Georgia Historical Society to Celebrate Construction Launch of the Research Center Renovation & Expansion Project

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Friday, August 16th, 2019

The Georgia Historical Society and its construction partners JTVS Builders, Inc. and Lynch Associates Architects are pleased to announce the construction launch of the renovation and expansion project during a private media event at the GHS Research Center in Savannah.

Speakers will include Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso, Chairman of the GHS Board of Curators; Michelle Gallagher, Vice President, The Delta Air Lines Foundation; and Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.

Dedicated in 1876 as a permanent building for the Georgia Historical Society, Hodgson Hall serves as the Reading Room, archival processing space, and offices of the Research Center. Designed by the American Institute of Architects founder Detlef Lienau, Hodgson Hall is one of the oldest purpose-built library buildings in the U.S. and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was a gift of Margaret Telfair Hodgson and Mary Telfair as a memorial to William B. Hodgson, a prominent Savannah citizen, American diplomat, and scholar of Eastern cultures.

In 1970, the Georgia Historical Society added the Abrahams Annex, a much-needed modern archival addition in which to store its many treasures. Named in memory of Edmund H. Abrahams, lawyer-historian of Savannah, the Abrahams Annex represented the first physical expansion of GHS in over 90 years.

The current renovation and expansion project will enable GHS to continue to fulfill its mission to collect, examine, and teach Georgia history for generations to come and is supported in part by a generous gift from The Delta Air Lines Foundation.

What:    Media launch of the renovation and expansion of the GHS Research Center in Savannah
Where:    501 Whitaker Street, Savannah, GA 31401
When:    Monday, August 19, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m.