Downtown Savannah’s boldest twenty-first-century building, the Jepson Center follows the trend begun in the late twentieth century for major art museums to serve as a symbol of a city’s cultural vitality. The building occupies roughly half of a tything block, but does so in a unique way by bridging a lane, a requirement to preserve the city’s urban plan imposed on designer Moshe Safdie by the local design review board. Similarly, the rectangular concrete frames that define the north and south facades resulted from local opposition to the original design for simple glass expanses. The relatively simple exterior gives way to an interior of dynamic curving geometry, both clad in light-colored Portuguese limestone, and an impressive grand stair that rises two stories and cleverly disguises the bridge over the lane. Supported by a large donation from local philanthropists Alice A. and Robert S. Jepson Jr., the Jepson Center serves the Telfair Museums as its principal galleries for modern art and a children’s gallery, as well as housing administrative offices, cafe, and gift shop.