Savannah Law School Library

After years of vacancy and disrepair, the Old Candler Hospital Complex gained a new identity as the Savannah Law School, a branch of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. The renovations of the facility occurred in multiple phases over a three-year period. The second phase of the project, the Law Library, focused on a full interior and exterior restoration/rehabilitation of the original 1819 hospital building, including the demolition of the 1968 wing on Abercorn and Huntingdon Streets which allowed the original façade to be revealed and the street to be restored to the urban grid.

Renovations to this 1819 building included in-kind replacement of the east side of the entry porch; in-kind replacement of all exterior windows, lintels, and sills; and in-kind replacement of the east wing cornice. Other improvements to the building included the replacement of the fifth-floor cupola and the windows at the ground level. The original openings at the ground floor arcade under the front porch were reestablished, and recessed storefront windows with frosted glass were installed. Although the CMU penthouse on the east wing remained, windows were added and the walls re-clad with decorative metal panels. The completed project earned Federal Historic Tax Credits as well as numerous local and national preservation awards.