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Courtesy Best Read Guide

Throughout the year, the cobblestone plaza hosts a variety of cultural and musical celebrations. Musicians often wander the courtyards entertaining passerby�s and arts and crafts vendors displaying their wares. However, City Market is a fun destination any day. In addition to shopping, the Market is a great spot for outdoor dining or embarking on a horse-drawn carriage tour of the city.

Since 1755, public market activities have centered around Ellis Square, one of the original squares the colony�s founder laid out. Vendors drove horse-drawn wagons filled with fresh produce, poultry, game, fish, and seafood from nearby plantations and the islands here to sell. The market area was also a social center; people gathered to visit as much as to shop.

In 1796, one of Savannah�s great fires began at City Market. A �Mr. Gromet� let a stove overheat and catch fire. The season had been terribly dry, so - with the aid of a strong wind - the flames quickly ignited the surrounding wooden buildings and eventually destroyed about two-thirds of the city. More than 300 homes from Bay Street to Oglethrope Avenue and Barnard to Abercorn Street vanished. Only about 170 houses were left standing. The Pink House, home of James Habersham, on Reynolds Square was among them. It later became a branch of the Bank of the United States.

In the mid 1800�s architects Schwaab and Muller designed an open, arched brick market building on Ellis Square. The huge building dominated the square, almost an acre of land. For years, the market continued to be the center of commerce, operating, more or less without competition. Street vendors did peddle their wares - buckets of crabs, shrimp, oysters and flowers - from house to house and street to street. However, city officials, worried about sanitation, discouraged this practice. In time Restaurateurs, feed and seed stores, bakers, confectioners and butchers joined the other vendors. Street-cars, which actually ran through the market at one time, brought more buyers. More buyers increased vendor activity.

In 1953 City Market closed. Later, the building was razed to make way for a public parking lot. Although the preservationists had not won the round, before the market was destroyed, they staged a huge farewell ball there and raised funds to launch a formal preservation group.

In the 1980s, the two blocks just west of the market were fully restored, reviving the area as a center of activity. The former 19th century grain warehouses and ancillary buildings now house shops, restaurants, clubs and a large art center. In 1990, Franklin Square was restored to further enhance the area. For many years, the city�s huge water tower was there, and many referred to the site as Water Tower Square. There is also an active movement to raze the parking structure and replace it with another noble brick structure reminiscent of the past.

Visit the City Market's web site at savannahcitymarket.com.