Savannah's Washington Square

Built in 1790, Washington Square was named in 1791 for the first President of the United States, General George Washington, who visited Savannah in that year. Added in 1790 with Warren Square, Washington Square once bordered the Trustees' Garden in those early days and was known as Eastern Common.

The Trustees' Garden was named for the trustees of Oglethorpe's colony; the garden was the proving ground for a variety of experimental crops - including mulberry (for silkworms), hemp, and indigo...viewed as potential cash crops for the new colony. Most of these experiments proved unsuccessful.

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

Washington Square was one of only two squares named to honor a then-living person; Troup Square was the other.

Washington Square was once the site of massive New Year's Eve bonfires; these were discontinued in the 1950s.

Notable Buildings on Washington Square:

Hampton Lillibridge House -- (c.1796), second house from the square, 507 East St. Julian Street. Widow's walk atop gambrel roof on a grey frame house, rumored to be haunted.

International Seaman's House -- 25 Houston Street on the southwest side of the square. Shady front porch with American flag; a welcome sight to seamen.

Trustees' Garden Village -- Beginning at East Broad and Bay Streets. Originally ten acres of experimental gardens for the colonists - now a residential delight.

Mulberry Inn -- The Mulberry Inn was originally a cotton warehouse, built in the 1860s, then a Coca-Cola bottling plant before being converted to an inn.

Location:

Washington Square is located on

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.