Prominent street in Savannah, Georgia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bay Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States.[1] It runs for about 3.65 miles (5.87 km) from Main Street in the west to General McIntosh Boulevard in the east. The section passing through Savannah's downtown, between the Bay Street Viaduct in the west and General McIntosh Boulevard in the east, is around 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long.
 Buildings on the southern side of West Bay Street | |
| Former name(s) | North Broad Street |
|---|---|
| Length | 3.65 mi (5.87 km) |
| Location | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| West end | Main Street |
| East end | General McIntosh Boulevard |
Formerly known as "Bay Street" singular (and originally North Broad Street),[2] it is now denoted as "West Bay Street" and "East Bay Street", the split occurring at Savannah City Hall at the head of Bull Street.
West Bay Street begins in the industrial western side of the city, where it is part of Georgia State Route 25 (before turning south onto Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), then continues along the northern end of Savannah's downtown, where it is lined with historic buildings on its southern side and businesses and a park on its northern side, which is at the edge of the bluff.
East of City Hall, the northern side of the street is known as The Strand, punctuated by Emmet Park a few yards west of where East River Street merges with East Bay Street.
The street runs parallel to the Savannah River, and around 40 feet (12 m) above River Street, a few yards to the north, for most of its downtown section.
Bay Street has intersections with the below streets in its downtown section (from west to east):
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In March 2001, the crowds attending the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Savannah spilled over onto Bay Street after police closed River Street's festival entrances. This led to the closure of Bay Street to traffic around 11:15 pm out of concern for public safety. The following year, the city made the section of Bay Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Price Street pedestrian-only for the event.[3]
Below is a selection of notable buildings and structures on Bay Street, all in Savannah's Historic District. From west to east:[4]
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Penfield Mariners' Church (also known as Bethel Mariners' Church, Seamen's Church and "the Bethel on the Bay" stood on the southern side Bay Street between around 1829[5] and around 1890. Named for Josiah Penfield, it is believed to have stood in the Reynolds Ward section of Bay Street. In January 1842, the church, "a splendid building", was described as being "cold and silent, with its closed-up doors unhallowed and untenanted".[6] The following year, the Savannah Port Society began using the building. It was described as being "old and unsightly" in 1888 by the authors of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Savannah.
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