The Philbrick–Eastman House is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia , United States. Built in 1847, in the Greek Revival style , it is located at 17 West McDonough Street in the southwestern trust/civic lot of Chippewa Square . Designed by Charles B. Cluskey , it was once known as "the finest home in the city." Originally two floors, a third was added in 1911.
8-401: The building was extensively renovated into commercial office space in the 1950s, while a 2015 rehabilitation project kept many of the alterations in order to maintain the accuracy of the architectural evolution of the structure, which was originally meant to be the residence of Moses Eastman (1794–1850), a local silversmith , but it was initially the home of Samuel Philbrick (1793–1855), and by
16-572: Is the headquarters of The Parker Companies. The building's iron railings feature medallions of prominent men. It is included in the Savannah Historic District Moses Eastman Moses Eastman (June 17, 1794 – May 24, 1850) was an American silversmith based in Savannah, Georgia . He was also the founder of, and sole benefactor in, the construction of Savannah's Unitarian Universalist Church . Eastman
24-598: The southwest residential block of Chippewa Square . Its construction was started the previous year by Samuel Philbrick. The couple later started building today's Philbrick–Eastman House , at 17 West McDonough Street, in the southwestern civic/trust lot of the square; however, by the time of its 1847 completion, it was purchased by John Stoddard (1809–1879), later president of the Georgia Historical Society . Eastman died on May 24, 1850, aged 55, in Savannah. He
32-565: The time of its completion, in 1847, that of John Stoddard (1809–1879), later president of the Georgia Historical Society . An elevator from 1912 and a steel vault from 1953 were preserved, and glass partitions were added to mirror the open floor plan of the mid-20th century stenographer 's pool. In 2016, the building's redevelopers won an "Excellence in Rehabilitation" award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation . As of 2021, it
40-650: Was a city constable, and in 1844 was appointed keeper of the Savannah city clock. After Eastman's death in 1850, George M. Griffen continued the business. Griffen had worked for Eastman as a watchmaker . Some of Eastman's work was displayed in Savannah's Telfair Museums in 2010 during its "Silver in Savannah" exhibit. Silver has played a major part in Savannah's history since its founder Captain James Oglethorpe arrived in 1733. Eastman married New Jersey native Elizabeth Tuthill (1799–1883) in 1834 in Savannah. Nine years later, they purchased 233 Bull Street , in
48-468: Was born in Concord, New Hampshire , in 1794. He moved to Savannah around 1820 and joined the partnership of J. Penfield & Co., which comprised Connecticut native Josiah Penfield (1785–1828) and Frederick Marquand (1799–1882). He became a partner with Penfield in 1826. That partnership dissolved when Penfield died in 1828. Eastman then started out on his own, working under his own name. In 1830, Eastman
56-401: Was buried beside him. In his will , Eastman left $ 2,525 to build a parsonage (which formerly stood at 123 Abercorn Street on Oglethorpe Square ) and a more substantial brick and mortar Unitarian Universalist Church . It was completed a year after his death. The church was physically moved to Troup Square in 1860. One of his last acts of his life was to contract for the erection of
64-607: Was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in East Concord, New Hampshire . Mr. Moses Eastman, who died yesterday morning, had conducted a large and successful business here for many years. Upright in his dealings, warm in his friendships and ardent in his affections, he has left a cherished wife and many admiring friends to deplore his untimely death. — Eastman's obituary After Eastman's death, his widow moved to Madison in her native New Jersey. She survived her husband by 33 years and
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