BACKSTORY: Running parallel to Bull and Abercorn Streets in Savannah, Georgia, Drayton Street is where you'll find Motorini (Vespa Rentals), The Mansion on Forsyth Hotel, and the old Candler Hospital, and the original Girl Scout Headquarters. The First Girl Scout Headquarters building, formerly the carriage house for Juliette Low's adult home, was willed to the Girl Scouts of Savannah, GA, Inc. upon Juliette's death in 1927. The building was in continuous use for Girl Scout Troop activities, adult training, and administrative offices from 1912 until 1985, when the staff moved the Council office to 428 Bull Street. The Junior League of Savannah leased the building while the Council determined how it could be utilized best. On January 15, 1996 the First Headquarters building reopened to the public as a Girl Scout museum, program center and gift shop.
BACKSTORY From The Examiner: There is perhaps no building in the City of Savannah that has witnessed as much misery and death, as the old Candler Hospital. Founded in 1808 as a seaman’s hospital and poor house, Candler is the oldest hospital in the state of Georgia. Formerly known as Savannah Hospital, it was moved to the current location on Drayton Street, just across from Forsyth Park. The original structure, which has been empty for nearly two decades, was once used as a Union hospital, as well as a hospital where hundreds of patients died of Yellow Fever. It has also been used as an insane asylum.
In the summer of 1876, at the height of Savannah’s greatest Yellow Fever epidemic, 276 people died in a period of 48 hours. So great were the number of corpses that doctors feared the further spread of disease. They also feared the panic that would ensue should citizens of the fair city witness the caravan of bodies being transported from the hospital. And so they dug a tunnel. Approximately 12 feet beneath the surface lie a tunnel that stretches across the current parking lot, across Drayton Street, and conveniently deposits itself into the then wooded grounds of Forsyth Park. Through this tunnel hundreds of bodies of Yellow Fever victims were transported just beneath the charm of Victorian Savannah. Though the people of Savannah were well aware of the epidemic, as it had claimed nearly 10% of Savannah’s population each year, the “ugliness” of it was kept concealed. The Candler tunnel also served as an excellent morgue, the coolness of which allowed bodies to be stored while they awaited burial. Though the tunnel is now blocked, prohibiting curious explorers further investigation, it has been reported that there is a stone table and wash basin in one section of the tunnel. This would lend to the claim that Candler’s tunnel was once used for medical experiments.
The original Candler Hospital was renovated into the Savannah Law School, and then taken over by SCAD.
BACKSTORY The hotel opened in 2008, but the original Romanesque mansion dates back to 1888 when it was a private residence for the Lewis Kayton family; in 1953, it was converted into the Fox & Weeks Funeral Parlour. If you're a fan of the book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," you'll be interested to know that Danny Hansford's service was held here. Today, the former residence/funeral parlour serves as the hotel's restaurant. How about it...you can dine in the rooms that once held caskets for viewing. The restroom on the 2nd floor was the former embalming room. In true Savannah-style, guests have reported ghostly activity here.
