Historic Savannah Foundation will host a ribbon-cutting and an exclusive media preview to commemorate the completion of the Urban Enslaved Exhibit. The public is invited to join HSF for the celebratory ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. in the Davenport House Museum garden. 

The ribbon cutting will be preceded by an exclusive preview for media of the space at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Davenport House Museum, located at 324 E. State St. in Savannah. 

The Davenport House Museum is reopening the basement level of the 1820s home with a new exhibition dedicated to sharing the stories of the thirteen enslaved workers who resided there alongside the Davenport family. A project eight years in the making, the Urban Enslaved Exhibit will depict the basement’s dual function as a workspace and living area for these individuals during that time. Interpretive panels will provide information about their lives based on available documentary evidence, as well as insights into the Gullah Geechee culture they likely practiced. These stories are essential to telling a more complete history of the house which cannot be achieved without recognizing the foundational role played by these individuals in contributing to the prosperity of both the Davenports and the city of Savannah.

The Historic Savannah Foundation is now able to tell the complete story of the Davenport House. The completion of the Urban Enslaved Exhibit marks the third and final phase of HSF’s Kennedy Pharmacy Campaign. The first phase involved the preservation and restoration of the Kennedy Pharmacy directly behind the Davenport House at 323 Broughton St., which now houses the Davenport House Museum Shop on the ground floor and the museum administration offices upstairs. The capital campaign also included the completion of the Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center. Both buildings officially opened in April 2022 

The exhibit designer Doug Mund will speak at the ribbon cutting. Mund has worked with HSF for eight years, bringing to life its exhibits, as well as the facility planner and designer of The Davenport House shop and the timeline housed in the Preservation Center. dmdg2 is a local design agency that specializes in museum planning, exhibit planning and exhibit design. A few notable projects include The Louvre in Paris, France, and The Smithsonian.

Josh Brooks with Brooks Construction Group, LLC, Brian Felder with Felder & Associates, Cody Tharpe with Tharpe Engineering Group and Gregori Anderson, Chair of HSF’s building committee, have all been instrumental in the completion of the project.

The Urban Enslaved Exhibit will open to the public at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 13.