It’s said that when they did this, all the doorways and moldings went back into place like new.
THE VAULT SAVANNAH UPGRADE
To upgrade the foundation, the house was going to be lifted, new I-beams installed, and the house set back down. The house was purchased for $60,000 in 1970 by partners Herschel McCallar, Jr., and Jeffrey Keith who spent a year restoring the house. It also served as the Attorney General’s office during World War times. And just as the white paint wore off each year, the Habersham House moniker eventually wore off and it became more commonly referred to as the “Olde Pink House.” Eventually, the house suddenly sprang to life, taking on several identities over a period of decades, from an attorney’s office, to a bookstore, a tearoom, and then a speakeasy. No one maintained the property and the house was not being repainted each year. At night after the bank closed, they would pull the pocket doors closed to count the money in the small back room with the vault (no pictures, unfortunately).Īfter the Civil War ended, the house sat vacant for 40 years. These were inspired by a set of pocket doors that Thomas Jefferson designed in his own home. The room also featured what is called “pocket doors” that come right out from the wall. The north side of the house was also extended at this time to include a small backroom next to the grand room which housed one of three vaults added to the house at that time. This is when the Greek portico was added over the porch, supported by unfluted Doric columns. After sitting vacant for a number of years, the house was converted in 1812 into what would become Georgia’s first bank, Planter’s Bank. They had to reapply a coat of white paint each year that would subsequently dissipate each year in the summer humidity.
Unfortunately, the hot, humid summers caused the white paint to drip off, exposing the pink stucco underneath. One feature of the house was the white paint slathered over the stucco-plaster exterior. The house was called the Habersham House which is where he lived until his death in 1799. The house survived the Savannah fire of 1796 that destroyed 229 buildings. But what actually made it a mansion for its time was the fact that it had a fully indoor kitchen in its basement, which was not common during that time. At that time, it was a 2-bedroom home sitting at 4,000 square feet. The entryway and the front grand room on each side as well as the two above them, the basement, and the carriage house were part of the original constructions.
The original structure was only a quarter of what it is today. passed away before the house was completed, allowing Habersham Jr. This caused a lot of drama in the household and halted construction for over a decade. He was a loyalist to the Crown who later found out that his sons were Sons of Liberty. Dating back to 1771, the land had been granted by the crown of England to wealthy Savannah cotton factor, James Habersham, Sr.