Savannah's Pulaski Square

Savannah's Pulaski Square does not have any monuments, fountains or special attractions. It does, however, have stunning oak trees and is surrounded by beautiful homes.

This is our favorite Square of the 22 Squares in Savannah because we love big trees and beautiful old homes.

Nineteen majestic oak trees shade Pulaski Square. The square was laid out in 1837, and named for the Polish Count Casmir Pulaski, a high-ranking officer who fought for the Americans during the American Revolution. Count Pulaski was knocked from his horse by a bullet during the Siege of Savannah. He died a few hours later.

A monument for Count Pulaski is in Monterey Square. Fort Pulaski was also named to honor him.

On the east side of the square is a dormitory for Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Pulaski Square is also the home of Francis Bartow, a confederate hero, and it is home to a Jewish Educational Alliance building.

Pulaski Square is one of the few square in Savannah without a monument. Prior to the birth of the historical preservation movement and the restoration of much of Savannah's downtown, Pulaski sheltered a sizeable homeless population and was one of several squares that had been paved to allow traffic to drive straight through its center.

Pulaski is one of the 24 squares that was designed and incorporated into the plan for the city of Savannah.

Notable buildings on Pulaski Square:

Margaret Murphy House -- Constructed in Savannah's favorite "high stoop" design, this house was named for Margaret Murphy Green, longtime friend to the neighborhood and assistant to an antiques dealer whose shop once stood on this corner. Margaret Murphy House is located at 200 West Harris Street.

Pulaski House -- This is a massive red brick structure with green awnings; it serves as a dormitory for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). This building once housed the Jewish Educational Alliance and the Salvation Army. Pulaski House is located at 328 Barnard Street.

Francis Bartow House -- This house was built for the family of Civil War hero Francis Stebbins Bartow, who died in 1861 in the first Battle of Bull Run after leading Savannah's Oglethorpe Light Infantry to Richmond. The rank of brigadier general was awarded posthumously. Busts of General Bartow and General Lafayette McLaws, also a Confederate hero, flank the Confederate Monument in Forsyth Park. General Bartow's grave is in Laurel Grove Cemetery. Francis Bartow House is located at 128 West Harris Street at Barnard.

The house on the Northwest corner of Barnard and Harris is new housing, completed in 1993.

Location:

Pulaski Square is located on Barnard Street, between Harris and Charlton Streets.

The Squares of Savannah Georgia:

Savannah was originally laid out around four open squares. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid; additional squares were added during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty four squares in downtown Savannah. Three of these have been demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving twenty-one squares at the present. One of those, Ellis Square, is currently being rebuilt. Most squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons, or event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. The first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for military exercises. All of the squares are a part of Savannah's historic district and fall within an area of less than one half square mile. Savannah's city plan was designed by General James Oglethorpe, and his layout has been hailed as the most intelligent grid in America. The American Society of Civil Engineers has honored Oglethorpe's plan for Savannah as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and in 1994 the plan was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The squares are a major point of interest for millions of tourists visiting Savannah each year, and they have been credited with stabilizing once-deteriorating neighborhoods and revitalizing Savannah's downtown commercial district.