Historic Pulaski SquareBeautiful Pulaski Square was laid and named for Casimir Pulaski, a Polish immigrant who came to Savannah to seek a better life and who died a hero in the Seige of Savannah in 1779. He had come at the behest of Benjamin Franklin, who met him in Paris. Franklin convinced him to rise to the cause of liberty in the colonies after it eluded him in his native country. He arrived to fight alongside the French in the Continental army, in an effort to banish the British from the city. He met his end on October 9, 1779 but remained revered by the citizens long after the events that killed him. When it came time to develop this square and ward, they gave them his name. He was further memorialized when a bronze monument was erected in Monterey Square in 1855 and when both a town and a county in Georgia were named after him.
Pulaski Square is bisected by Bernard Street and the intersecting side streets are Harris, Macon and Charlton, with West Jones Street forming the boundary of Pulaski Ward.
There are many interesting homes on the streets surrounding Pulaski Square and its ward and indeed, it was, at its time, the largest redevelopment project of the Historic Savannah Foundation. It is said that at one time, the homes in this ward could not be sold for even $2,000 and that the Georgia grey bricks used in their construction were worth more than the homes and the land that they sat on.
The neighborhood is dominated by paired houses, row houses and by center-halled, five bay houses. Italianate, Greek revival style was extensively used when designing these homes. They are mostly two to four stories in height and behind the brick walls are beautifully restored gardens. These homes , due to the explosion of construction of them in the 1850s came to be thought of as “Savannah” style, if there ever was such a thing. In their restored condition, they reflect the fine architecture of the time.
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