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It might be difficult to believe, considering how magnificent the Davenport House Museum is today, but before it was saved from demolition in the 1950s, the downtown Savannah structure was a run-down tenement broken up into several apartments.
Soon the focus of the narrative of the house museum will include more of the story of the tenement years, instead of just the period between 1820 and 1827 when builder Isaiah Davenport and his family made it their home.
Highlighting the diversity of those who lived in Savannah in later years is part of the plan, said Danielle Hodes, who is executive director of the Davenport House Museum.
“We began this journey with the opening of our Urban Enslaved exhibition last year, which focused on the 13 enslaved workers who resided with the Davenport family,” Hodes explained. The next step is the Thursday, Jan.16 opening of “Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches,” which shares “a more complete and inclusive story of both the house and Savannah’s broader history,” Hodes added.
The exhibit, curated by Hodes, will feature historic photography and can be seen through May at Historic Savannah Foundation’s Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center, at 323 E. Broughton St. An opening reception will be held Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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In addition, the Davenport House Museum will host “In the Garden Behind the Moon: Author Talk with Alexandra A. Chan” on Friday, Jan. 17.
The evening begins with an exhibition preview from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by an author talk, a question-and-answer session and book signing from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Through the lens of grief, resilience and renewal, Chan will explore her path to healing by uncovering the stories and artifacts left by her father and ancestors. This event is $10 per person and is open to the public. Books will be available for purchase on-site.
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When the Davenport House was an apartment building
Although she grew up in upstate New York, Alexandra Chan spent many summers in Savannah visiting her father’s relatives, who shared memories of her grandfather―Robert Chung Chan―who escaped from China in the late 1800s. Chan ended up raising his family in Savannah after living in San Francisco, and apparently chose Savannah because his father had taught two men who moved here to become laundry men, she said.
Chan and his wife, Annie, operated a laundry at 323 E. Broughton and lived in an apartment at what is now known as the Davenport House.
A family story handed down through generations said that Chan arrived in town the night of the great Savannah fire and ended up helping put it out, she said. It is said that Savannah reminded him of his home country with the “heat, greenery and not-too-tall houses,” she added.
Alexandra Chan’s late father, also named Robert, grew up in Savannah with five siblings―including her aunt, the late Gerald Chan Sieg, who was “the keeper of stories in our family,” Chan said in a telephone interview. Her Chan relatives “all had a personal brand of magic about them,” she said.
Alexandra Chan was extremely close to her father, who died at age 102, in 2016. Before he passed away, Alexandra opened his military footlocker and found a treasure trove of items, including more than 500 photographic negatives. Most of the images were of her relatives and were “full of life and the effervescence that I knew so well,” she explained.
Also included in the collection of photos was a young Chinese man that Chan didn’t recognize. Turns out that the man was T.S. Chu of Tybee Island, who became friends with her grandfather, she said.
Finding the family photos and writing the book, “In the Garden Behind the Moon,” was cathartic for her in the healing process of losing her father, she said.
“It’s serendipitous” how the rare Chan family photos came to be included in the Davenport House exhibit, the author said.
Hodes had only been at the Davenport House for a few months when several things “happened almost simultaneously,” Hodes recalled.
“I came across a report from a former intern, Kristine Chase, from the early 2000s, which provided a thorough deep dive into the tenement history of the house and mentioned several families who lived there during that period, including the Chans,” she explained. “Around the same time, my shop manager, Angela Kimball, showed me a beautiful photograph from the book, “The Squares: An Introduction to Savannah,” featuring two children dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, along with a brief story about their father, Robert Chan, who had once lived in the Davenport House.”
The information piqued Hode’s curiosity and she soon discovered Alexandra Chan’s blog and an excerpt from her book.
“I reached out to her and she graciously responded, which was a key moment in moving the project forward. It was almost unbelievable how all of these pieces fell into place―truly a moment of kismet.”
As part of Thursday’s event, the City of Savannah Municipal Archives will be on site with its History On The Go station, collecting on-the-spot oral histories with community members to capture and preserve personal stories. The opening reception is free and open to the public, although RSVPs are encouraged.
Hodes said Luciana Spracher and her team from the City’s Archives helped Davenport House staff uncover information about the Chans.
“I’m grateful for their eagerness to collaborate with us in collecting oral histories,” Hodes added. “This partnership is especially meaningful as it expands beyond the Chan family to include the broader Chinese immigrant and Chinese American community in Savannah.”
If You Go>>
What: Photographic Exhibit, “Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches”
When: Opening reception, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, with the exhibit continuing through May.
Where: Historic Savannah Foundation’s Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center, 323 E. Broughton St. (Site of the former Kennedy Pharmacy)
and
What: Author Alexandra Chan’s talk and book signing, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 17th at 323 E. Broughton St. Admission
Tickets: $10 per person