Savannah’s prized landmark district threatened by growth
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — With its time-capsule collection of Victorian mansions and antebellum churches overlooking oak-shaded squares, Savannah has long taken great pride — and built a nearly $3 billion tourism economy — from its standing as a National Historic Landmark, a designation awarded to America’s most prized treasures preserved from the past.
And while nearly 2,000 historic homes and buildings survive in Savannah’s downtown landmark district, the National Park Service has found that decades of growth and modernization have steadily eroded the framework that ties them all together.
Savannah’s unique town plan of homes and buildings grouped around public squares, all connected by a grid of streets and lanes, was devised by Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe when he founded Georgia in 1733. It was the last of England’s 13 North American colonies.
After months of study, the Park Service announced Tuesday that Savannah’s historic integrity has been damaged by decades of new developments, including large hotels and government buildings, that don’t fit within Oglethorpe’s original framework. The agency downgraded the condition of the landmark district from “satisfactory” to “threatened.”
The agency emphasized there’s no risk of Savannah losing its landmark status. Still, it’s an embarrassing development for a Southern city where historic charm lures Hollywood movie productions and more than 14 million visitors a year.
“It’s a sobering reminder of the fragility of the district, the importance of the district and our responsibility for taking care of it,” said Daniel Carey, director of the Historic Savannah Foundation. “We’ve gotten a little careless and we’ve gotten a little complacent.”
Savannah’s downtown area won its designation as a national landmark in 1966, one month after the National Historic Preservation Act became law and created the landmark program. More than five decades later, the Savannah landmark remains one of the largest out of roughly 2,500 total nationwide.
The Park Service has declared Savannah’s landmark to be “threatened” twice before: in 1996 when demolitions were planned in a historically African-American neighborhood, and in 2002 when city officials planned a large bus terminal that others deemed incompatible with the historic district. Both projects were amended to avoid damage to the district.
This time the threat isn’t about losing any particular historic building or a specific new development. The federal agency’s first in-depth assessment of the Savannah district in 16 years focused on a long-term accumulation of changes that have slowly chipped away at Oglethorpe’s town plan.