Exploring Architectural History: a closer look at SCAD MOA
Written by Lilli Donohue, Photos by Katie Burke
Wandering around campus, we are surrounded by more history than we might realize. Whether strolling through neighborhoods downtown or taking a scenic trolley tour, we spot buildings that hold vast architectural history. But, did you know that even the SCAD buildings hold similar secrets and fun facts? For instance, The SCAD Museum of Art (MOA) is always home to interesting artworks, but the building itself holds its own history.
In the 1800s, it served Savannah as a train depot to connect the rest of the east coast. For a period of time, the railroad was the biggest employer in all of Georgia. The museum itself was the Central of Georgia Railway Up Freight Warehouse; the railway fully operational by 1840 even though the warehouse was not completed until 1853. With Savannah’s famously large port, there were a lot of goods railed in to be put onto ships. One of the popular products was cotton, which at the time was popularly harvested by enslaved people. The antebellum south has a very dark history that is intertwined with the railway. Enslaved people, William and Ellen Craft, are remembered and honored by a bronze medallion embedded in the floor of the atrium. The medallion is meant to recognize their “perilous and daring journey to freedom” according to “The Architecture of a University.”
The ruins themselves are made of Savannah grey brick which has a lot of historical significance to the founding of Savannah, the Civil War, and slavery in the south. The warehouse walls and adjacent buildings were constructed by enslaved people while the area was occupied by Union troops. In 1963, the Southern Railway bought the Central of Georgia which led to the eventual decline and collapse of the buildings. Most of the original building had collapsed by the early 1990s, and was not addressed until the university commissioned the museum to be built in 2010.
Architects and preservation specialists have converted the ruins of the warehouse into what we know today as the SCAD MOA. It is part of the only surviving antebellum railroad complex in the country, which is also part of the adjacent train depot buildings. There is a lot of rich history that expands past the current SCAD MOA – more history about the railroad can be found next door at the Georgia State Railroad Museum.
Before SCAD began buying buildings in the western area of downtown, the area was a cultural hub for the African American community. It still is today, but overtime has migrated into other areas of downtown. This is an interesting contrast that the museum represents as it is located at the heart of downtown Savannah. With its old grey brick and pine timbers, it gives hints of the African American community’s history while standing juxtaposed to the contemporary artworks exhibited along the walls within the building. A beautiful meld of history and what is current.
Though not always addressed, the history of the building has the potential to be very prevalent in the studies of SCAD students. We often hear about Poetter Hall, the birthplace of SCAD and it’s many lives. Considering that and the fact that we live in a city with a deeply rooted architectural history at practically every turn, we should be just as engaged with the historical relevance of buildings such as the MOA. There is so much history to explore within the city of Savannah, so much to see and learn.
Join us as we explore architectural history together.
