{"nrhp_refnum":"76000611","name":"Owens-Thomas House","other_names":["Richardson-Owens-Thomas House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"124 Abercorn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Savannah","county":"Chatham County","state":"GA","lat":32.077422453000054,"lon":-81.08936764499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-05-11","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick and stucco house with a high basement at 124 Abercorn Street on Oglethorpe Square in Savannah, Georgia, built 1816-1819 for banker Richard Richardson and designed by English architect William Jay.","why_significant":"Architectural historians have called it one of the most beautiful English Regency homes in America. It was Jay's earliest American commission and introduced the English Regency vocabulary to Savannah, influencing local housebuilding for a generation. It also has unusual features such as indirect lighting, curved walls and a bridge in the upstairs hall, and it hosted Lafayette in 1825.","narrative":"Overlooking Oglethorpe Square in Savannah, this two-story stucco and brick house on a high basement was built between 1816 and 1819 for Richard Richardson, president of the Savannah branch of the Bank of the United States. It was designed by young English architect William Jay, whose first American commission it was, and built by John Retan. Its serpentine Ionic portico, cast-iron Corinthian veranda, early indirect lighting in the dining room, and a curved bridge across the upstairs stair hall are unusual features. Jay introduced the English Regency style to Savannah, and his work influenced local builders until the Civil War. After Richardson's wife died in 1822 the house was sold and briefly operated as a boardinghouse, where the Marquis de Lafayette stayed in 1825. George Welchman Owens bought it in 1830, and his family lived there for 121 years until it passed to the Telfair Academy in 1951. It now serves as a house museum.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1816-1819, 1825)","architect_builder":"William Jay (architect); John Retan (builder)","architectural_style":"English Regency","criteria":[],"status_note":"Maintained as a house museum by the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences; condition listed as excellent and occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.502065-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/76000611_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000611/abbe1ddde0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000611/abbe1ddde0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ebyabe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GA_Savannah_Owens-Thomas_House01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ebyabe</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GA_Savannah_Owens-Thomas_House01.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000277","name":"Savannah Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/savannah-historic-district-66000277/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206738","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens%E2%80%93Thomas_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7114731"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/chatham-county/owens-thomas-house-76000611/"}