Ellis Square

About This Square

This was the third of the original four squares to be laid out by James Oglethorpe when the city was founded in 1733.  It was originally named Decker Square, in honor of Sir Matthew Decker, one of the original trustees in the British Parliament for the eastablishment of the colony of Georgia, but was renamed after Sir Henry Ellis, the second royal governor of Georgia.

But most people in Savannah knew it as Marketplace Square, because for most of its life it wasn’t a square at all – it had buildings on top of it that were home to the Savannah City Market.

The first one was built in 1763, only 30 years after the square had been formed.  It was a hub for local farmers and merchants to sell their wares to the residents of the growing city.  It burned down in 1796 along with more than 200 other buildings in Downtown Savannah in a conflagration that started in a bakery.

The market was rebuilt but was again lost to the great fire of 1820, which destroyed more than 400 buildings – pretty much everything between Bay and Broughton, between Jefferson and Abercorn.

The third iteration of the market building opened in 1822 and was a center for not only commerce but society as well.  Galas and functions were held in the building, which was also used as a field hopsital during the Civil War.

By the 1950s, the building – and much of Downtown – had become rundown and local merchants banded together to push forward an effort to have it torn down and replaced by a parking structure in 1954.  Ellis Square was no longer and its destruction helped kick off the historic preservation efforts that have made Savannah what it is today.

The company that ran the garage had a 50 year lease but even before it was over, plans were developed to tear it down and rebuild Ellis Square.  That effort involved constructing a 4-story underground lot and several new buildings around it including the Andaz Hotel, all of which opened in 2006.  It is one of only two of the four “lost squares” to have been reborn.

The current Ellis Square is a hub for the city, drawing tourists and local alike, especially on weekend nights when the area is buzzing with activity from the nearby bars on Congress Street.  The square also hosts events like the annual Pride Celebration, concerts, festivals, and more.  A police substation and public restrooms anchor the NW corner of the square; a giant chess board brightens up the eastern edge; a statue of Johnny Mercer guards the western side by current City Market; and a sunken grassy area with a splash pad fountain takes up the center.  There are no monuments, or historic markers.