I had forgotten how elegant The Olde Pink House could be until we staged a weekend Family Reunion last month to Destination Savannah and the exquisite cuisine was clearly everybody’s favorite. While I have blogged about the Pink House as far back as five years ago, this article I just came across put the Olde Pink House thing on my radar again. The below was written by Historic Savannah Tybee Georgia on Facebook and is also shared in it’s entirety in our Savannah Vacation News channel:
A Colonial Ghost at The Olde Pink House
One of the few 18th century homes to survive the Great Fire of 1796, The Olde Pink House is perhaps Savannah’s most elegant restaurant. It is also her most haunted. The mansion was built in 1771 for James Habersham Jr., a successful rice planter and shipping baron. Unlike his father James Habersham Sr. who remained loyal to the British Crown, Junior used his wealth to help finance the War for Independence. In fact secret meetings of the Sons of Liberty were held in his home here on Reynolds Square to plot the arrest of the Royal Governor.
Habersham lent his elegant home to the colonial freedom fighters much the way he still lends it to visitors today…presiding proudly as its gracious host. Witnesses have reported seeing an elegant looking man dressed in colonial attire in the downstairs tavern. His appearance being so clear that they merely thought him to be a staff member dressed in costume. Upon leaving the restaurant they notice the painting hanging in the foyer to be the same gentleman they just saw strolling about the tavern. Perplexed, they inquire about the gentleman’s identity only to be advised that the man in the painting, James Habersham Jr., has been dead for two hundred years.
Why is the house pink you might ask? It’s because the original bricks beneath the plaster facade, intended to make the house look more elegant, have bled through over time. And though we’re not sure the gracious Mr. Habersham would approve of the whimsical color, we Savannahians believe she is quite pretty in pink.
Comments