, haute couture fashion, drawings and other types of art. Famous artists represented here include Renoir, Goya and Picasso, Cartier-Bresson, Leibovitz and Warhol. The museum holds one of the largest and most important collections of African American art, featuring works created from the 18th century to today. The building itself integrates the older 1856 structure into a new addition built in 2011.
Located in the former Central of Georgia Railway passenger shed, which is a National Historic Landmark, the Savannah History Museum explores the city’s rich history. From the city’s founding in 1733 to modern developments, museum exhibit topics range from military history, to fashion, to industry, and to entertainment. Some of Savannah’s notable citizens are featured, such as Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low and the award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer. Other exhibits relate to Savannah’s war history. Civil War artifacts are also on display including a keg torpedo and items from the C.S.S. Georgia.
The Georgia State Railroad Museum is housed in the former repair shops of the Central of Georgia Railroad complex, the most complete antebellum train facility in the country. The buildings and the nearby passenger depot and train shed are, together, a National Historic Landmark. Many of the buildings are open to visitors including the partial roundhouse, partial machine shop, tender frame shop, and Blacksmith shop. The roundhouse still features an operational turntable. Several cars and other rolling stock are on display, including the oldest portable steam engine, and there is an even a hand car that visitors can ride. Train rides are also offered. The buildings are also part of the National Register of Historic Places District, Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities.
This museum chronicles Savannah's civil rights history and honors Ralph Mark Gilbert, a leader in the city and the individual most associated with the city's mid-century civil rights movement. Gilbert served as president of the local NAACP chapter from 1942 to 1950. The museum features many exhibits depicting life in Savannah during the civil rights era, such as the recreation of a local department store that allowed African Americans to shop but not eat at it's restaurant. Other museum exhibits include artifacts from civil rights leaders, historic photos, and a large fiber-optic map showing the site of important civil rights events in the city and nation. Photographs and interactive exhibits are also located in the museum, as well as a book collection for children. The museum is located in a building constructed in 1914 whose first function was the Wage Earners Savings and Loan Bank, what was once the largest bank in the county for African Americans.
The Georgia Historical Society is one of the oldest, continuously operating state historical societies in the South. It was founded in 1839 and has its headquarters and research center here in Savannah but also has an office in Atlanta. The research center is located in the historic Hodgson Hall, which was built in 1876 and named after William Hodgson, an eminent 19th-century scholar and diplomat who could speak thirteen languages. He was also a member of the historical society and served as curator for many years. He married Mary Telfair, the daughter of Georgia Governor Edward Telfair, who made plans for the building's construction after William passed away. Hodgson Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by architect Detlef Lienau, who introduced
This handsome home was built between 1860-1868 (construction was halted during the Civil War) for General Hugh Mercer, the great-grandfather of singer Johnny Mercer. Mercer never got a chance to live in the house, as it was completed by a man named John Wilder. By 1969 the house was vacant and in need of restoration. Local preservationist Jim Williams bought the house that year and renovated it for two years. The house has been owned by his sister Dorothy Kingery since 1990. It is open for private tours by making an appointment. It features art from William's private collection: 18th and 19th-century furniture, 18th-century portraits, drawings from the 17th century, and Chinese export porcelain.
Built in 1856 as a free public school for poor children, the Massie Heritage Center serves as a museum preserving Savannah's history and a gathering space for various community and cultural events. The building, which is the only surviving building of the city's first public school system, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The center features several exhibits exploring the city's maritime history, its growth and development, its historic buildings and the preservation efforts to save and renovate these structures, Native American culture and history, and the classic architecture exhibited throughout the city. There is also an authentic early 1900s classroom with old desks. Outside the building are two garden areas, which used to be separate recess areas for boys and girls.
Famed short story writer, essayist, and novelist of the Southern Gothic literary movement, Flannery O'Connor, lived in this house from birth (March 25, 1925) to 1938 with her family. Originally a single family home, the building now rents out two apartments. The house functions as a museum that commemorates the childhood and early life of O'Connor. Restored to its original appearance from the 1930s Great Depression Era, visitors can learn about Mary Flannery O'Connor's sheltered and quiet childhood by going on a guided tour. The house contains artifacts of the O'Connor family such as Mary's baby carriage, her childhood books with personal notes/criticisms, and photographs.
The Green-Meldrim House is one of Savannah's most impressive historic structures. It was built between 1853-1861 for Charles Green, a successful cotton merchant, and designed by architect John Norris in the Gothic Revival style. It is without question one of the South's finest examples of this style. It is also significant in that served as the headquarters for General Tecumseh Sherman from December 1864 to the end of the Civil War the following year. Soon after his arrival, Sherman wrote a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln informing him that he (Sherman) was giving him Savannah as a Christmas gift. The house is owned and maintained by the adjacent St. John's Church, which uses the house for weddings and other events. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
The Sorrel Weed House was the first home in Georgia to be declared a State Landmark in 1953. It was designed by Irish-born Charles Cluskey in the Greek Revival and Regency styles and is one of the finest examples of its kind in the state. Its owner, France Sorrel, was a successful commission merchant from the West Indies. It features many interesting architectural elements such as a parapet, elliptical arches, Doric columnns, and an oval-shaped library. Today it is a museum and contains many antique items and furniture. It is believed to be one of the most haunted buildings in Savannah. According to local lore, an African American slave was murdered in the carriage house, which located behind the main house, by a member of the family. The Sorrel Weed House has been featured on the TV show Ghost Hunters. Ghost Tours are given after 6pm.
The Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters was built in 1819 for successful cotton merchant and banker, Richard Richardson and his wife, Francis Bolton. It was designed by the English architect William Jay, one of the first trained architects in the country. He designed the house in the English Regency style and it features many interesting architectural elements such as curved walls and doors, indirect lighting in the drawing room, a bridge in the upstairs hall, and one of the finest staircases in the South. Today the house is one of three buildings that comprise the Telfair Museum, the oldest public art museum in the South. It features a decorative arts collection consisting of Owens family furnishings as well as American and European objects dating from 1790-1840. Behind the house are an English-themed garden and one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South.
The Davenport House, built in 1820, was the first building saved by the Historic Savannah Foundation in 1955. Savannah was a seedy city in the 1950s, and many historic buildings were demolished instead of restored during this time in efforts to improve the city. Savannah writer and artist, Anna Colquitt Hunter, formed a coalition with six of her friends to fight a local funeral parlor from purchasing the Davenport House. Hunter and her friends successfully raised the funds needed to purchase the Davenport House and saved it from demolition. The seven ladies of the Historic Savannah Foundation formed a revolving fund so they could save any historic structure that faced the fate of demolition. Today the Davenport House has been preserved and now serves as a house museum.
Recently opened in 2015, the Webb Military Museum is Savannah's only artifact museum dedicated to American military history. It was founded by local resident Gary Webb to showcase his collection of military-related items that he had collected for the majority of his life. The collection consists of items dating back to the Civil War to Operation Desert Storm. Items include uniforms (of which there are almost 100), medals, various equipment, and hats. Some of the items in the collection originated in Europe.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This extended walking tour of Savannah includes stops at sixteen museums and historic homes that are open for daily tours. The tour begins with the Telfair Academy of Arts and Science and winds its way around Savannah's famed historic districts with stops at art, science, and history museums as well as some of the city's most iconic homes.
