A Storeroom By Any Other Name

A Storeroom By Any Other Name. Cluskey's Embankments, Stores, Vaults, or Tombs. , In 1840, the City hired architect Charles B. Cluskey to build part of a much-needed retaining wall along the north side of Bay Street, east of the City Exchange Building (where City Hall now stands). Cluskey used brick for his embankment wall. The contract called for the wall to be built along the slope adjacent to "the Strand," or park lying along the north side of Bay Street. The space between the wall and the slope was to be filled with sand. Instead, Cluskey saw an opportunity to design arched, vaulted storage rooms in that embankment. City aldermen agreed to this change and directed him to "...build four stores east of the Exchange under the proposed extended walk, with proper wall and arched across, so as to leave at least 3 feet in depth of earth over the arches." Instead of pay, Cluskey was to "...control and receive the rents of the premises" for 20 years. The contract called for four vaults. How many do you see?, The Bluff , It all began with the bluff, In 1733, General James Oglethorpe established Savannah on a 40 foot high bluff along the Savannah River [Right]. Colonists hauled goods from ships with hoists while passengers climbed steep stairs leading to the top of the bluff., A Retaining Wall , Wagon and foot traffic created decades of bluff erosion, making it increasingly difficult to get to the river. A retaining wall along Bay Street was needed to stabilize the bluff and keep sand from washing into the road that skirts the south side of the commercial buildings lining the river. Cluskey's 1840 brick embankment was part of a series of retaining walls built along Bay Street., Factors Walk , Cluskey's embankment bordered the south side of the road known by the mid-1800s as Factors Walk. Cotton factors or brokers, shipping merchants, and later dealers of lumber and naval stores worked in the row of buildings conveniently fronting the river on one side and Factors Walk on the other [Left]. Brokers accessed Bay Street and "the Strand" greenspace by the iron bridges over Factors Walk., Today , The Cluskey Stores are some of the oldest buildings owned by the City of Savannah. In 1962, the vaults were documented for the Historic American Building Survey by the National Park Service. The structure is identified as a contributing element to Savannah's National Historic Landmark District., Kids, Look Up! Why Arches? , An arch holds itself up using its own weight! , Each three-foot section of arch above your head supports 2,700 pounds of soil! , Arched bridges in Europe that Romans built 2,000 years ago still work!