Savannah Victorian Historic District, 107 West Duffy Street (House), Savannah

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

The house at 107 West Duffy Street is one of the few structures remaining in the Victorian District which dates from the and which stood in the Frew and Webb development of Oglethorpe Town. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: 2. Architect: Not known. 3. Original Owner: Burrell L. Boulineau, Master of Machinery for the Central of Georgia Railroad. Boulineau came to Savannah from Richmond County, Georgia, and bought the lot from Mary Frew, the widow of James Frew, developer of Oglethorpe Town. It appears from the deed records that Boulineau borrowed from the Workingman's Mutual Loan Association to construct his house in He paid it back at the rate of $30 a month. The property is now located on lot 26, Gal lie Ward, 4.

Alterations and additions: The Sanborn Insurance Map indi- cates that a two-story double tenement with -a one-story rear wing existed on the site. The Sanborn Map shows the addition of a bay window on the east half of the double tenement a small addition on the east side of the house, and a rear addition which would have extended the hall. The Gothic bay window thus appears to have been added between and together with two new rooms. This corresponds with newspaper articles of the which note the number of bay windows and additions being built on older houses. The rear porch has been enclosed and a second addition added to the south. Originally this double tene- ment was a single family dwelling; at some time each side was subdivided into an upper and a lower apartment.

m For background information, see Savannah Victorian Historic District, HABS No. GA-1169. 107 WEST DUFFY STREET HABS No. GA-1169F [Page 2) B.

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

Deed Book 3 Z and Deed Book 3 Z Superior Court Record Room, Chatham County Court House, Savannah, Georgia. Insurance Maps of Savannah, and Sanborn Map Company, New York. Savannah Morning News, microfilm, Georgia Historical Society. Prepared by: Beth Lattimore Reiter Project Historian Historic American Buildings Survey August, PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1. Architectural character: 107 West Duffy Street is the eastern half of a two-story double tenement. This townhouse has a steep gable roof typical of earlier townhouses, but its bracketed eaves place it after the Civil War. An ornamental Gothic bay window was added between and 2. Condition of fabric: Fair.

The western half, was damaged by fire in the summer of and the water from the firehoses damaged the ceilings and electrical system in B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: The two-story structure measures across the front facade by deep. 2. Foundations: Brick pier over a crawl space. 3. Wall construction: Clapboard siding, painted gray. 4. Framing: Wood frame construction. 5. Porches, stoops: A two-story front entrance porch, supported by four brick piers, is approached from the east side by five concrete block steps. Plain square tongue-in-groove decking covers the floor. Square wooden balusters span the box columns. The second-story porch is supported by similar posts and topped by a gable roof. A man- sard-like skirt visually divides the porch's first and second story.

There is a screened porch on the south (rear) elevation. 6. Chimneys: One interior chimney with a smooth stucco finish projects through the ridge of the roof. Each half of the double tenement has a chimney. 107 WEST DUFFY STREET HABS No. GA-1169F (Page 3) 7. Openings: a. Doorways, doors: The two front entrance doors are framed fay a simple surround. Each is a cottage door with glass in the upper half and panels below. There is a door to the second- floor porch with a two-light transom above. b. Windows and shutters: A two-story bay with five lancet-arched windows in each story has been added to the north facade. The windows in the bay's second story are filled with colored glass. Rectangular recessed panels are located below the first-story lancet windows.

Decorative brackets trim the area between the first and second story, below a similar mansard-like skirt as as that on the porch. A louvered attic window is in the east end gable of the house. All other windows have six-over-six-light double-hung sash. 8. Roof: a. Shape, covering: A gable roof with standing seam tin sheathing covers the main block. The rear addition also has a gable roof with a standing seam tin covering. b. Cornice, eaves: The main block is trimmed with bracketed eaves' on the north facade. C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: a. First floor: Side-hall plan. The stair has been enclosed to provide private access to the upper apartment. Originally the house was two rooms deep with a rear porch.

The porch has been enclosed to provide a third room, and a second porch has been built to the rear of the original one. A small one-story addi- tion provides a closet off the hall, and the hall has been extended to provide three additional small rooms including a bath and kitchen. b. Second floor: Side-hall plan with two principal rooms and a small room at the south end of the hall. 2. Stairways: A straight flight ascends the east side of the hall. 3. Flooring: Hardwood floors throughout. 4. Wall and ceiling finish: All ceiling surfaces have been covered with sheetrock. The walls are plaster, painted or papered. A picture molding trims all principal rooms in the main block. 5. Doorways, doors: Wooden four-paneled doors throughout. 107 WEST DUFFY STREET HABS No. GA-1169F (Page 4) 6.

Decorative features and trim: The four principal rooms of the main block have fireplaces with wooden mantels. The rectangular openings are framed by a plain frieze and rectangular pilasters supporting a simple mantel shelf. 7. Mechanical equipment: a. Heating, airconditioning, ventilation: The house was origi- nally heated by wood-burning fireplaces, later converted to coal. The present heating system is by gas space heaters. b. Lighting: The present system is electric, There is no visible evidence of an earlier system. c. Plumbing: There is no indication of whether there was an origi nal indoor bath. D. Site: General setting and orientation: The house faces north, and is built on the lot 1 ine. 2. Outbuildings: 107 West Duffy Street stands on the north half of the lot.

In there was a one-story kitchen in the yard of and a one-story lane cottage. These have both been demolished. A one-story shed stands adjacent to the lane. Prepared by: Beth Lattimore Reiter Project Historian Historic American Buildings Survey August, 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 dur- ing 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.; Beth Lattimore Reiter, Project Historian, Savannah Landmark Rehabilitation Project, Inc.; and Susan Dornbusch, Project Supervisor, University of Virginia; with student architects Gregori Ander- son (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 archi- tectural data was reviewed and edited during October-November by staff histo- rian Jan Cigliano.

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