Historic Savannah Foundation

{{Use American English|date=April 2021}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Historic Savannah Foundation

| abbreviation = HSF

| logo = File:Historic_Savannah_Foundation.svg

| image = File:Built for Abraham Sheftall, 1818, Moved from Elbert Ward, 1966.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = The HSF office, 321 East York Street (built 1818)

| type = Non-profit

| tax_id =

| founded_date = {{start date and age|1955|p=yes}}

| defunct =

| founders = • Anna Colquitt Hunter
• Katharine Judkins Clark
• Elinor Adler Dillard
• Lucy Barrow McIntire
• Dorothy Ripley Roebling
• Nola McEvoy Roos
• Jane Adair Wright

| headquarters = 321 East York Street[https://www.savannahchamber.com/membership/member-directory/family-community-and-civic-organizations/non-profit/historic-savannah-foundation-5271/ Historic Savannah Foundation] – Savannah Area Chamber

| location_city = Savannah, Georgia

| location_country = U.S.

| key_people = • Susan Adler (CEO and President)[https://www.myhsf.org/about-us/staff/ Staff] – mhysf.org
• Ryan Arvay (Director of Preservation and Historic Properties)

| area_served = Savannah, Georgia, U.S.

| services = Preservation

| focus = Preserving and protecting historic buildings

| method =

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| website = https://www.myhsf.org/

}}

Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) is a preservation organization founded in 1955 and based in Savannah, Georgia, United States.[https://www.savannahnow.com%2Fstory%2Fbusiness%2F2021%2F01%2F22%2Fhistoric-savannah-foundation-names-new-board-members-2021%2F6668736002%2F "Historic Savannah Foundation names new board members for 2021"] – Savannah Morning News, January 22, 2021

In 1950, the four-story Wetter House on East Oglethorpe was demolished.[https://www.savannahchamber.com/membership/member-directory/family-community-and-civic-organizations/non-profit/historic-savannah-foundation-5271/ Historic Savannah Foundation] – Savannah Chamber of Commerce[https://www.myhsf.org/about-us/our-story/ Our Story] – mhysf.org This, combined with the razing of Savannah's popular City Market in Ellis Square, to be replaced by a parking garage, prompted a public outcry.[https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=arch_tp Savannah Morning News and Evening Press] – Clemson University, May 1981 The following year, a funeral home was set to purchase the Isaiah Davenport House in Columbia Square and tear it down for a parking lot. This sparked a movement to start a preservation process in the city.[https://www.myhsf.org/about-us/our-story/ Our Story] – mhysf.org

{{blockquote|"What began as an effort to save one house quickly turned into an organized movement that went on to save an entire city." – Historic Savannah Foundation}}

Local journalist, artist and activist Anna Colquitt Hunter (1892–1985)[https://www.georgiawomen.org/copy-of-howard-may-dubignon-stiles Anna Colquitt Hunter] – Georgia Women of Achievement formed a group with six of her friends to block the demolition of the house and formed the Historic Savannah Foundation.{{Cite book |last=Toledano |first=Roulhac |author-link=Roulhac Toledano |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtmO-Xvh4n8C&dq=jane+wright+historic+savannah+foundation&pg=PA24 |title=The National Trust Guide to Savannah |date=1997-04-03 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-15568-3 |language=en}} The group managed to raise the $22,500 needed to purchase the property themselves.

The office of the foundation is in the southwest tything of the Columbia Square, at the Abraham Sheftall House, 321 East York Street. It had formerly been at the Isaiah Davenport House at 324 East State Street.[https://www.savannahga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/18576/1121-073_Anson_acc Building Data Sheet, Historic Savannah Inventory, Anson Ward]

The Foundation bestows its highest honor, the Davenport Award, on select individuals.

In 1977, the foundation published Historic Savannah: A Survey of Significant Buildings in the Historic and Victorian Districts of Savannah, Georgia.