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Savannah Theater

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1818, William Jay; c. 1890 facade altered; 1906 rebuilt; 1948–1950 rebuilt, Helfrich and Grantham; 2001 and later renovated. 222 Bull St.

Purporting to be America’s oldest continually operating theater (a claim also made by the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia), this building was designed by Jay as a large, three-story box occupying the entire trust lot. It was largely rebuilt after it burned in 1906 and again in 1948, though portions of the north and east walls of the 1818 building survive (covered on the exterior by stucco). The exuberant Art Moderne marquee, terrazzo pavement evoking wave patterns, and cylindrical glass ticket office attest that the rebuilt theater was emulating a “modern look” to compete with the recently opened Weis Theater (3.10) on Broughton Street, while an exterior stair, designed to admit African Americans, speaks to the backcast legacy of racial segregation. Historic seats from the SCAD Trustees Theater (3.10) were salvaged and installed here in 2013.

Writing Credits

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

What's Nearby

Parker’s Market Urban Gourmet (Blum Dimmit Company Autos)
Chatham County Board of Education (Chatham Academy)
Commercial Building (George Summerell Texaco Service Station)
Chippewa Square
Oglethorpe Monument

Citation

Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler, "Savannah Theater", [Savannah, Georgia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/GA-02-6.14.

Print Source

Buildings of Savannah, Robin B. Williams. With David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, 110-111.

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