Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

Our firm assisted with a full-scale exterior renovation of the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace on Oglethorpe Avenue in historic downtown Savannah, Georgia. We provided structural engineering services to the general contractor to facilitate the replacement of the historic brownstone at the front portico, without removing the large columns. In order to achieve strict tolerances set by the architect and engineer of record, our firm designed custom steel-lifting frames and collars for the existing columns. The columns were temporarily jacked from the steel frames by the collar apparatus.

The entire operation of replacing of the historic brownstone took place over the span of approximately two weeks. Site monitoring was performed over the course of the lift and the columns experienced less than .001" of movement over that period. The front portico columns were reset on their original bases after the brownstone below was replaced. This process was successfully completed with no structural or cosmetic damage to the historic portico columns or the roof above, preserving the historic fabric of one of Savannah's, and the Girl Scouts of America's, most significant structures.