the armstrong house Constructed by architect Henrik Wallin in the last days of the Gilded Age, and later categorized by John Berendt as a magnificent “lion of a house,” the Armstrong House has commanded attention and adulation at its high-profile location for almost a century. Wallin (1873-1936), who crafted several palatial residences in Chatham County, spared no expense during the 1916-1919 campaign to complete the Italian Renaissance-style house at the north end of Forsyth Park for George Ferguson Armstrong, a local shipping magnate. A 1919 spread on the house in The American Architect contained a wide range of photographs, including one of its distinctive main doorway. A 1919 article in the Savannah Press described that particular feature in great detail. “The entrance door is in antique bronze. In design and execution it is so exquisite that it may well be ranked with the finest jewelry. … A portion of it was on display at the recent annual exhibit of the Architectural League at the Fine Arts building in New York City, and won honorable mention, which was the highest award given to any exhibit.” The family’s living, dining, entertaining and bed rooms were designed in different periods, such as Early Georgian and Jacobean, and bedecked with complimentary furniture and art. Sadly, George did not enjoy that opulence for long: He died of
lung cancer in 1924. Some 11 years later, with Savannah in the grip of the Great Depression, Savannah Mayor Thomas Gamble conducted a lengthy search for a site to start a junior college. The mayor hoped to create an opportunity for local students who could not afford to leave home to attend college. Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz, George Armstrong’s widow, and Lucy Armstrong Johnson, his daughter, had by then moved away from Savannah, and they agreed to donate their former home to the city. “In recognition of this splendid contribution to the cause of higher education in Savannah, the institution will be known as the ‘Armstrong Memorial Junior College of Savannah,’” a Savannah Morning News article noted. Classes started in September of 1935, with 168 students. The Atlanta Constitution, in its coverage of the opening, noted that the house ranked as “the finest and most costly junior college building in the United States.” Armstrong became a part of the state university system in
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