THE ARMS TRONG HOUSE (HENRIK WALLEN

Constructed by architect Henrik Wallin in the last days of the Gilded Age, and later categorized by John Berendt as a magnificent “lion of a house,” the Armstrong House has commanded attention and adulation at its high-profile location for almost a century.

Wallin (1873-1936), who crafted several palatial residences in Chatham County, spared no expense during the 1916-1919 campaign to complete the Italian Renaissance-style house at the north end of Forsyth Park for George Ferguson Armstrong, a local shipping magnate.

A 1919 spread on the house in The American Architect contained a wide range of photographs, including one of its distinctive main doorway. A 1919 article in the Savannah Press described that particular feature in great detail. “The entrance door is in antique bronze. In design and execution it is so exquisite that it may well be ranked with the finest jewelry. … A portion of it was on display at the recent annual exhibit of the Architectural League at the Fine Arts building in New York City, and won honorable mention, which was the highest award given to any exhibit.”

The family’s living, dining, entertaining and bed rooms were designed in different periods, such as Early Georgian and Jacobean, and bedecked with complimentary furniture and art. Sadly, George did not enjoy that opulence for long: He died of lung cancer in 1924.

Some 11 years later, with Savannah in the grip of the Great Depression, Savannah Mayor Thomas Gamble conducted a lengthy search for a site to start a junior college. The mayor hoped to create an opportunity for local students who could not afford to leave home to attend college. Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz, George Armstrong’s widow, and Lucy Armstrong Johnson, his daughter, had by then moved away from Savannah, and they agreed to donate their former home to the city.

“In recognition of this splendid contribution to the cause of higher education in Savannah, the institution will be known as the ‘Armstrong Memorial Junior College of Savannah,’” a Savannah Morning News article noted.

Classes started in September of 1935, with 168 students. The Atlanta Constitution, in its coverage of the opening, noted that the house ranked as “the finest and most costly junior college building in the United States.”

Armstrong became a part of the state university system in

the armstrong house interior

This page: Interior and exterior features of the Armstrong House, located at 447 Bull Street.

Peruvian student Fred Palle studies on the steps of the Armstrong Building in this Feb. 1, 1961 photo.

1959, and outgrew its downtown location in 1966. The mansion was purchased by Historic Savannah Foundation, and then sold to antiques dealer Jim Williams in 1967.

Williams, in a Dec. 3, 1970, article in the Savannah Evening Press, announced that he was selling the Armstrong House to the law firm of Bouhan, Williams and Levy. The firm, said Williams, will “preserve the integrity” of the building. Now known as Bouhan Falligant LLP, the firm has certainly been a conscientious steward of the property over the intervening 46 years. It required surprisingly little work to turn it into law offices, managing partner Leamon Holliday III said in an article on the firm’s website. “We tried to keep the character and integrity of the structure.”

The offices were named as among “America’s Swankiest” in a 2013 New Republic article and were also named as one of “The Most Beautiful Legal Offices in the World” by blog.legaler.com.

No w that responsibility is being passed to hotelier R ic hard C. Kessler, who bought Armstrong H o use earlier this month. I n this , as in earlier transactions concerning the house, no price was released. But, in the 1935 Morning N ews s tory concerning the transfer of the property from the Armstrong family to the city, it said it was “erected in 1918 at a cost of $680,000.” A dj usting for inflation, that would cost $10,818,574.83 in 2016.

Sources: Savannah Morning News files; Georgia Historical Society papers and publications; “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” by John Berendt; “De Renne: Three Generations of a Georgia Family,” by William Harris Bragg; “The Savannah College of Art and Design: Restoration of an Architectural Heritage,” by Connie Capozzola Pinkerton and Maureen Burke; “Ossabaw Island,” by Ann Foskey; “Lost Savannah: Photographs From the Collections of the Georgia Historical Society,” by Luciana M. Spracher; “ A Research Paper on George Ferguson Armstrong,” by Diana Guyette, part of the Savannah Biographies held at the Special Collections of Lane Library of Armstrong State University; www.savannahga.gov; www. beyondthegildedage.com; www.sip.armstrong.edu; www.usinflationcalculator.com; bouhan.com; newrepublic.com; and blog.legaler.com.

Wallin Hall: Originally built in 1912, it was then the 37th Street Elementary School. Its Prairie Style features include pale buff brick, a low sloping roof and stone framing elements that lend a geometric character to the windows. It was acquired by the Savannah College of Art and Design in 1988.

Torrey-West Hous e on Oss abaw Is land: This Spanish Colonial Revival mansion was built on the northern end of the island for Dr. Henry Norton Torrey, who purchased Ossabaw in 1924 as a winter retreat for his family. The house’s centerpiece was a two-story living room with an exposed wood-beam ceiling and paneled and plastered walls.

DeRenne Apartments: Built circa-1920 in the Grecian Revival style for Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne, it was an economic venture that contained 44 apartments, each of which had French doors that opened onto recessed balconies. I ts ei ght stories still stand over the intersection of Liberty and Drayton streets.

Gate at Wormsloe Historic Site: Another project for the De Renne family, it was put up in the winter of 1912-1913. The gateway is 62 feet across, with the central arch standing 20 feet high and spanning another 15 feet.

Old Mu nicipal Au ditoriu m: Built on Orleans Square in 1916, it cost some $200,000 to build. Its Neoclassical architectural style included fluted columns and other decorative touches. It was torn down in 1971 to make way for the current Civic Center.

Other projects on which Wallin was either the chief or a consulting architect included the old Savannah High School (now Savannah Arts Academy), the downtown YMCA, the Cortez Cigar Factory at Abercorn and Bryan streets, the Cohen Drinking Fountain, and the Hitch and Armstrong monuments at Bonaventure Cemetery.