THE SAVANNAH WATERWORKS BUILDING HISTORY
CURRENT CONDITIONS
Postcard, Georgia Historical Society, circa 1900
Photograph by Ellie Isaacs
Designed by Thomas T. Johnson, built in 1893 Replaced the outdated waterworks on the Savannah River and supplied drinking water to Savannah’s growing population Supplied entire city’s drinking water supply between 1893-1908 Could not keep up with water demands of the city, closed
Davis Allen HIPR 203 Prof. Keller March 13, 2014
permanently in 1940.
Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Identifying features include: • Romanesque tower • Romanesque arches • Arched windows • Brick, granite trim, and sculptural terra cotta details:
SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD
Google Maps imagery
By 1908, the city’s water had to be supplemented with water from the Savannah River for the first time since the construction of the new Waterworks. Seven new pumps were installed between 1918-1921 Used only for emergency water supply after 1921, then ceased operations in 1940. Still owned by the city water department, been used as a storage facility for over 70 years.
The building currently “stands as an ironic monument to what was only a very brief cure to the city’s insatiable desire for fresh water.” - Marissa C. Gomez and Daves Rossell
Google Maps imagery
Neighborhood today known as Carver Heights Low-income neighborhood Vernacular architecture - Houses built with inexpensive materials and placed on small lots Historically, people in this area worked for surrounding industries or commuted into Savannah for domestic work. Large, extended families would live in a single small house Area surveyed across the street from Waterworks: Stiles Avenue and Springfield Street
-most homes built between 1915-1930 -several had been altered and didn’t maintain historic integrity
House types seen: Shotgun
Double Shotgun
Pyramid Cottage
Front Gable Bungalow
• Trash Cans, tires, utility vehicles are being stored in and around the buildings • The site that used to have landscaping and fountains now contains parking and 15 smaller noncontributing structures • Plants and shrubbery are growing out of cracks in the exterior walls of the building • Large tower no longer accessible due to collapsed ceiling and stairwell Mascarons of men and lions
Arcaded cornice with acanthus leaves Cattails and foliage in window arches Interior frieze with foliage and mythological water-creatures
construction BIDS FROM all over eastern united states
Many of the buildings original features are intact and the space has a lot of potential, but an adaptive reuse project would not be inexpensive or easy.
Architectural types seen in the neighborhood: • National style • Craftsman style (elements) • Prairie Style (elements)
CARVER HEIGHTS NEW YORK
ILLNOIS Thomas T. Johnson Design/Engineering
TENNESSEE W.H. Converse Roof
ALABAMA Howard Harrison Iron Co. Pipes
FLORIDA
E.F. Joyce boring wells
MARYLAND Robertson & Weaver Water Conduit
population density
3,674 people per
Holly Manufacturing Co. Pumping Engines Rensselaer Manufacturing Co. Valves & Water Gates
city of savannah
1,866
people per square mile
square mile
avg. houshold income Bricks crumble around the archway on the south entrance, but many surrounding terra cotta details remain in good condition.
Machinery used to raise the roof for ventila- The height of the large smokestack has been tion purposes is still intact. reduced and ivy is growing into the brickwork.
$36,760
$23,704 single-mother households
19.5%
GEORGIA (Local) W.F. Chaplin Building construction Subfloor Martin Cooley Laying pipes John McGrath Drayage of pipes John Rourke & Son Boilers
vs
14.5%
population without high school education
16.3%
52.1% population living below poverty level
28.9%
31.3% The large tin roof has several holes, and the Romanesque tower is no longer accessible trusses holding up the roof are rusting. due to a collapsed roof and staircase, the windows have been bricked in.
Some of the terra cotta details above the windows are falling off and are being held in place by wood or steel beams.
avg. value of detached houses
$95,861
$199,294