In 1953, the Lamara Company of Savannah announced the official opening of the Magnolia Park Subdivision – a new neighborhood ready for the construction of a variety of mid-century-style homes, many of which were built of prized Savannah grey bricks.
A Morning News article noted that William Lattimore and John J. Rauers, partners in the Lamara Co., were completing the development of the “87-acre tract” off what then was a dirt DeRenne Avenue.
Fascinating bits of local history like that intrigued several Magnolia Park residents, including Michael Connor, who has lived in the neighborhood for nine years. Connor is president of the Magnolia Park Neighborhood Association and spearheaded the effort to have the 60-plus year-old subdivision named to The Georgia Register of Historic Places.
Apparently, the diligence of Connor, as well as current and former residents, paid off when they were notified that Magnolia Park has been named to the Georgia Register, which is a giant leap in the process of becoming part of The National Register of Historic Places.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
“It is exciting,” Connor said of the designation. “I’m looking forward to how it changes the neighborhood in the future.”
Comprised of houses generally constructed between 1952 and 1968, “Magnolia Park features one of the earliest and best collections of mid-20th century domestic architecture in Savannah,” according to the Georgia Register application.
Connor credits Bob Ciucevich of Quatrefoil Consulting, who researched the history of the neighborhood and put together the detailed application. Coincidentally, Ciucevich laid the groundwork for a second site recently named to the Georgia Register.
Historic Sandfly home also receives recognition
The Clarence and Louise Golden Williams house at 2211 Norwood Ave. in Sandfly also was recognized by the Georgia National Register Review Board, which evaluates nominations for submitting them to The National Register of Historic Places.
The Williams house “represents the builder-artisan traditions passed down by generation of tradesmen,” Ciucevich wrote. Built in 1945, the house “exemplifies the craftsmanship of its original owner and builder, master plasterer (Williams).”
Sandfly was settled during the late 19th century by Black freedmen – among them plasterers, carpenters, and bricklayers – who built houses together.
Ciucevich said the interior of the Williams house “reflects the Eurocentric plasterwork details that Williams employed in his trade as a subcontractor on construction sites throughout white Savannah neighborhoods.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
“The exterior of the house features elaborate stucco embellishment including quoining, textured stucco finishes, laid-in oyster shells, sculptural patterns, and false timbering in the gable ends,” he continued.
“Exterior ornamentation includes symbolic geometric patterns based on West African cultural and architectural traditions common to the Igbo and other African peoples, a rarely seen outward expression of African art and culture in the community. “
Recognition for longtime Savannah community
Magnolia Park includes a variety of mid-20th century-style houses, including ranch, split-level houses, two-story houses, and a few American Small Houses. A few were designed by well-known local architects, including Henry Levy, Merrill Levy, Jack Stacy, Louis Drane Jr., Daniel Grantham and John LeBey.
“The neighborhood was selected as a location to showcase the ‘Trade Secrets House of 1953,’ a model home in Magnolia Park that was designed by some of the nation’s leading architects as a composite of their ideals for contemporary living,” the application said. “It was reproduced in 116 other American cities."
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Former resident Cornelia Stumpf, who lived across the street from the Trade Secrets House, said she acquired the original plans for the structure and made copies and scans for the historic designation work.
“I want to give a shout out to Daniel Carey, who was a champion for mid-century and modern ranch (homes) and realized it is not only downtown Savannah that is historic,” Stumpf said. “I loved our old house and enjoyed each minute of the eight years we were in it in Magnolia Park."
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah subdivision, 1940s Sandfly home added to the Georgia Register of Historic Places
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