Preservation Alert: 123 W. Oglethorpe Ave.

Preservation Alert:

123 W Oglethorpe Ave.

UPDATE July 10, 2024

Dear Supporters,

Thank you for your more than 30 letters opposing the proposed addition to 123 W. Oglethorpe Ave. 

The Downtown Savannah Historic District Board of Review, which reviewed the application for a Certificate of Appropriateness today, was not comfortable with this project and continued (i.e., postoned) it for up to 90 days to allow the architect to adjust the design to make it more visually compatible. 

Thank you for your activism. With your support we can help sustain preservation in our beloved city.Preservation Alert - Inappropriate Addition Proposed for 123 West Oglethorpe Ave.

This Wednesday July 10, 2024 at 1:00 PM at 112 East State St., the Historic District Board of Review will review a proposal for an addition to the 1820s Federal style building at 123 West Oglethorpe Ave.  The proposed addition would be highly visible from Oglethorpe Ave. and would also be visible from Orleans Square. The OPC opposes this proposal.

The proposal fails the visual compatibility test. On the lane façade, the cantilevered cornice and recessed wall below it create a relationship of solids and voids that has no precedent in the district.

The textured green surface of the walls is incompatible with the historic building the addition is attached to as well as all the other contributing structures to which it is visually related.

The proposal also is inconsistent with the intent of the design standards. The addition does not complement the historic building it is attached to, nor does it complement the other contributing structures to which it is visually related, which includes the Harper Fowlkes House, one of Savannah's treasures.

If you would like to help, please send a letter of opposition to the HDBR and email it to Jonathan Mellon at mellonj@thempc.org.

In your letter you can say something like this:

We object to the proposed addition to 123 W. Oglethorpe Avenue because 1) It is not visually compatible with the more than ten contributing buildings within view and 2) It does not complement those existing structures and therefore fails the intent of the design standards.

Sincerely,  

Andrew Berrien Jones 

Chair, Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc.