Southern Comfort: Savannah's Attractions and Museums

Our guide to Savannah's top attractions continues.

The Andrew Low House
329 Abercorn Street
912-233-6854
www.andrewlowhouse.com

This structure was built in 1848 by cotton merchant Andrew Low. Low’s son, William MacKay Low, married Juliette Gordon, founder of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. It is owned and preserved by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of Georgia. The carriage house was left to the Girl Scouts as their Savannah headquarters.

Davenport House Museum
324 East State Street
912-233-8097
www.davenportsavga.com

Located on Columbia Square, the Isaiah Davenport House was built between 1815 and 1820 and is an exceptionally fine example of Federal architecture. It was the proposed demolition of this home that served as a catalyst in the founding of the Historic Savannah Foundation. It features a fine collection of Davenport china and period decorative arts.

Green-Meldrim House
1 West Macon Street
912-232-1251

Completed by architect/builder John S. Norris for wealthy cotton merchant Charles Green, the Green-Meldrim House was the headquarters of Union General William T. Sherman after he captured the city at the conclusion of his “March to the Sea.?? It is now the parish house for St. John’s Episcopal Church and has been fully restored and furnished. The house is graced with magnificent carving and plaster work.

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
142 Bull Street
912-233-4501
www.girlscouts.org/birthplace

Built between 1818 and 1820, the Center is the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. The building has been restored and furnished to depict the 1870s and was named Savannah’s first National Historic Landmark in 1965. It is owned and operated by the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A as a memorial to their founder, and is a program center for all members.

Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home
207 East Charlton Street
912-233-6014
www.llp.armstrong.edu/flannery

Author Mary Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah in 1925 and lived in this house until 1938. Today, it is maintained partly as a memorial to her and partly as a literary center for Savannah.

Owens-Thomas House
124 Abercorn Street
912-233-9743
www.telfair.org

Designed in 1816 by William Jay, this house is generally considered to be the finest example of Regency architecture in America. Now serves as a house museum and features one of the few intact slave quarters in America.

River Street
Below Bay Street
912-234-0295
www.savriverstreet.com

Bordering the thriving river port, River Street imparts old world charm. The nine-block brick concourse is ideal for strolling and ship watching. More than 75 boutiques, galleries, artist studios, restaurants, and pubs are housed in one-time cotton warehouses that have been restored to their rustic beauty. First Saturday festivals are held here each month.

Roundhouse Railroad Museum
601 Harris Street
912-651-6823
www.chsgeorgia.org

Savannah's Central of Georgia Railway National Landmark District is the oldest and most complete antebellum railroad manufacturing and repair facility still in existence in the United States. The Roundhouse Railroad Museum now has permanent exhibits in seven of the 13 structures on the site. Exhibits focus on steam engines, belt-driven machinery, locomotives, railroad-rolling stock, and model railroad layouts. This is one of the most extensive collections of rolling stock and machinery in Georgia.

Savannah History Museum
303 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
912-238-1779
www.chsgeorgia.org

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