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Urban Outfitters (Commercial Building)

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1903; 1939, c. 1960 alterations; 2007–2008 restoration, Hansen Architects. 217–221 W. Broughton St.

The rough-faced granite facade is unique among commercial buildings on Broughton Street and highly unusual in Savannah, as is the bridge over the lane in the rear, apparently an original feature of the building (though later expanded in size) that provided direct access to a separate warehouse to the south. When Sears took over the building in 1939, they updated the ground floor with black Vitrolite glass, which is evoked by the current material. In 1946, Belk department store acquired the building and c. 1960 reclad it and its older eastern neighbor with an elaborate windowless facade that differed from others on Broughton Street in having blind-arched windows, a large projecting arch over the main entrance, and a false mansard roof covering the top story. The 2007–2008 restoration conducted by RK Construction and Development removed this facade addition. The nearby commercial building (1898) at 301 W. Broughton Street similarly had a later facade removed, but the restoration (2002–2003, Lominack Kolman Smith Architects) re-created original cornices in a modernistic manner using aluminum.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler
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Citation

Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler, "Urban Outfitters (Commercial Building)", [Savannah, Georgia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/GA-02-3.2.

Print Source

Buildings of Savannah, Robin B. Williams. With David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, 69-70.

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