Oglethorpe Avenue Explained

Oglethorpe Avenue
Former Names:South Broad Street (construction date to 1820)
Market Street (from 1820)
South Broad Street
Oglethorpe Avenue (1897 to present)
Namesake:James Edward Oglethorpe
Length Mi:1.26
Location:Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Direction A:West
Terminus A:Atlantic Coastal Highway (U.S. Route 17)
Direction B:East
Terminus B:Randolph Street

Oglethorpe Avenue is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located, in its downtown section, between York Street to the north and Hull Street to the south, it runs for about from the Atlantic Coastal Highway (U.S. Route 17) in the west to Randolph Street in the east. It was originally known as South Broad Street, then Market Street. After being named South Broad Street again for a period, it became known as Oglethorpe Avenue in 1897. It was formerly Oglethorpe Avenue singular, but its addresses are now split between "West Oglethorpe Avenue" and "East Oglethorpe Avenue", the transition occurring at Bull Street in the center of the downtown area. The street is named for the founder of the Savannah colony, James Edward Oglethorpe.[1]

The street is entirely within Savannah Historic District, a National Historic Landmark District.[2] It contains what is believed to be the two oldest extant buildings in the city: Eppinger House and the Christian Camphor Cottage.

Oglethorpe Avenue runs between eight squares. From west to east:

To the south of
To the north of

The street also forms the northern boundary of Colonial Park Cemetery from Abercorn Street to Habersham Street.

A memorial in the median of Oglethorpe Avenue at Bull Street lists the twenty people known to be interred in a Jewish cemetery, today known as Bull Street Cemetery, which formerly stood there. It includes Abraham Minis, one of Savannah's early immigrants from Europe.[3]

Notable buildings and structures

See also: Buildings in Savannah Historic District. Below is a selection of notable buildings and structures on Oglethorpe Avenue, all in Savannah's Historic District. From west to east:[4]

West Oglethorpe Avenue

The Wetter House formerly stood at 425 West Oglethorpe. It was demolished in 1950.

East Oglethorpe Avenue

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cope, Tony . It's Not That Lincoln . The Abercorn Press . 2016.
  2. James Dillon (1977), National Park Service and
  3. Savannah's Old Jewish Burial Ground, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, volume 34, no. 4 (December 1950, p. 267
  4. https://www.thempc.org/docs/lit/hist/maps/supplement.pdf Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District
  5. Web site: Oct 26, 1994, page 41 - The Atlanta Constitution at Atlanta Journal Constitution . 2024-03-28 . Newspapers.com . en.

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