Savannah Victorian Historic District, 213 West Bolton Street (House), Savannah

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA,26-SAV,53B-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

One of the oldest houses in the Victorian District, this L-shaped cottage is the only one of its kind in : the District. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: In August Sturtevant mortgaged Lot 40 with the financial assistance of the Workingman's Mutual Loan Association. Improvements on the west half of the lot are listed in the Tax Digest, indication that the house was completed in 2. Architect: Not known. 3. Original owner: William B. Sturtevant , of William B. Sturtevant and Company, Commission Merchants. The house stands on lot 40, Lloyd Ward. 4. Alterations and additions: The kitchen and bath were added.

During the current renovation the hall wall was removed; the rear screened, porch was enclosed and casement windows installed; two eastern windows in Rooms C and B were closed. The crown molding in room B was removed. For background information, see Savannah Victorian Historic District, HABS No. GA-1169. 213 WEST BOLTON STREET HABS NO. GA-1169 B (Page 2) C.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA,26-SAV,53B-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

a. Primary and unpublished sources: Insurance Maps of Savannah, and Sanborn Map Co., located at Georgia Historical Society. Tax Digest, City of Savannah, located in Georgia Historical Society. Prepared by: Beth Lattimore Reiter Project Historian Historic American Buildings Survey Summer PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. Genral Statement: 1. Architectural character: This is the only L-shaped cottage stand- ing in the Victorian District. It is trimmed with decorative bargeboards ornamenting gable ends. 2. Condition of fabric: Excellent; the house has recently heen re- stored. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: The one-story main block measures (north front) X deep. The rear kitchen wing X deep. 2.

Foundations: Brick pier with solid brick infill on the north elevation; lattice infill elsewhere over crawl space. 3. Wall construction and finish: Clapboard siding painted a grey-green. 4. Structural system: Wooden frame construction. 5. Porchers, steps: A one-story wooden porch X is built into the L of the north (front) elevation. Three square chamfered posts support the porch roof. There are fan brackets, a bracketed cornice, a plain wooden railing, and balusters. The porch is approached from the front by four concrete block steps. The stair railing is missing. At the foot of the stairs are two wooden chamfered newel posts, painted green, designed by Ivan Bailey. 6. Chimneys: There are three interior brick chimneys.

Two are located along the ridge of the gable roof over the long side of the L, the third is located at the junction of the shed roof. A ceramic chim- ney pipe rises above the kitchen wing. 213 WEST BOLTON STREET HABS No. GA-1169 B (Page 3) 7. Openings: a. Doorways, doors: The front door has glass on the upper half, and a tier of three square raised panels and one of two rectangular raised panels on the lower half. A stained-glass transom window designed by Anselm Atkins tops the doorway. b. Windows: The two porch windows on the north elevation are full-length with six-over-nine lights framed by wide surrounds and topped by arched heads. The remaining windows are six-over-six-light double-hung sash and have similar surrounds.

There are five leaded-glass casement windows which swing out in room J. They were designed by Ivan Bailey. 8. Roof: a. Shape, covering: Two intersecting gable roofs cover the main block. A gable roof is over the rear kitchen wing, and a shed roof is over the utility section. Standing seam tin sheathing now canceals the original wooden shingles. There is a rolled roofing material over the shed roof. The gutters are hung. b. Cornice, eaves: The ends of the projecting gables are trimmed with decorative bargeboards. The kitchen wing has wide, unbracketed eaves. C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plan; L-shaped plan. Originally there were three rooms on the west side of the center hall and two on the east side. The east wall of the hall has been removed.

The rear porch gas been enclosed, now connecting the house with the kitchen wing which extends from the leg of the L. 2. Flooring: Hardwood throughout except for quarry tile kitchen floor and ceramic tile floor in the bathroom. 3. Wall and ceiling finish: Painted plasted; three-part baseboards. 4. Openings: a. Doorways, doors: The interior doors are wooden with four raised panels. The doors are framed by an archi- trave trim and transom window. b. Windows: Floor-length parlor windows are framed with a wide architrave trim. The windows in the kitchen wing are framed in a molded corner block trim. 213 WEST BOLTON STREET HABS No, GA-1169 B (Page 4) 5. Decorative features and trim: a.

Mantels: There are three simple wooden mantels, each with plain frieze and pilasters supporting a simple mantel shelf. The fire- place in room c has a metal coal grate with torches inscribed in the surround. A fourth fireplace in the parlor (room B) features a mantel with Ionic columns supporting the top shelf and brackets supporting the lower shelf. The mantel was added around the turn of the century. b. Transoms and windows: Leaded stained-glass transoms in the interior doorways and the stained-glass skylight in room E were designed by Andrlm Atkins. c. An iron weather vane in the shape of a dragon, designed by Ivan Bailey, crowns the south gable. There are several small metal ornamented discs in kitchen room K to cover pipe holes in the floor. 6.

Hardware: Brass and brown porcelain knobs are on the doors. An iron slip lock and handle, designed by Ivan Bailey, is in the bathroom. 7. Mechanical equipment: a. Heating, air conditioning, ventilating: The house is ventilated by ceiling fans in rooms K and E. It was originally heated by woodvurning fireplaces which were converted later to coal. b. Plumbing; There are two footed tubs and one pedestal sink remaining. The toilet paper holder in bathroom I is a giant iron dafefey pin designed by Ivan Bailey. The oval shower curtain holder over the free-standing footed tub in bathroom G was also designed by Ivan Bailey. c. Lighting: An early lighting system was by gas. The house now has electricity. Notable fixtures are the decorative iron electric wall fixtures designed by Ivan Bailey.

These have etched glass shades and are located in the hall, kitchen and bedrooms. In bathroom I there is an iron double armed wall fixture designed by Ivan Bailey and the rear garden bracket lamp with sunburst also was designed by Ivan Bailey. 3; Other features: The ceiling in room E has been opened up into a skylight and there is a skylight in room J just before the door to kitchen K. 213 WEST BOLTON STREET HABS No. GA-1169 E (Page 5) D. Site: 1. General sitting and orientation: The house faces north. It is set back from the lot line with a small planting space on either side of the steps. A herringbone brick sidewalk fronts the house and a narrow planting area is between the sidewalk and street. 2.

Historic landscape design: An old grape arbor is at the south side of the lot behind the kitchen wing. An old fig tree has been moved from the general location of the arbor to the east side of the backyard. There are herringbone brick walks which laid by the Baileys. Prepared by: Beth Lattimore Reiter Project Historian Historic American Buildings Survey September, PART III. PROJECT INFORMATION This project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey in cooper- ation with the City of Savannah, the Historic Preservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Savannah Landmark Rehabilitation Project, Inc., and Historic Savannah Foundation.

The recording project was completed during the summer of under the general direction of John Poppeliers, Chief of HABS.; Kenneth L. Anderson, Principal Architect; Eric Delony, Project Coordinator, Savannah Landmark Rehabilitation Project, Inc.; and Susan Dombusch, Project Supervisor, University of Virginia; with student architects Gregori Anderson (Howard University), David Fixler (Columbia University), Stephen Lauf (Temple University) , and Tamara Peacock (University of Florida) , at the HABS Office in Savannah, Georgia. The drawings were edited in the Washington office in September by architects Susan Dornbusch and Gregori Anderson. The historical and architectural data was reviewed and edited during October- November by staff historian Jan Cigliano.

Photographs were taken in September by Walter Smalling, a staff photographer with the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. The documentation on the the historic district will be used in the rehabilitation of the residences and in developing design guidelines for the area.