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First Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia)

1833 establishments in the United StatesBaptist churches in Georgia (U.S. state)Chippewa Square buildingsChurches in Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah Historic District
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EAST FRONT AND NORTH SIDE (CLOSER VIEW) First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26 SAV,69 2
EAST FRONT AND NORTH SIDE (CLOSER VIEW) First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26 SAV,69 2

First Baptist Church is a historic congregation in Savannah, Georgia, which was first established in 1800. Today, the congregation worships in a Greek-Revival church building on Bull Street, on the western side of Chippewa Square in the historic district of Savannah. This location has been the congregation’s home since 1833 and the building is architecturally significant, being the oldest surviving church building in Savannah.When initially chartered in 1800, the congregation worshipped at a meeting house on Franklin Square. The church received its perpetual charter the following year by Georgia Governor Josiah Tattnall. The current church building was designed by architect Elias Carter. The cornerstone was laid on February 2, 1831, and two years later, with construction complete, the congregation relocated to its present location. Six years after moving into the current building, the growing congregation began renovations to expand the sanctuary.The church's organ, the work of Ernest M. Skinner, was installed in 1922.By 1947, the congregation was using the name "First" Baptist Church to distinguish itself from other Baptist congregations in the city. It is one of the few Southern churches to have remained open through the entirety of the American Civil War. The church utilized local architect Henrik Wallin for the notable alterations that occurred in 1922. Renovations included extending the front of the building, cladding the building in limestone, and removing the cupola.Previous pastors include W. L. Pickard, later president of Mercer University, and Norman Cox, the executive secretary of the Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article First Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

First Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia)
Bull Street, Savannah Savannah Historic District

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 32.0762 ° E -81.0939 °
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Address

First Baptist Church

Bull Street 223
31401 Savannah, Savannah Historic District
Georgia, United States
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Phone number

call9122342671

Website
fbc-sav.org

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EAST FRONT AND NORTH SIDE (CLOSER VIEW) First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26 SAV,69 2
EAST FRONT AND NORTH SIDE (CLOSER VIEW) First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26 SAV,69 2
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Chippewa Square (Savannah, Georgia)
Chippewa Square (Savannah, Georgia)

Chippewa Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is south of Wright Square, west of Colonial Park Cemetery, north of Madison Square and east of Orleans Square. The oldest building on the square is The Savannah Theatre, at 222 Bull Street, which dates to 1818. The square named in honor of American soldiers killed in the Battle of Chippawa during the War of 1812. (The spelling "Chippewa" is correct in reference to this square.) In the center of the square is the James Oglethorpe Monument, created by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon and unveiled in 1910. Oglethorpe faces south, toward Georgia's one-time enemy in Spanish Florida, and his sword is drawn. Busts of Confederate figures Francis Stebbins Bartow and Lafayette McLaws were moved from Chippewa Square to Forsyth Park to make room for the Oglethorpe monument. Due to the location of the monument, Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Oglethorpe Square, but that is located just to the northeast.The "park bench" scene which opens the 1994 film Forrest Gump was filmed on the north side of Chippewa Square. The bench was a fiberglass prop, rather than one of the park's actual benches. A replica of the prop bench used in the film is on display at the Savannah Visitors Center. The original prop is now kept in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.Chippewa Square is also home to the First Baptist Church (1833), the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Philbrick–Eastman House (1847).