Information & history on rear of plaques:

SAV12 Mercer House, Savannah, GA, recognized for its cast iron window pediments and balconies, the Mercer House was designed in 1860 by John S Norris for General Hugh Mercer. When Civil War began, construction on the house was abandoned. It is said that during the war, boards from the construction were used by the soldiers to build lean-to shacks in the square. After the war, the house was completed by DeWitt Bruyn, Norris's assistant. The elaborate house has been featured in many movies, including Glory. This private residence also is featured in J. Berendt's book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

SAV13 Asendorf House, Savannah, GA.   It was built in the Steamboat Gothic Style in 1899 by merchant, Cord Asendorf.  Asendorf designed all of the gingerbread spindles and bric-a-brac himself to "oputgingerbread" everyone else in town.  His daughter lived in the house until it was sold in the early 1970's then she protested when the new owners altered the color scheme from a subtle white to multicolored.  She insisted that the house had always been white, though there are turn of the century photographs which suggest otherwise.

SAV14 King-Tisdell Cottage, Savannah GA, Operated by the Savannah-Yamacraw Chapter of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, the King-Tisdell Cottage is a museum dedicated to preserving the black history and culture of Savannah and the Sea Islands. Built in 1896, the cottage was purchased by Eugene Dempsey King in 1910. After his death, his widow married Mr. Robert Tisdell. Originally located in an area of the city marked for urban redevelopment, federal and state governments were persuaded to help preserve this structure.

SAV15 Tybee Island Light Station, Tybee Island, GA. Tybee Island Light, Georgia's oldest and tallest lighthouse, still guides mariners into the mouth of the Savannah River. The first two lighthouses built on the island, 1736 and 1742, were constructed too close to the Atlantic Ocean. A third was authorized further inland and was completed in 1773. In 1867, a new brick and cast iron lighthouse was constructed. The lower 60 feet of the 1773 lighthouse was used as a foundation and an additional 94 feet was added to make this new structure 154 feet tall.

SAV16 Old Harbor Street Light, Savannah, GA

SAV17 Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Savannah, GA  In 1921, Arthur Lucas put down $400,000 to build his pride and joy,The Lucas Theater.  The 4 story Terra Cotta frame played hoist to Vaudeville's finest acts as well as the great silent movies.  During the famous era, it was the place to be and be seen.

SAV18 The Waving Girl, Savannah, GA  This monument was erected in 1971.  It was dedicated to Florence Martus, who waved for 44 years to welcome incoming ships and to say goodby to out-going ones.

SAV19 Christ Episcopal Church, Savannah, GA  This church was founded in 1733 and on this site John Wesley established the first Sunday school in America.  The Church was built on one of the first squares of the Savannah plan, called Johnson Square.

SAV20 John Wesley 1703-1791, Founder of Methodism, Minister of the Church of England in Savannah, 1736-1737.  inscribed on back of statue - MY HEARTS DESIRE FOR THIS PLACE IS NOT THAT IT BE A FAMOUS OR A RICH, BUT THAT IT MAY BE A RELIGIOUS, COLONY AND THEN I AM SURE IT CANNOT FAILE OF THE BLESSING OF G-D.

SAV21 Telfair Mansion & Art Museum, Savannah, GA  This is one of Savannah's most important historic buildings.  Its rooms have been restored to their 1819 appearance, as designed for Alexander Telfair by architect William Jay.  The Telfair is the oldest public art museum in the South.

SAV22 Whitaker Street Victorian, Savannah, GA.  Bordering Forsyth Park, Whitaker Street architecture features many eclectic styles with Victorian influences.  This home, selected for its style and color, represents the charm and beauty of old Savannah.  This area of the city, also referred to as the Streetcar Suburbs, was constructed during the late 19th century.  Forsyth Park was designed as a centerpiece and finale for the grand old historic district of Savannah.

SAV23 Hamilton-Turner Mansion, Savannah, GA.  In 1873, this Victorian mansion was built for Samuel Pugh Hamilton, a wealthy jeweler.  Hamilton died in 1899, but the home remained in the family until 1918, when it was sold to Dr. Francis Muir Turner, a local physician.  Turner purchased the house for his family's residence and maintained his offices in the basement.  The Hamilton-Turner Mansion was featured in the bestselling book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and today is operated as a Bed & Breakfast.

SAV24 Forsyth Park Inn, Savannah, GA.  In 1874, Captain Churchill married a distant cousin, Lois Churchill.  They moved to Savannah, where he established the headquarters for Churchill Steamship Lines.  They acquired this house in the 1890s for their winter residence.  Some of the architectural features of the house were symbolic of a sea captain's home during the early part of the 20th century.  These details include the braided rope design around the exterior front door and the rope ship-rail balustrade of the veranda.  After the passing of both of the Churchills in the 1920s, the house was sold and operated first as a boarding house and later converted to an apartment house.  In 1984, a group of investors purchased the house and renovated it into the Forsyth Park Inn.  The most recent owners Rick and Lori Blass and Hugh & Laura Ivie, purchased the Inn in January 2000.

SAV25 Mercer House was designed in 1860 by John Norris, a prominent architect from New York, who built many fine buildings in Savannah.  Built for General Hugh Mercer, great-grandfather of songwriter Johnny Mercer, the mansion's construction began during the Civil War and was not completed until 1871.
In 1967, the Historic Savannah Foundation bought the house to prevent it from being torn down.
Later it was purchased by Jim Williams, a local antiques & art dealer, who transformed the house into a showplace once featured in Architectural Digest.

SAV26 Andrew Low House, Savannah, GA   Also know as the Low Colonial Dames House, this home was built in the late 1840's for Andrew Low an English cotton broker.  Low hosted a reception for Robert E. Lee when the confederate hero visited Savannah in 1870.  Low's son, William Mackay, married Juliette Gordon.  Juliette impressed by England's Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts went on to found the Girl Scouts on this site., using the carriage house as its first headquarters.  Today, the home is the headquarters for the Colonial Dames of Georgia.

SAV27 Temple Mickve Israel, Savannah, GA   Built in 1876, the temple is the only Gothic synagogue in America.  America's third oldest Jewish congregation was founded July 11, 1733, five months after the colonization of Georgia when a ship with 42 Jews arrived in Savannah's port.  Among the new arrivals was renowned Portuguese physician, Dr. Samuel Nunez, whom Oglethorpe credited with saving the colony from a fever epidemic.

SAV29 Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, GA   The newly renovated Cathedral of St. John the Baptist reopened its doors on November 29, 2000, celebrating the Great Jubilee Year, the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Savannah, and the 100th anniversary of the rededication of the cathedral after the fire of 1898.
A familiar and beloved skyline sight in the city of Savannah, the Cathedral is the mother church of over 75,000 Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Savannah, which covers 37,000 square miles in south Georgia.