Monterey Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the southernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Wayne Street, and was laid out in 1847. It is south of

Madison Square Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...

, west of Calhoun Square, north of

Forsyth Park Forsyth Park (formerly known as the Military Parade Ground)''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of old Savannah'', Martha Gallaudet Waring, ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', JSTOR (1929), p. 34 is a large city park that occupies in ...

and east of

Chatham Square Chatham Square is a major intersection in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. The square lies at the confluence of eight streets: the Bowery, Doyers Street, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street and Park ...

. The oldest building on the square is the Herman Kuhlman Duplex, at 22–24 West Taylor Street, which dates to 1851. Monterey Square commemorates the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and ...

(1846), in which American forces under General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

captured the city of

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. (The correct spelling in reference to the square is "Monterey", with a single ''r''.) In the center of the square is an 1853 monument honoring General Casimir Pulaski. Monterey Square is the site of Mercer House, built by

Hugh Mercer Hugh Mercer (16 January 1726 – 12 January 1777) was a Scottish-born American military officer and physician who participated in the Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War. Born in Pitsligo, Scotland, he studied medicine in his home country ...

and more recently the home of antiques dealer and conservator Jim Williams. The house (which fills an entire block), and the square itself, were featured prominently in

John Berendt John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Biography Ber ...

's 1994

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

novel ''

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Subtitled ''A Savannah S ...

''. The square has been used as a setting for several motion pictures, including the 1997 film version of Berendt's novel. The Comer House, in the northeastern residential/tything block, is also featured in the movie. The square is home to

Congregation Mickve Israel Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, as it was organized in 1735 by mostly Sephardic Jewish immigrants of Spanish-Portuguese extraction from London who arrived in the new colony i ...

, which boasts one of the few Gothic-style synagogues in America, dating from 1878. All but one of the buildings surrounding the square are original to the square, the exception being the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

Building at 428 Bull Street.City of Savannah's ''Savannah's Squares'' page
accessed June 13, 2007.

Dedication

Markers and structures

Scudder's Row

Scudder's Row is a historic

row house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...

comprising the five homes from 1 to 9 East Gordon Street in the southeastern residential block of the square. They were built between 1852 and 1853 by brothers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Ephraim Scudder.''Savannah, Immortal City: Volume One of the Civil War Savannah Series''
- Barry Sheehy, Cindy Wallace, Vaughnette Goode-Walker (2011), p. 329 John also built several of the homes on Savannah's Jones Street, which has been described as one of the most charming streets in America. Other similar-style row houses exist in Savannah's

Gordon Row Gordon Row (also known as Gordon Block)
– GoSouth Savannah is a historic ro ...

, McDonough Row and Marshall Row. File:9 East Gordon Street.jpg, 9 East Gordon Street File:Seven East Gordon, Built by John and Ephraim Scudder, 1853.jpg, 7 East Gordon Street File:Scudder's Row, Built by John and Ephraim Scudder, 1853.jpg, 5 East Gordon Street File:Ca 1853.jpg, 3 East Gordon Street File:Scudder's Row.jpg, 1 East Gordon Street end, at Bull Street

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 *Herman Kuhlman Duplex, 22–24 West Taylor Street (1851) *George Gray House, 20 West Taylor Street (1855) – altered in 1893 *Andrew Farie House, 18 West Taylor Street (1913) *12 West Taylor Street (1868) *10 West Taylor Street (1872) – became the Hurn Museum in 2004 *Nicholas Cruger House, 4 West Taylor Street (1852) – oldest building on the square ;Northwestern civic/trust block *Revd. Charles W. Rogers House, 423–425 Bull Street (1858) – later the home of Lee and Emma Adler *John Lynch Building, 422 Whitaker Street (1880) ;Southwestern civic/trust block * Mercer House, 429 Bull Street (1868) ;Southwestern residential/tything block * Noble Hardee Mansion, 3 West Gordon Street (1860/1884) *7–9 West Gordon Street (1884) *11 West Gordon Street (1858) *John Williams Duplex, 17–19 West Gordon Street (1879–1882) *Joachim Saussy House, 23 West Gordon Street (1870) ;Northeastern residential/tything block * Comer House, 2 East Taylor Street (1880) *William Hunter House, 10 East Taylor Street (1872)Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 65 * Thomas-Levy House (western half of the Thomas-Purse Duplex),"Jane Fishman: To John Duncan, history is life"
– ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South Ca ...

'', March 23, 2019 12 East Taylor Street (1869/1894) *14 East Taylor Street (eastern half of the Thomas-Purse Duplex; 1869) *David Lopez Cohen Property (1), 16–20 East Taylor Street (1852) *David Lopez Cohen Property (2), 24 East Taylor Street (1852) *David Lopez Cohen Property (3), 28–32 East Taylor Street (1852) ;Southeastern civic/trust block *

, 20 East Gordon Street (1878) ;Southeastern residential/tything block *Scudder's Row, 1–9 East Gordon Street (1853)Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 66 *11 East Gordon Street (1854) *Charles McGill House, 15 East Gordon Street *John Rowland House, 17–19 East Gordon Street (1881) *Frederick Groschaud House, 23 East Gordon Street (1854) – remodeled in 1909

Gallery

File:Monterey Square panoramic.jpg, Panoramic view of Monterey Square, facing south, 2022 File:Savannah (5802860172).jpg,

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...

in the square File:Mercer House 2017 from square.jpg, Mercer Williams House Museum, at 429 Bull Street, occupies the entire southwestern trust lot File:Monterey Square 1.jpg, Comer House, 2 East Taylor Street File:Built for William Hunter, 1872.jpg, William Hunter House, 10 East Taylor Street File:12 East Taylor Street.jpg, Thomas–Levy House, 12 East Taylor Street File:14 East Taylor Street.jpg, 14 East Taylor Street File:16-20 East Taylor Street.jpg, David Lopez Cohen Property (1), 16–18 East Taylor Street File:24 East Taylor Street.jpg, David Lopez Cohen Property (2), 24 East Taylor Street File:28-32 East Taylor Street.jpg, David Lopez Cohen Property (3), 28–32 East Taylor Street File:Built for Nicholas Cruger, 1854.jpg, Nicholas Cruger House, 4 West Taylor Street File:Georgia20131016 017 Savannah Historic District.jpg, Hurn Museum, 10 West Taylor Street File:Georgia20131016 018 Savannah Historic District.jpg, 12 West Taylor Street File:Andrew Farie House.jpg, Andrew Farie House, 18 West Taylor Street File:George Gray House.jpg, George Gray House, 20 West Taylor Street File:Herman Kuhlman Duplex.jpg, Herman Kuhlman Duplex, 22–24 West Taylor Street File:John Williams Duplex.jpg, John Williams Duplex, 17–19 West Gordon Street File:GA Savannah HD Mickve sq pano01.jpg, Congregation Mickve Israel, 20 East Gordon Street File:Built for Reverend Charles Rogers, 1858.jpg, Revd. Charles W. Rogers House, 423–425 Bull Street File:Georgia20131016 053 11 East Gordon Street.jpg, 11 East Gordon Street File:Built for Charles McGill, 1854.jpg, Charles McGill House, 15 East Gordon Street File:John Rowland House.jpg, John Rowland House, 17–19 East Gordon Street File:Frederick Groschaud House.jpg, Frederick Groschaud House, 23 East Gordon Street File:The Noble Hardee Mansion, 1860-1869.jpg, Noble Hardee Mansion, 3 West Gordon Street File:Georgia20131016 034 Savannah Historic District.jpg, 7–9 West Gordon Street File:Built for Reverend Charles B. King, 1858.jpg, 11 West Gordon Street, designed by John S. Norris File:Joachim Saussy House.jpg, Joachim Saussy House, 23 West Gordon Street File:422 Whitaker Street.jpg, John Lynch Building, 422 Whitaker Street

References

{{Squares of Savannah, Georgia Monterey Square, Savannah 1847 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)