City: Savannah, GA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (912) 233-4501

Address: 142 Bull St. (corner of Bull Street and

Description: The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace gives visitors an authentic glimpse of what life was like in the 1800s for one of Savannah’s most prominent families—one that just happened to include Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. But the Low Center isn’t just about the Girl Scouts. This beautifully restored home, Savannah’s first National Historic Landmark, is full of the Gordons’ original belongings—from Georgian Revival chairs in the dining room to a painting of Niagara Falls by moonlight, a souvenir the Gordons bought some years after their honeymoon. When entering the main hallway, you will immediately notice the beautiful winding staircase with a rose-colored bull’s-eye glass window in the background; it was installed in 1886 to give more light in the stairway. In the library is a brass chandelier original to the home. The south parlor, decorated in striking yellow, red, and green, has a pier mirror, installed in 1884. Construction on the home began in 1818 in the newly fashionable English Regency style. William Washington Gordon and his wife, Sarah, were the first of four generations of the Gordon family to live in the home. William Gordon served as mayor of Savannah and is credited as a founder of the Central of Georgia Railroad. The house was eventually inherited by William Washington Gordon II and his wife, Eleanor Kinzie Gordon, the parents of Juliette Gordon. Juliette spent her childhood here. After passing through another generation of Gordons, the house was threatened with demolition in 1953. A concerned group of local Girl Scouts, including youngsters and adults, appealed to the national organization to save the birthplace of their founder, and the building was purchased by the Girl Scouts. It was restored and opened to the public three years later. Today, thousands of Girl Scouts from around the world make the pilgrimage to Savannah to visit the home of the group’s cherished founder. The house is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon through Sat (closed Wed from Nov to Feb) and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sun. Cost is $8 for adults and $7 for students ages 6 to 18. Recent renovations, which include a small elevator, have made the mansion relatively accessible to the handicapped, unusual among historic attractions. Continuing south on Bull Street, you will pass the offices for the local school district on the left, housed in a rambling brick building that once housed a school and still sports nice frescoes above its entrances, and Independent Presbyterian Church on the right.