Ardsley Park, Savannah Full of Charm

Ardsley Park which was developed in 1910 with most homes built in the 30’ and 40’s, was designed as two adjacent planned subdivisions, Ardsley Park and the Chatham Crescent neighborhood.  Ardsley Park is located south of present-day Victory Drive (originally Estill Avenue) and north of 57th Street. Bull Street is Ardsley Park's western boundary and Waters Avenue is its eastern boundary. In the North West corner of the Ardsley district is the Thomas Square historic district. At the eastern boundary is beautiful Daffin Park, which hosts a variety of neighborhood recreational activities. Grayson Stadium is also located at Daffin Park, where the local Sand Gnats baseball team plays. At north end of Chatham Crescent, is Baldwin Park with its early 20th century bungalows.

Ardsley Park was designed with tree-planting strips, or tree lawns, between the streets and sidewalks and laid out in grids with squares, while Chatham Crescent featured circles and large trees planted directly on the front lawns. The landscape architect who designed Chatham Crescent was trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, so the style of the area is referred to as Beaux-Arts style, which was very popular at the time. More than 5,000 trees were planted in Chatham Crescent.  At the center of Chatham Crescent is a palmetto-lined mall stretching between Maupas Avenue (Baldwin Park area) to 47th Street, crossing Victory Dr. Originally the mall, a centerpiece of Chatham Crescent, was to be the home of a magnificent tourist facility called the Hotel Georgia. Unfortunately the hotel was never fully completed and it eventually became what is now the Savannah Arts Academy.

The architectural styles in the district include the late 19th and early 20th century revival period which are sometimes described as the Eclectic Movement in American architecture. The building designs of this era were intended to be more exact versions of earlier architectural styles and traditions. Design elements of homes built during this period include front façade symmetry, front entrance fanlights and sidelights, pediment doorways, porches and dormers. Colonial Revival style became popular for homes, usually featuring a two story building, a side-gabled or hipped roof, a classically inspired door surrounded by windows, shutters and dormers. On Victory Drive particularly one can see these types of homes on a grand scale with large lot sizes. These homes reflect the growing wealth in Savannah during the post-war era.

The neighborhood is considered one of the most affluent within city limits by local residents. Ardsley Park contains a mix of professionals with well-established neighborhood associations that host several community functions every year. The Ardsley Park neighborhood association even has their own website, displaying history, events and a recipe exchange. In 1985, Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent were named to the National Register of Historic Places under the collective name of Ardsley Park.