| Monterey Square | |
| Namesake: | Battle of Monterrey |
| Location: | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Maint: | City of Savannah |
| Coordinates: | 32.0714°N -81.0948°W |
| North: | Bull Street |
| South: | Bull Street |
| West: | West Wayne Street |
| East: | East Wayne Street |
Monterey Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the southernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Wayne Street, and was laid out in 1847. It is south of Madison Square, west of Taylor Square, north of Forsyth Park and east of Chatham Square. The oldest building on the square is the Herman Kuhlman Duplex, at 22–24 West Taylor Street, which dates to 1851.
Monterey Square commemorates the Battle of Monterrey (1846), in which American forces under General Zachary Taylor captured the city of Monterrey during the Mexican–American War. (The correct spelling in reference to the square is "Monterey".)
In the center of the square is an 1853 monument honoring General Casimir Pulaski.
Monterey Square is the site of Mercer House, built by Hugh Mercer and later the home of antiques dealer and conservator Jim Williams. The house (which fills an entire block) and the square itself, were featured prominently in John Berendt's 1994 true crime novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The square has been used as a setting for several motion pictures, including the 1997 film version of Berendt's novel. The Comer House, in the northeastern residential/tything block, is also featured in the movie.
The square is home to Congregation Mickve Israel, which boasts one of the few Gothic-style synagogues in America, dating from 1878.
All but one of the buildings surrounding the square are original to the square, the exception being the United Way Building at 428 Bull Street.[1]
| Object | Image | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casimir Pulaski monument | In the center of the square is an 1853 monument honoring General Casimir Pulaski. The cornerstone of the monument was laid by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette — in Chippewa Square – in 1825. Due to financial limitations, an obelisk in Johnson Square served as a joint memorial to Nathanael Greene and Pulaski for several years. By 1852, funds had been collected to give Pulaski his own monument. The sculptor, Robert Eberhard Launitz,[2] was allowed to choose the site for the project and he had the cornerstone moved to Monterey Square.[3] Deterioration of the Pulaski monument was noted as early as 1912, and pieces began to fall in the 1990s. Restoration of the monument was completed in 2001. The body of an unknown Revolutionary soldier, speculated by some to be Pulaski himself, is said to be buried beneath Pulaski's monument.[4] | ||
| Casimir Pulaski plaque | Erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1954. | ||
| Pulaski Monument plaque | Erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1954. | ||
| Comer House/Jefferson Davis plaque | Erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1956. | ||
| Congregation Mickve Israel plaque | Erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1967. | ||
| Detail of the Pulaski Monument iron enclosure fence | The southeastern corner of the monument. |
See main article: Scudder's Row. Scudder's Row is a historic row house comprising the five homes from 1 to 9 East Gordon Street in the southeastern residential block of the square. They were built between 1852 and 1853 by brothers John and Ephraim Scudder.[5]
See also: Buildings in Savannah Historic District.
Each building below is in one of the eight blocks around the square composed of four residential "tything" blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan. They are listed with construction years where known.