Free previewStop 3 of Savannah Walking Tour: City Hall to Forsyth Park
Mary Telfair Gave the House Away
You're standing in front of the Telfair Academy, a stucco-finished mansion on Telfair Square that takes up an entire city block. Look at the entrance: a portico of four tall columns that juts out toward you, with stairs climbing up to it from the sides instead of straight on. That side-stair entrance is typical of the architect, William Jay. Now look just in front of the building at the five statues. Rembrandt, Rubens, Raphael, Michelangelo and the ancient Greek sculptor Phidias. Five artists guarding a family's front door. How they got there is this stop's story.
The house went up around 1818 for Alexander Telfair, son of Edward Telfair, one of Georgia's early governors after independence. Before the house, this ground held the official residence of Georgia's colonial royal governors. Alexander hired William Jay, a young English architect who had recently arrived in Savannah.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 3 of Savannah Walking Tour: City Hall to Forsyth Park (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
