John Montmollin Warehouse

Ellis Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Barnard Street and West St. Julian Street, and was one of the first four squares laid out. Today, it marks the western end of City Market. The square is east of Franklin Square, west of Johnson Square and north of Telfair Square. The oldest building on the square is the Thomas Gibbons Range, at 102–116 West Congress Street, which dates to 1820.Decker Square, as it was originally known, was laid out in 1733 as part of Decker Ward, the third ward created in Savannah. The ward and square were named for Sir Matthew Decker, one of the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America, Commissioner of funds collection for the Trust, director and governor of the East India Company, and member of Parliament. The square was renamed for Sir Henry Ellis, the second Royal Governor of the colony of Georgia. It was also known as Marketplace Square, as from the 1730s through the 1950s it served as a center of commerce and was home to four successive market houses. Prior to Union General Sherman's arrival in December 1864, it was also the site of a slave market with some indications of slaves being held under the northwest corner of the square. A large brick building, now known as the John Montmollin Building, was built in 1855 to house the slave market, facing south on Barnard Street. In 1954, the city signed a 50-year lease with the Savannah Merchants Cooperative Parking Association, allowing the association to raze the existing structure and construct a parking garage to serve the City Market retail project. Anger over the demolition of the market house helped spur the historic preservation movement (most notably the Historic Savannah Foundation) in Savannah. The outer structure of this city market building influenced the design of the Kroger grocery store on Gwinnett Street and the Publix grocery store in the Twelve Oaks shopping center on Abercorn Street. When the garage's lease expired in 2004, the city began plans to restore Ellis Square. The old parking garage was demolished in 2006 to make way for a new public square (park) that features open spaces for public concerts, as well as an underground parking garage on Whitaker Street. The underground facility was completed and formally dedicated in January 2009. Ellis Square officially reopened at a dedication ceremony held on March 11, 2010.The six-story Cay Building, at 22 Barnard Street, was completed in 2012.

City Market is a historic market complex in the Historic District of Savannah, Georgia. Originally centered on the site of today's Ellis Square from 1733, today it stretches west from Ellis Square to Franklin Square. Established in the 1700s with a wooden building, locals gathered here for their groceries and services. This building burned in 1820 and was replaced the following year with a single-storey structure that wrapped around the square. A brick building, the work of architects Augustus Schwaab and Martin Phillip Muller, was erected in 1876. They had submitted plans to the city six years earlier. The cost of the building's construction "vastly exceeded expectations" after excavations revealed weakened arches in the basement floor that required them to be replaced. It was an ornate structure with arches in the Romanesque style and large circular windows.The interior of the Schwaab and Muller structure encompassed 33,000 square feet. The city's mayor, John Screven, described it as "roomy, capable of being kept in the highest condition of cleanliness, with ample ventilation". The construction was headed by carpenter James C. Saltus.The market area survived two fires (in 1796 and 1820), the Civil War, and the hurricane of 1896. It is now part of the Savannah Historic District, and is a popular destination for tourists due to its restaurants, art galleries and shops, which occupy many of the buildings erected in the 19th century.

Sweet Georgia Brown's was a piano bar in Savannah, Georgia. Located at 312 West St. Julian Street, on Franklin Square in Savannah's City Market, the bar was co-owned by musicians Joe Odom and Nancy Hillis, real-life characters in John Berendt's book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994). "For over two years, it was the place everyone wanted to be in Savannah and everyone partied there until the wee hours," said Kathryn Gifford, a Savannah tour guide in 1997. Emma Kelly, dubbed the "Lady of 6,000 Songs" by Johnny Mercer, regularly played at the bar. The bar was named for "Sweet Georgia Brown", a song released in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. A branch of Savannah's Candy Kitchen occupies the bar's former location today.

Club One is a night club located on Jefferson Street in Savannah, Georgia, famous for its drag shows featuring The Lady Chablis. It rose to prominence in part due to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in which Chablis was featured.

The Abram Minis Building is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in the northeastern trust block of Franklin Square, at 317 West Bryan Street and 20–22 Montgomery Street, it dates to 1846, making it the oldest extant building on the square. It was built as a commercial property for 26-year-old Abraham Minis, a prominent merchant of the city and founder of A. Minis & Sons.In a survey for the Historic Savannah Foundation, Mary Lane Morrison found the building to be of significant status.

The Thomas Gibbons Range is a building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Now comprising eight properties, it is located on West Congress Street, in the southeastern civic block of Ellis Square in Savannah's City Market. Built in 1820, it is the oldest building on the square, and the oldest operating commercial building in Savannah. It is part of the Savannah Historic District, and was built, towards the end of his life, for Thomas Gibbons (1757–1826), a planter, politician, lawyer, steamboat owner and the plaintiff in Gibbons vs. Ogden. The building was erected by his son William. Gibbons had owned the lot since 1809.In 1943, Frank C. Mathews purchased the property at number 116, where he established Mathews Seafood. The following year, he purchased the adjacent number 114, and a local signmaker was commissioned to make a neon fish sign for the restaurant now known as Sorry Charlie's Oyster Bar. The sign became a popular landmark, and the Historic Savannah Foundation designated it a historic artifact. (This is not the sign on the building today.) Sorry Charlie's expanded again, into 112 West Congress Street, in 2018.The Lady & Sons, a restaurant owned by Paula Deen, has occupied number 102, at the Whitaker Street end of the building, since 1996.

Franklin Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, at Montgomery Street and West St. Julian Street. It is west of Ellis Square in the northwestern corner of the city's grid of squares. The square now anchors the western end of the City Market retail area.The oldest building on the square is 317 West Bryan Street, the Abram Minis Building, which dates to 1846.The square is named for Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. It once contained a forty-foot-tall water tower to distribute water to residents. It was built with after the previous system of public and private surface wells was overwhelmed by the rising population of the city. The water was taken out of the Savannah River west of the Ogelthorpe Canal Basin before being filtered and pumped up to the water tower. Because of the tower, Franklin Square was also known as Water Tank Square, Water Tower Square and Reservoir Square.The square was destroyed in 1935 with the routing of U.S. Highway 17 on Montgomery Street but was restored in the mid-1980s. In 1967, Montgomery Street was changed from two-way to one-way between Jones and Bay streets; in 1985, however, to assist with the restoration of Franklin Square, it was restored to two-way traffic between Bay and Broughton streets. In 2019, the bi-directional traffic flow was extended from Broughton to Liberty streets.

Lowden Building is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are West Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, these are Land & Sea Wear, The Black Dog, Perkins & Sons Chandlery and Earthbound Trading Company.

William Taylor Stores is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are West Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, these are the Chart House Seafood in the eastern section (completed in 1806), while Modern Travel Network and American Gift Shop occupy the western section (completed in 1818). It is the oldest surviving structure on today's River Street, the oldest ballast-stone cotton warehouse in the country, and stated by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) as being significant as an "early example of a multi-storied river embankment storage warehouse".The eastern section, today's 202 and 204, was formerly Southern Marine Supply Company Incorporated, while the western section, now 206, was known as the Taylor House at the time of its construction.The buildings were partially destroyed by fire in 1885 and rebuilt the same year.

220–224 West Bay Street is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are West Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, these are Nourish, Harley-Davidson Motory Cycles, Charleston Hemp Collective and Dub's Public House. The building was completed in 1821, for "Matthew Johnston and others," making it one of the earliest buildings in the riverfront area. The western end of the building, number 224, was damaged by fire in 1851. In 1917, the Hecker-Jones-Jewell Milling Company of New York City had an office at number 220.The International Milling Company was occupying numbers 220 and 222 around 1940.

John Williamson Range is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are West Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, these are Two Cracked Eggs, Rusty Rudders Tap House, Nine Line, Black Rifle Coffee Company and 309 West. The building was completed in 1850, and is believed to be named for either John Postell Williamson, the city's former mayor, or his son John P. Jr., who is believed to also have been known as "J. J. Williamson".In 1921, the Shapiro Shoe Company was based at number 302. At the same time, another part of the building was occupied by J. J. Williamson & Company cotton merchants, established in 1904. Their home office was in Atlanta, but they had branches in Savannah, Augusta, Memphis, Dallas, Birmingham and Tupelo, and were members of both the New York Cotton Exchange and the New Orleans Cotton Exchange.In 1922, the cotton firm of Inman & Howard in Atlanta dissolved its partnership. Frank Inman combined his interests with those of J. J. Williamson & Company, under the name of Williamson, Inman & Stribling.

Jones and Telfair Range, also known as Jones' Upper Range, is a historic range of buildings in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the Cotton Sail Hotel, a Hilton Hotels property, occupies the West Bay Street elevation, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, the businesses occupying the ground floor of the River Street elevation are Whispers, the Cotton Sail Hotel, River House Seafood and Fiddlers' Crab House. Kevin Barry's Pub closed in 2020 after nearly forty years in business.The building was completed in 1854, attributed to Charles Sholl and Calvin Fay, for George Wymberly Jones and the Telfair estate.