Presentation on Hanover Square Restoration

Hanover Square
A presentation by Signature Squares to encourage restoration and historically appropriate improvements to Brunswick’s most historic square.

The Neighborhood
Amazingly, after over 100 years, about half of the original neighborhood still remains, mostly on the south and east sides and two houses on the west side. One new apartment building has been added on the south side with an appropriate design carefully guided by the City’s Historic Preservation Board.

The Square
Although much of the late 1880’s embellishments of Brunswick’s most historic and largest square are gone , the basic structure is still intact including the fountain, brick walks, several original live oaks, a few cabbage palms and a good number of more recently planted trees.

The History
Although Hanover Square has a long history of serving the needs of the community, it had a modest start as a true park. In the 1880’s a garden club requested long overdue park improvements that resulted in Brunswick’s most historic and most beautiful square. It became the place for outdoor social events and casual use by citizens. No expense was spared in providing a beautiful park-like setting including a handsome fountain, brick walks, benches, lighting and generous landscaping.

Master Plan for Restoration
In 2001, Jerry Spencer, landscape architect for the Sea Island Company, prepared a Master Plan for restoration of Brunswick’s most historic square including a brief history, an analysis of existing conditions, a plan and cost estimate for historically appropriate improvements. In addition, a Master Plan for all 14 historic squares approved and adopted by the City Commissioners in 2001.

The Fountain
The most important part of Hanover Square restoration is the historic fountain which was a beautiful center piece installed in the 1880’s. Plans and specifications were prepared for its restoration.

"Tall Crane" Fountain
The original center piece of the fountain was called "Tall Crane" because of three cranes on its base. It was a popular piece used in public fountains across the South in the late 1880’s. A foundry in Alabama still producing this piece was selected for installation.

Brick Sidewalks
There are about 9,200 square feet of original brick walks in Hanover Square laid out in the traditional pattern of Savannah and Brunswick, about 80% of which is in reasonably good condition. An arrangement by the City and the Dept. of Corrections was coordinated to utilize the skilled labor to pull up, grade and lay the old brick back in place on the walk ways. This alone saved over $70,000 in labor cost on the project.

Iron Fence
An important part of the 1880’s improvements, was the installation of beautiful ornamental iron fencing enclosing the perimeter of Hanover Square. Photos as late as the 1950’s show this fence still existing.

A concerted effort by citizens of Brunswick resulted in restoring and reinstalling 300 feet of original iron fence salvaged from fence removed from Palmetto Cemetery, completed in  2002.

Original Iron Fence in Palmetto Cemetery
A generous supply of this 100 year old iron fence waits in Palmetto Cemetery to be removed, restored and installed completely around Hanover Square. Signature Squares hopes to utilize skilled metal fabrication labor through the Dept. of Corrections to restore this fencing.

Light Fixtures
The original light fixtures installed in Hanover Square in the 1880’s are well documented in old photos and were an important part of Hanover Square. These same fixtures are still available and should be installed in the square according to the master plan.

Street Furniture
Street furniture such as benches and trash cans were provided for the convenience of park users. The Master Plan proposes installing new benches and trash cans similar to those recently used in Newcastle "Streetscape" improvements that are of the appropriate style of the era.

Signature Squares
In 2005, two citizens, Julie Hunter and LuAnn Whalen created Signature Squares to address the need for improvements to Brunswick’s historic squares beginning with Hanover Square. They proposed to raise private funds to be matched by the City for historically appropriate improvements. The City accepted their offer and fund raising efforts began.

Phase One
The first phase included restoration of the Hanover Square fountain and landscaping of the area inside the fence encompassing the fountain in accordance with the Master Plan. Anticipated cost of phase one was $40,000. Signature Squares was successful in the raising of $20.000 with the City matching those funds to complete this phase in June 2006. The project was completed on budget.