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Wright Square: Lutheran Church of the Ascension

Rising on the east side of Wright Square, the Lutheran Church if the Ascension is one of Savannah's most celebrated landmarks. Organized in 1741 by the Salzburger, John Martin Bolzius, pastor of the Ebenezer colony, the congregation worshipped for several years in a dwelling used as a hospice for visiting Salzburgers. In 1771 the present lot was deeded to the church and the first frame church dwelling was erected in 1772. After the church burned in 1797, a second frame building was constructed and used until 1843, when a more substantial brick building was erected. The present church, built between 1875-1879, was designed by George B. Clarke, who combined features of the Norman and Gothic styles. Climaxed by the exquisite Ascension window, the main entrance is one of Savannah's most dramatic church interiors. Other details of note inside include Thorvalden's statue of Christ in the lower narthex, sixteen episodes of the history of the Church in miniature, a rose window depicting Luther's coat of arms, stained glass windows presenting the life of Christ, and a marble altar depicting Da Vinci's "Last Supper."

--Sojourn in Savannah

Wright Square
1. United States Post Office
(1898) 127 Bull Street. Massive Georgia marble and granite building with intricate friezes under eaves.
2. Juliette Gordon Low Girl Scout National Center
(Wayne-Gordon House Museum, c.1818). An imposing Regency mansion in shades of brown; birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low.
3. Old Chatham County Courthouse
(1889) 124 Bull Street. Romanesque yellow brick and terra cotta on granite base.
4. Lutheran Church of the Ascension
(1879) Bull Street on Wright Square. Soaring French Gothic spires; founded by the Lutherans from Salzburg, Austria.

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