On Tuesday, I was privileged to be invited to a presentation by SCAD's Building Assessment Strategies II class on my listing at 322 E. Oglethorpe Avenue. (http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?t=2192251&prt=10003) The class of 14 1st and 2nd year Historic Preservation Grad students, led by Professor James Abraham, conducted the assessment over the last school term. The presentation included dozens of photographs and full architectural elevations and plans of each room in the entire house. It was a 2 hour presentation, which I won't attempt to recap in a quick blog. But the detail--and discovery of details--was impressive. The class figured out which plaster moldings were original, where original entry doors were, some of the elements of the 19th century rear garden, etc. One of the most interesting elements was learning the home you see from the street, a three story 1880s Italianate residence, actually started its life sometime between 1799 and 1809 as a two-story Federal style building.
To quote from the history section of the assessment:
"William J. Spencer acquired Lot 37 in the Columbia Ward in 1799, constructing a two-story frame house by 1809. By 1811, the property was put up for sale, advertised in The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger.
'Lot 37, Columbia Ward joining Mr. Rodman's and a convenient and well finished 2-story house with a kitchen and all other outhouses complete, at present occupied by Mrs. Clark; and a small tenement house joining the same, with a brick foundation, on the front 1/2 lot, 56 feet long, 20 feet high and 1 story high.'"
Kudos to Melanie Markowicz who presented the history portion of the assessment. She, Preston Martin and Professor Abraham also got under the house to discover the original foundations. Very cool stuff and a great reminder of why I'm interested in historic preservation. Thanks again for having me.
Blogger Matthew Allan is a specialist in Savannah Real Estate, focusing on Savannah's downtown historic districts, including the Landmark Historic District, Victorian Historic District, Thomas Square Historic District, Starland Historic District, Baldwin Park, and Ardsley Park Historic District.
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