
ART & ARCHITECTURAL TOURS - PO BOX 25062 - SARASOTA, FL 3427-5062
email: iaats@jeanrenoux.com - Phone#: 941 726 1400

SAVANNAH
April 23 to 29
UP to 30 HSW CEU/LU in Savannah plus 6 HSW CEU through free Webinars or Internet Courses offered by Art & Architectural Tours if needed
The first night starts with dinner in one of the best and most romantic restaurant.
Next 4 days will be walking tours of the main architectural gems the city has to offer. Jean Renoux will guide you to some of the houses renowned for their décor and their important architectural styles.
Telfair Academy and the Jepson Center.
Jepson Center for the Arts is a museum of contemporary art located in historic downtown Savannah. It is one of three museum sites comprising Telfair Museums. The building was designed by Moshe Safdie and opened to the public in 2006. The museum features world-class traveling art exhibitions and houses works from Telfair Museums' permanent collection. Educational programming takes place within the Jepson Center's auditorium, community gallery, education studios, and ArtZeum, which is a unique, interactive gallery for children and families. In addition to its gallery and educational spaces, the Jepson Center has its own cafe and gift shop. The museum is also home to the original iconic Bird Girl statue, made famous on the book cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
The Jepson Center is home to the Telfair’s Kirk Varnedoe Collection, a cornerstone of the museum’s contemporary holdings. Assembled in honor of the late Savannah native, scholar, and MoMA curator Kirk Varnedoe, the collection features works on paper by some of the most pivotal artists of the past fifty years, including Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Richard Avedon. The museum’s diverse contemporary collection also features important works by William Christenberry, Helen Levitt, Sam Gilliam, James Brooks, and many notable Georgia artists.
Andrew Low House
Built in 1848-49 by cotton merchant Andrew Low, whose son, William MacKay Low, married Juliette Gordon, founder of the Girl Scouts. Now houses the Colonial Dames House, headquarters of the State Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
Davenport House
Built in 1820 by Isaiah Davenport, this is a prime example of Federal Style architecture. Now a museum, it features fine plaster work and period furnishings
Sorrell Weed House
Built between 1839 and 1840, this house stands as one of the finest symbols of antebellum Greek/Revival architecture in the United States. Prior to and during the Civil War, it entertained both General Sherman and General Lee.
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
Built in 1818-1821. Juliette Gordon, known as Daisy,” founder of the Girl Scouts was born here in 1860. The house, filled with original family furniture, has been restored to the period of 1886, the year of Juliette’s marriage. It is the national center for the Girl Scouts.
Owens-Thomas House
Considered the nation’s finest example of English Regency architecture, this house was designed by William Jay and built in 1816-1819. It has a formal English garden and a lovely carriage house.
Mercer House
This magnificent mansion, designed in 1860 for Hugh W. Mercer, Johnny Mercer’s great-grandfather. Construction was interrupted by the Civil War, and the house was not completed until about 1868. Jim Williams, long known as a preservation and restoration expert, as well as bon-vivant and lavish host, became famous as the central figure in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. He bought the Mercer House in 1969 and spent two years restoring the home. Williams’ sister, Dorothy Kingery, now owns it.
Lee and Emma Adler House
Built in 1858 for the Rev. Charles Rogers, this lovely brick 5-bedroom townhouse is the home of Jim Williams’ arch rival, Lee Adler. The feud between the two men, who had different perspectives on preservation, was much described in The Book. The house is directly across the side street from Williams’ Mercer House.
First Baptist Church - Chippewa Square
"the First African Baptist Church is the oldest black church in North America. Founded by slaves in 1775, it has a history nearly as old as Savannah itself. The church was built by the charity and volunteer efforts of slaves. Over the course of four years, they got the job done, coming straight from their regular labor to work through the night on the construction of this church. The church was built with a secret floor underneath its real floor, and operated as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Never discovered by authorities, the crawlspace hid hundreds of runaway slaves and a tunnel led them from the church to the Savannah River. To mask their true purpose, the floor’s breathing holes were bored in the shape of the Kongo Cosmogram: an African spiritual symbol often used by American slaves."
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Sun April 23:
Arrive in Savannah: you will be picked up at the airport.
6:30pm: get together and receive books .
7:15pm: walk to restaurant for dinner.
Mon April 24:
9:40am: historical walking tour of Savannah.
+-12 pm : lunch at the Jepson Center for the Arts
2pm: Tour the Jepson Center for arts, then tour the Telfair Museum of Arts.
+-5:30pm free time
Tuesday April 25:
9:35am: architectural walking tour of the city.
+-12:00pm: lunch, wherever we will be.
2pm: Owens House guided visit and at two other houses.
Dinner on your own.
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Wednesday April 26:
10am: 2 significant houses
+-12:00pm: lunch, wherever we will be.
2pm: 2 more buildings
+-5:30pm: free to wander
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Thursday April 27:
10am: 2 significant houses
+-12:00pm: lunch, wherever we will be.
2pm: 2 significant buildings
+-5:30pm: free to wander
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Friday April 28:
10:00am: Visit of SCAD (Savannah School of Art & Design)
12:00pm: lunch, wherever we will be.
2:30pm: Architectural walking tour and visit of two more significant sites.
+-5:30pm: free to wander
7:30pm: Farewell dinner
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Saturday April 29: You will be driven to the airport.
There are a lot of different architectural styles represented in Savannah:
Federal Style:
Isaiah Davenport House, Oliver Sturgis House,
Georgian:
Pink House
Gothic Revival:
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Green-Meldrim House
Temple Mickve Israel
Greek Revival:
Champion-Fowlkes House, First Bryan Baptist Church
Italianate:
Kehoe House, Mercer-Williams House, Andrew Low House
Regency:
Owens-Thomas House, Telfair Museum of Art and Sciences
Ships of the Sea Museum
Romanesque Revival:
Cotton Exchange, Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory
Second French Empire:
Hamilton-Turner Inn
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There are lots of firsts associated with Savannah:
- The first capital of the 13th colony and later of Georgia
- The first city in North America planned on an extensive system of squares
- The first Negro Baptist congregation in the U.S.: First Baptist Church
- The first practical cotton gin
- The first steamship to cross the Atlantic
- The first lighthouse on the south Atlantic coast of the US.
- The first Girl Scout Troop
- The first experimental garden in North America
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INCLUDED:
5 nights in 4-Star hotel in the historical Center of Savannah.
5 breakfasts - 5 lunches - 2 dinners
Entrance fees to all sites visited, included some visited at the spur of a moment
Private guides.
Maps - Tax - Gratuities. Pick-up at airport on arrival.
Medical and Accident insurance
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$ 3055.00 per person in double occupancy
$ 3485.00 for one person in single occupancy
$ 1965.00 per person not staying in hotel
Take $ 200 per person if signed before April 6th
last registration.
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