The Broughton Street Collection

In 2013, Ben Carter Enterprises began acquiring buildings along Broughton Street, located in Savannah’s Landmark Historic District. In order to bring the structures back to their glory, the facades needed to be restored, along with other repairs and renovations.

Highlights of the façade restoration included removing unattractive concrete an stucco that covered the upper levels of these buildings. The brick and stone detailing, as well as window openings had been covered for close to 50 years, leaving the facades bare and lifeless. Examples of these façade restorations are 110, 115 West Broughton Street and 32 and 118 East Broughton Street. These buildings now have a completely restored façade that includes new windows, original brick and stone detailing, paint, and life!

32 East Broughton Street was built in 1890 and is brick masonry. The first level was comprised of two retail spaces: one fronting Broughton Street and one that faced Drayton Street. A historic photo shows the building being occupied by a children’s clothing store on the ground, front level with a Modern Dentist in the upper front space. The retail space facing Drayton Street was home to McDermott’s on the ground floor and The Hof-Brau on the upper level. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the historic façade and windows were covered with concrete, formed to resemble stucco panels, leaving the historic façade and natural daylighting hidden. The original Architectural Cast Stone was severely damaged from the installation of the concrete panels; therefore, the restoration included meticulous recreation of the detailing based on historic photos.

110 West Broughton Street was built in 1860. The structure is masonry brick and rough sawn timber floor joists and beams. The building was once occupied by Century Furniture Company. At some point in the building’s history the brick exterior and upper floor windows were covered with stucco paneling. At the time of renovation in 2014, the retail tenant was using the first floor only, leaving the 2nd and 3rd floors abandoned. Currently, the retail level is occupied and the upper floors were renovated into residential units.

115 West Broughton Street also received new windows on its Broughton Street elevation, an updated paint scheme, restoration to its architectural details and renovated residential spaces on its upper levels.

118 East Broughton Street was built in 1900. The structure is brick masonry and was divided into 3 retail spaces. In 1944, it was home to Arthur Sternshine Mens Store and Kraskins Military Supplies. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the historic façade and windows were covered with concrete, formed to resemble stucco panels, leaving the historic brick and natural daylighting hidden. At the time of renovation in 2014, the tenant was a restaurant and was only using the first floor, leaving the second floor abandoned.

300 West Broughton Street also received a façade restoration. The work that was completed on this building was replacing windows on the Broughton Street elevation with historically accurate windows, as well as uncovering the window openings on the East elevation. During the restoration, a “Maxwell Brothers” sign was uncovered on the East elevation and was stabilized and left uncovered in order to preserve and highlight that piece of the building’s history.

These five façade restorations have made a large impact on the historic fabric along Broughton Street. They span a total of six blocks on Broughton Street, giving life back to the buildings that were once a bustling shopping and business corridor for Savannah.

The Broughton Street Collection won preservation awards from both the Historic Savannah Foundation and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.