Visit the Project Website at:
www.TheEllisProject.com
Savannah, Georgia is known around the world for its elegant plan of wards and squares. This plan was the vision of James Oglethorpe, founder of the city, and was more-or-less followed for the first one hundred years of Savannah's history. The subject of this study, Ellis Square, was one of the first four squares along with Johnson, Wright, and Telfair.
According to the study of the square's history, Ellis was a simple open space for the first thirty years. For the vast majority of its history, about 165 years, Ellis Square was home to some kind of public market building. This changed in 1954 when the Park and Shop Garage was built. This three level parking deck was intended to serve the Broughton retail corridor. Today, the deck largely serves the adjacent City Market pedestrian mall and other surrounding retail, restaurant, and office uses. The deck is operated on a 50-year license that expires on December 31, 2004. At that time, the City will regain control of Ellis Square, opening up the possibility of returning it to the public realm.
The Ellis Square Charette brought together citizens of Savannah, their government, and professional designers to determine the concepts for the future of Ellis Square. It was held over three days, August 5-7, 2002 at the Savannah Civic Center. The City of Savannah, Cooper Carry, and Sottile & Sottile organized and conducted the charette. A charette is defined as a short, intense, and collaborative design session conducted on-site.
The attached Adobe PDF file documents the events of the three day charette, including proposals, sketches, and feedback from participants. It is available for download by clicking on the icon below. It is a large file (15.3 MB) and may take some time to load over slower internet connections. The free Adobe Acrobat software is required to view the file.
To comment on the future of Ellis Square, email Sean Brandon at sbrandon@ci.savannah.ga.us.
Correspondence may also be mailed to:
Sean Brandon
Assistant City Manager's Office
Management and Financial Services
City of Savannah
PO Box 1027
Savannah, GA 31402 |
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