Ellis Square: Where Savannah Gathers, and Where Our Doors Open at 20 Martin Court

Savannah does not really get autumn so much as a long exhale. Somewhere in early November the humidity finally lets go, the mornings turn crisp enough for a jacket, and the whole city drifts back outside. Porches fill up again. Patios stay open late. Downtown, people stop rushing through the squares and start sitting in them.

It is the start of gathering season: Thanksgiving tables, holiday parties, year-end lunches with clients, and the first round of “let’s grab coffee in January” plans. So it feels like the right moment to introduce the square where everyone at Office Evolution Savannah Gateway will gather first: Ellis Square.

Savannah’s original marketplace

Ellis Square was laid out in 1733, one of the first four squares in James Oglethorpe’s plan for the new colony. It was first called Decker Square, after Sir Matthew Decker, one of Georgia’s Trustees, and was later renamed for Sir Henry Ellis, the second Royal Governor of Georgia.

For more than two centuries it was the city’s commercial heart. From the 1730s into the 1950s, four successive market houses stood on the square, and locals called it Market Square. Its history is not all easy to tell: before the Civil War, it was also a site where enslaved people were bought and sold. Savannah has worked to tell that part of the story honestly, too.

The garage that started a movement

In 1954, the city leased the square to a parking association, which tore down the old market house and put up a parking garage. Savannahians were furious, and that anger helped spark the city’s historic preservation movement, including the Historic Savannah Foundation. In other words, losing Ellis Square is a big part of why the rest of Savannah’s squares look the way they do today.

When the lease ran out, the city got its square back. The garage came down in 2006, parking moved underground, and a restored Ellis Square was dedicated on March 11, 2010. A bronze statue of Savannah native Johnny Mercer, unveiled in 2009, now watches over the people who meet there. It is once again the place where Savannah gathers, with City Market next door and plenty of room to linger.

Ellis Square at 20 Martin Court

When we planned Office Evolution Savannah Gateway, we did not want hallways labeled A, B, and C. Savannah already has the best wayfinding system in America: its squares. So each group of offices in our building carries the name of one.

Ellis Square is the first one you will walk into. It is our entry lounge, right inside the front door: the place to greet a client, wait for a meeting, grab a cup of coffee, and catch up with the people you see every day. Members will find free drip coffee from Black Rifle Coffee here. From Ellis, the building opens out to Greene Square’s coworking desks, the meeting rooms, and the hallways of private offices named for Columbia, Franklin, Pulaski, Oglethorpe, and the rest.

The downtown square was built for trade and became a place for community. That is exactly what we hope ours will be. You come in to do business, and if we have done our job, you stay a few extra minutes to talk with the people around you.

Learn more about Ellis Square

• Ellis Square, Wikipedia: the full history, from Decker Square to the 2010 rededication.
• Ellis Square, City of Savannah: the square as it is today.
• Ellis Square, Go South Savannah: a walking guide to the square and City Market.

Better yet, take advantage of the cooler weather and walk it yourself this month.

Come see our Ellis Square

Office Evolution Savannah Gateway opens in mid-January at 20 Martin Court. If you would like an early look at Ellis Square, or any of the other squares in the building, get in touch and we will save you a spot. Ask us about our Founding Membership Deal while it lasts.