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Franklin Square

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1790–1791; 1935–1937 partially destroyed; 1985 restored, Gunn Meyerhoff Shay Architects

In keeping with the squares in the eastern expansion wards, Franklin Square is roughly half the size of those within Oglethorpe’s original six wards. From 1853 to the early twentieth century it was marked by an 87-foot-tall brick and iron water tower. Franklin, Liberty, and Elbert squares were largely obliterated by the transformation of Montgomery Street into U.S. 17 between 1935 and 1937, but Franklin Square—a gathering place for day laborers for decades, both before and after its destruction—was restored in 1985. In 2007 a monument to Haitian Volunteers (James Mastin, sculptor) who fought in the Battle of Savannah in 1779 was erected in the center of the square.

Writing Credits

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

What's Nearby

Franklin Square and St. Julian Street Pedestrian Mall/City Market
First African Baptist Church
St. Julian Street Pedestrian Mall and City Market
Commercial Building (Houses)
Hotel Indigo Savannah Historic District (Guckenheimer and Company Wholesale Store)

Citation

Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler, "Franklin Square", [Savannah, Georgia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/GA-02-5.1.

Print Source

Buildings of Savannah, Robin B. Williams. With David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, 90-90.

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