Telfair Academy
Historic house museum in Savannah, Georgia. Built 1819. Added to the National Register in 1976, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. Originally a family townhouse belonging to the Telfair family, it became a free art museum in 1886, and thus one of the first 10 art museums in America, and the oldest public art museum in the South. Its first director, elected in 1883, was artist Carl Ludwig Brandt, who spent winters in Savannah. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 121 Barnard St., Savannah, GA |
| County | Chatham County |
| Listed | May 11, 1976 |
| Listed for | Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Also known as | Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Reference number | 76000612 |
| Built | 1819 · more from the 1810s |
| Type of place | historic house museum |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 1 building |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 121 Barnard St., Savannah, GA |
| Website | telfair.org/visit/telfair-academy ↗ |
| Coordinates | 32.0790° N, 81.0952° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Savannah | 58 listed places in Savannah → |
| Nearest national park unit | Fort Pulaski National Monument · 10 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Drawings & photographs
Measured drawings and photographs from the Library of Congress. Public domain. All 1 record ↗
Map
Nearby in Chatham County
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Local history books for Savannah
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Georgia travel guides
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Telfair Academy listed on the National Register?
May 11, 1976. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
When was Telfair Academy built?
1819.
Source: Wikidata
Can I visit Telfair Academy?
Yes. Telfair Academy is recorded as open to the public, and hours are on the official website.
Source: Official website
Where is Telfair Academy?
121 Barnard St., Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. The nearest national park unit is Fort Pulaski National Monument, 10 miles away.
Source: Fort Pulaski National Monument
Are there historic photographs or drawings of Telfair Academy?
Yes. The Historic American Buildings Survey at the Library of Congress has drawings or photographs of it.
Source: Library of Congress
Where is the nomination form for Telfair Academy?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there cell service at Telfair Academy?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 76000612. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA. Drawings and photographs are Historic American Buildings Survey records at the Library of Congress, public domain.