Johnson Square is one of the
22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, it was the first of the squares to be laid out, in 1733, and remains the largest of the 22. It is east of
Ellis Square, west of
Reynolds Square and north of
Wright Square
Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...
. Situated on
Bull Street and St. Julian Street, it is named for
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
, colonial governor of
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
and a friend of General
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...
.
[''Savannah Scene'']
magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007.[City of Savannah's monuments page]
This page links directly to numerous short entries, many accompanied by photographs, discussing a variety of monuments, memorials, etc., in the squares and elsewhere. Accessed June 16, 2007. The oldest building on the square is the
Ann Hamilton House, at 26 East Bryan Street, which dates to 1824.
[
Interred under his monument in the square is Revolutionary War hero General ]Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
, the namesake of nearby Greene Square. Greene died in 1786 and was buried in Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery. His son was buried beside him after drowning in the Savannah River in 1793. Following vandalism of the cemetery by occupying Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
forces during the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
the location of Greene's burial was lost. After the remains were re-identified Greene and his son were moved to Johnson Square. An obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
in the center of the square now serves as a memorial to General Greene. The cornerstone of the monument was laid by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...
, in 1825. At that time the obelisk did not yet commemorate any specific individual or event. In fact, due to financial restrictions the unmarked obelisk served for several years as a joint monument to both Greene and Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
. Inscriptions honoring Greene were added in 1886, but the Greenes’ physical remains did not arrive until 1901, following their "rediscovery."[Tour Guide Manual]
for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.
accessed June 16, 2007.
Johnson Square contains two fountains, as well as a sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
.[
Another landmark of Johnson Square is the Johnson Square Business Center. This building, formerly known as the Savannah Bank Building, was the city's first "skyscraper", built in 1911. Johnson Square is known as the financial district, or banking square, and many of the City's financial services companies are located here. These companies include the Savannah Bancorp, Savannah Bank, Coastal Bank Headquarters, ]Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
branch, SunTrust
SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...
branch, TitleMax
TitleMax, Inc. is an American privately owned title lending business with corporate offices in Dallas, Texas and Savannah, Georgia. The company has more than 1,100 stores in sixteen states. TitleMax serves individuals who generally have limited ...
Corporate Headquarters, and a Regions Bank
Regions Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center (Birmingham), Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail banking and commercial banking, trust, stockbrokerage, and mortgage se ...
building.
Christ Church Episcopal occupies the southeastern trust lot of the square at 28 Bull Street. Christ Church is "the Mother Church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...
of Georgia", established in 1733. Early clergy of the church include John Wesley
John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
and George Whitefield
George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.
Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
.
The Pulaski House Hotel was in operation in the northwestern corner of the square between 1835 and 1948. It was torn down eight years later. Regions Bank stands in its place, as of 2023.
Markers and structures
Constituent buildings
Each building below is in one of the eight blocks around the square composed of four residential "tything" blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan
The Oglethorpe Plan is an urban planning idea that was most notably used in Savannah, Georgia, one of the Thirteen Colonies, in the 18th century. The plan uses a distinctive street network with repeating squares of residential blocks, commercial ...
. They are listed with construction years where known.
;Northwestern residential/tything block
*10 Whitaker Street (1878)[
*18 West Bryan Street (1912)][
*John L. Hardee Property, 22–24 West Bryan Street (1878)][
;Southwestern trust/civic block
*United Community Bank, 27 Bull Street (1912)][
;Northeastern residential/tything block
*Johnson Square Business Center, 2 East Bryan Street (1911)][Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District]
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 9 – former Savannah Bank and Trust Building
* Ann Hamilton House, 24–26 East Bryan Street (1824)[ – oldest building on the square
*30–32 East Bryan Street (1916)][
* 9 Drayton Street (1853)][''Savannah, Immortal City: Volume One of the Civil War Savannah Series'', Barry Sheehy, Cindy Wallace, Vaughnette Goode-Walker (2011) ]
*Citizens Bank Building, 15 Drayton Street (1895)[ – now Propes Hall, part of SCAD
;Northeastern trust/civic block
*]Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
, 22 Bull Street (1907)[ – former Citizens and Southern Bank
;Southeastern trust/civic block
* Christ Church, 28 Bull Street (1838/1897)][
;Southeastern residential/tything block
*The Manger Building, 7 East Congress Street (1913)][ – formerly the Hotel Savannah
]
Gallery
File:Downtown Buildings -- Savannah Bank and Trust Co., Savannah Ga.jpg, The former Savannah Bank and Trust Building, at 2 East Bryan Street
File:Ann Hamilton House.jpg, Ann Hamilton House, 24–26 East Bryan Street
File:Downtown Buildings -- The Citizens and Southern Bank, Savannah, Ga.jpg, The Citizens and Southern Bank (now Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
), 22 Bull Street
File:Eastside, Savannah, GA 31401, USA - panoramio.jpg, Christ Church Episcopal, 28 Bull Street
File:Hotel Savannah exterior.png, The Manger Building (the former Hotel Savannah), at 7 East Congress Street
File:DSC0091wc.jpg, SCAD's Propes Hall, at 15 Drayton Street in the northeastern tything block
File:Citizens Bank Building.jpg, Another view of 15 Drayton Street
File:John L. Hardee Property.jpg, John L. Hardee Property, 22–24 East Bryan Street
References
{{Squares of Savannah, Georgia
Johnson Square, Savannah
1733 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies