Forty Years Ago in Savannah

The Storefront of Brighter Day Natural Food Market

There was something happening forty years ago in Savannah. In 1976 one of Savannah’s biggest public projects was being completed; Rousakis Riverfront Plaza on River Street. It was a harbinger of a new Savannah. Many people want to credit the Book (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) as the moment modern Savannah began its Renaissance. But one would also have to look forty years ago when several businesses and people staked a claim to Savannah.

The biggest of course was the Savannah College of Art and Design. It was started by Richard Rowan and Paula Wallace in the old Armory in 1976. Paula would eventually stay as the captain of the ship that has not only revived the architecture of the town but also infused the city with nearly 8,500 young artists. Today SCAD is one of the premier art schools in the world with outposts in Atlanta, Hong Kong, and LaCoste.

Also in the magical year of 1978 Savannah’s only used and new independent bookstore The Book Lady was started in a house in the Historic District. The Book Lady Bookstore was founded by published poet Anita Raskin. The locals nicknamed her “The Book Lady.” The Book Lady has readings and book signings from authors across the nation. It is at the forefront of promoting local authors. Although Ms. Raskin no longer runs the store it’s keeping Savannah reading.

In 1978 the young entrepreneurs and health food proprietors Janie and Peter Brodhead came to town with a dream, and they have made that dream a reality. They have an independent, locally owned market that offers the very best and healthiest products available. Their store became the Savannah headquarters of the new health movement overtaking the nation. They have also modeled how a small business can be a good citizen through their many gifts to charities.

The year 1978 also brought us one of  Savannah’s favorite charities: Chatham-Savannah Citizen’s Advocacy. Their mission is to “provide protection of and advocacy for people being abused, neglected or excluded because of disability.”  Over the past 40 years, they have made close to 900 of these citizen advocate matches. They have acted as a social conscious of our city. But it also enabled the worker for all things good Tom Kohler to have a voice and strong presence in grassroots advocacy in our city. Tom Kohler, many would say, is the Savannah whisperer for progress.

Another organization that was started 43 years ago has saved and cultivated the history of Savannah. The Coastal Heritage Society started in 1975. Its purpose is to provide educational experiences for the public through the preservation and presentation of the historic resources of coastal Georgia and adjacent regions. It received its first chance to perform their mission after the state decided to close Old Fort Jackson in 1975. The Coastal Heritage Society approached the State in 1976 asking permission to re-open and operate the site, which was granted. The historic site was now referred to as Old Fort Jackson. The Coastal Heritage Society has grown immensely since and they now supervise the Georgia State Railroad Museum, Pin Point Museum, Children’s Museum, and the Savannah History Museum. They also oversee Savannah’s Battlefield Park.

Today it would be hard to imagine Savannah without SCAD, Brighter Day, Tom Kohler and Citizen’s Advocacy, or the Coastal Heritage Society. Maybe this renaissance would have come without the Rousakis Plaza but this civic project made Savannah a little more attractive. Today we have an arena being erected and a canal district that is taking shape. One can only wonder what and who this may bring to our city.

 
​

---

A TRAIN AT THE COASTAL HERITAGE SOCIETY GEORGIA REAILROAD MUSEUM

COASTAL HERITAGE SOCIETY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

Rousakis Plaza