Exploring Architectural History: looking at The Clarence Thomas Center for Historic Preservation
Written by Lilli Donohue, Photographs courtesy of SCAD
As far as architectural history goes, the city of Savannah and SCAD’s entire campus takes the cake. SCAD may be more widely known for its student’s successes as film buffs, fashion designers, animators and more, but they also have an amazing program for historic preservationists. Not to mention, the university is known for flipping buildings around, taking old buildings and turning them into functional spaces for students and enhancing areas of downtown and the city. Where do all of these designers come from, though?
The Clarence Thomas Center for Historic Preservation houses the preservation design, urban design and other preservation department majors. Before SCAD took over the Clarence Thomas center, it housed a very different educational space. The Missionary Franciscan Sisters, who started teaching in the summer of 1879, were the first to inhabit the building. They taught an underserved community of African American children. This was the first private school offered to African American children in the city. The building was later named after a legendary and prolific figure of American history: Clarence Thomas. He was a student who later became an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991 and the second African-American to sit on the Supreme Court.
The convent and school were vacated in 1944, even after many attempts by local nonprofits to continue the good works of the Sisters. SCAD purchased the dilapidated building in 2003, renovating it for use as classrooms and studios for the fibers department. Since then, the fibers department has moved to Pepe Hall. In 2009 the Clarence Thomas Center became the dedicated space for historic preservation.
In the winter of 2010, Justice Thomas visited the university along with the Missionary Franciscan Sisters. Together, they held a rededication in the old chapel where the building was renamed in his honor. In attendance were many of the sisters who taught him as a child when he was an altar boy. Today, the chapel is a space for lectures and workshops.
Like so many buildings in Savannah, this one has a rich history. The windows continue to have young minds staring out at the mossy trees, learning and being inspired. There are still historic details of hardware preserved as part of the building’s collection that students are welcome to inspect and inspire their own preservation skills. Students who undergo the preservation courses will help save abandoned buildings and revamp many cities to come.
The nature of architecture is that it grows with the culture and people surrounding it. As the city of Savannah continues to grow and adapt to the 21st century, so do the buildings that line its streets. But even as we grow, it is important to remember and preserve the past. The Clarence Thomas Center for Historic Preservation successfully marries the old with the new, the preserved with the changing.
