Bull Street is a major street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Named for Colonel William Bull (1683–1755),[1] it runs from Bay Street in the north to Derenne Avenue (part of State Route 21) in the south. It is around 3.40 miles in length, not including the section interrupted by Forsyth Park. It is the center of a National Historic Landmark District.[2]
 Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) Poetter Hall at 342 Bull Street, immediately south of Madison Square | |
| Namesake | William Bull |
|---|---|
| Length | 3.39 mi (5.46 km) |
| Location | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| North end | Bay Street |
| South end | Derenne Avenue |
Savannah City Hall sits opposite the northern end of Bull Street, on Bay Street.
Bull Street goes around five of Savannah's 22 squares. They are (from north to south):
A memorial in the Oglethorpe Avenue median marks what is today known as the Bull Street Cemetery, with a plaque stating: "Original 1733 burial plot allotted by James Edward Oglethorpe to the Savannah Jewish Community". On November 3, 1761, George III "conveyed a certain half lot of land in Holland Tything, Percival Ward, to David Truan." This land was at the northwest corner of today's Bull Street and Oglethorpe Avenue. Several Jews were interred here before the family cemeteries were established.[3]
Notable buildings and structures edit
Below is a selection of notable buildings and structures on Bull Street, all in Savannah's Historic District. From north to south:[4]
| Name | Ward | Image | Address | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Citizens and Southern Bank | Derby Ward |  | 22 Bull Street | 1907 | now Bank of America |
| Christ Church | Derby Ward |  | 28 Bull Street | 1838/1897 | |
| Lutheran Church of the Ascension | Percival Ward |  | 120 Bull Street (21 East State Street, includes Drayton Street) | 1879 | |
| Tomochichi Federal Building and United States Courthouse | Percival Ward |  | 125 Bull Street | 1899 | |
| Independent Presbyterian Church | Brown Ward |  | 207 Bull Street | 1817/1891 | |
| The Savannah Theatre | Brown Ward |  | 222 Bull Street | 1820 | |
| James Oglethorpe Monument | Brown Ward | .jpg) | Chippewa Square | 1910 | |
| First Baptist Church | Brown Ward |  | 223 Bull Street | 1833/1922 | |
| Masonic Temple | Jasper Ward |  | 341 Bull Street | 1912 | now the Gryphon Tea Room, by Freemason Hyman W. Witcover |
| Poetter Hall | Jasper Ward |  | 340-344 Bull Street | 1893 | by William G. Preston |
| St. John's Episcopal Church | Jasper Ward |  | 325 Bull Street | 1853 | by Calvin N. Otis |
| Charles W. Rogers Duplex | Monterey Ward |  | 423-425 Bull Street | 1858 | by John S. Norris; later the home of Lee Adler and his wife Emma |
| Mercer Williams House | Monterey Ward |  | 429 Bull Street | 1871 | by John S. Norris, restored by James Arthur Williams |
| 440 Bull Street | Monterey Ward |  | 440 Bull Street | 1900 | |
| Armstrong House | Monterey Ward |  | 447 Bull Street | 1917 | now the Armstrong Kessler Mansion; formerly bought and restored by James Arthur Williams |
| Edmund Molyneux House | Monterey Ward |  | 450 Bull Street | 1857 | now The Oglethorpe Club, by John S. Norris |
The Gingerbread House, a popular tourist attraction in the Savannah Victorian Historic District, is at 1921 Bull Street,[5] opposite Bull Street Library. It was built by Cord Asendorf Sr. in 1899.[6]
References in popular culture edit
The street is also featured several times in John Berendt's 1994 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In the introduction to the subsequent 1997 movie, Irma P. Hall's character Minerva says to a squirrel sat beside her on a bench in Forsyth Park: "Quit eyeballin' me, Flavis. I knew you when you was a two-bit hustler on Bull Street."
References edit
- ^ Savannah's Bull Street: The Man Behind Its Name – B. H. Levy
- ^ Bull Street: Savannah, Georgia – Planning.org
- ^ Savannah's Old Jewish Burial Ground, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, volume 34, no. 4 (December 1950), p. 267
- ^ Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District – Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011)
- ^ Gingerbread House official website
- ^ "Savannah's 'gingerbread' house under new ownership". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
External links edit
- Bull Street – Savannah.com