104 West Gaston Street

This Italianate style home was designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead and built  for Colonel Thomas Holcombe in 1856.  It is listed by The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The house has a superb center hall design, with 11 fireplaces, 12-foot ceilings, heart-pine floors and intricate moldings throughout.  Unlike many homes of the time, the staircase faces the back of the house, not the front entrance hall.  The entrance hall is flanked by elegant double parlors, both with fireplaces, ornate moldings and floor-length windows.  The Parlor on the west has pocket doors with Austrian etched glass which open into a formal Dining Room.  The parlor on the east has pocket door opening into a family room.

Local lore includes two interesting stories about this house.  Colonel Holcombe is said to have gone bankrupt building it for his second wife, who refused to live in the more modest Jones Street home he had occupied with his first wife.  The other story explains why the lot is so large.  Around the turn of the century the owner of the adjacent house was reportedly a gambler experiencing financial difficulties.  To avoid losing his house, he sold  approximately 15 feet of his side garden to the owners of 104 West Gaston.  This story seems to be validated by the wrought iron fencing in front.  About 15 feet from the fence dividing the two properties, the style of the front fence changes to match that of the adjacent house! 

The current owners moved to Savannah in 2000 after 7 years in London.  The house had been restored, but they made a number of improvements to make it ‘theirs’.  Most significant was the addition of a pool in the rear courtyard and extensive refurbishment of the garages, landscaping, and brick walkways in the front and side of the house.

The owners travel extensively, and collected many exceptional antiques, engravings, tapestries and other unique works of art -- from around the world -- which are now found throughout their home.  Our Victorian Tea guests will have the opportunity to enjoy these furnishings and many other special features of this beautiful home. 

In the entrance hall, there is an antique mahogany corner cabinet, circa 1820-1830, built in the United States.  It was sold to a family in Amsterdam, Holland for their private residence.  By the middle of the 20th century it was storing non-prescription drugs in a drug store in Holland.  In 2001 the cabinet was purchased from the estate of the owner of the drug store and shipped back to the United States.  The carpet, hand-knotted silk, is from Kashmir.  The hallway is lined with engravings featuring scenes and maps of Savannah. 

Pocket doors leading to the dining room have Austrian etched glass panels.  Four of the panels were missing when the current owners purchased the house.  They found rubbings in the home which were made in 1960 to guide the engraving of replacement panels, along with an estimate of $500 from the engraver.  But the work was never done.  By the time the current owners commissioned the project in 2000, the cost was much higher.

The shutters and fireplaces are all original.  The chandeliers, from the period, may be original.  An original dumb waiter, now used for storage, is in the dining room.  When the house was originally built the kitchen was directly below the dining room.  Food was prepared downstairs and delivered to the dining room via the dumbwaiter, saving the servants many steps up and down stairs.