The Olde Pink House (also known as The Pink House and, formerly, Habersham House) is a restaurant and tavern in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located on
Abercorn Street
Abercorn Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Drayton Street to the west and Lincoln Street to the east, it runs for about from East Bay Street in the north to Harry S. Truman Parkway (State Rout ...
, in the northwestern trust lot of Reynolds Square, the building dates from 1771. It is bounded by East Bryan Street to the north, Abercorn Street to the east and East Saint Julian Street to the south.
One of its key features is a Palladian window above the portico.
The property sits directly across East Saint Julian Street from the
British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
. It survived the Savannah fire of 1796 that destroyed 229 buildings in the city.
19th century
In 1812, the home became Planters Bank, the first bank in Georgia. It was at this time that a
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, supported by unfluted
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
columns, was added to the building's main façade, while an extension was built on the northern side.
20th century
After the Civil War, the house changed hands several times, becoming an attorney's office, bookstore and (between 1930 and 1943) Alida Harper Fowlkes' (1908–1985) Georgian Tea Room.
The building was bought and restored by Jim Williams, owner of Mercer House, in the middle of the 20th century.
In 1970, Herschel McCallar, Jr. and his partner Jeffrey Keith bought the building for around $60,000. They undertook a one-year restoration, which included jacking up the building and upgrading the foundation by installing
I beam
An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shaped ...
s and setting it back down. When they did this all the doorways and mouldings went back into place as if it were new. They also discovered the twin fireplaces in the basement that had been covered over at some point in the nineteenth century. These fire places were the original cooking kitchen in the 18th century, and are now the highlight of the bar. They also removed the Victorian staircase and lowered the original 18th-century section of stairs to the first floor. This is what you see when you enter the building today. They also installed the staircase into the tavern so one did not have to go outside. All new plumbing and electrical, and a new kitchen were also added at the time. Keith also opened an antique store on the second floor. They made several buying trips to England to purchase the many 18th-century antiques, and paintings seen in the restaurant today. They opened the restaurant in 1971.
Keith sold the building to William and Elizabeth Balish in 1992, two years after the death of McCallar. The Balishes retained McCallar and Keith's restoration, and maintained the grandeur they did in the restoration. Donna Moeckel, the daughter of the Balishes, is the current owner.
21st century
In 2006, Arches Bar, on the southern side of the building, was added during an expansion project. There is also a cellar tavern, Planters Tavern, which features a single-table wine vault for special occasions. There are thirteen dining rooms in total.
In December 2018, a fire broke out in the upstairs ballroom, causing damage that resulted in the building closing for four months."Savannah restaurants rally to help employees after Olde Pink House fire" - SavannahNow.com, December 27, 2018
Habersham House, Savannah.jpg, Southeast corner
Habersham House, Reynolds Square 2.jpg, A close-up of the portico
Habersham house, 25 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.jpg, The building when it was Alida Harper Fowlkes' Georgian Tea Room during the 1930s and '40s. The portico and the section just visible to the right were added around 1820. Photographed by Frances Benjamin Johnston
Arches Bar at the Olde Pink House.jpeg, Arches Bar, located on the first floor on the building's southern side, was part of a 2006 expansion
The Olde Pink House, Savannah, GA, US.jpg, Being repainted in 2020
Copy
An almost-identical house was built in 1928 at 102 East Gaston Street,102 East Gaston Street - Google Street View just beyond the northeastern corner of Forsyth Park.
File:102 East Gaston Street, Savannah, Georgia.jpg, 102 East Gaston Street, sometime after 1928
File:Mary C. Lane House.jpg, The house in 2021