Historic Savannah Theatre

At the northeast corner of Chippewa Square [1] sits the Historic Savannah Theatre (222 Bull St., 912/233-7764, www.savannahtheatre.com [2]), which claims to be the oldest continuously operating theater in America. Designed by William Jay, it opened in 1818 with a production of The Soldier’s Daughter.

In the glory days of gaslight theater in the 1800s, some of the nation’s best actors, including Edwin Booth, brother to Lincoln’s assassin, regularly trod the boards of its stage. Other notable visitors were Sarah Bernhardt, W. C. Fields, and Oscar Wilde.

Due to a fire in 1948, little remains of Jay’s original design except a small section of exterior wall. It’s currently home to a semi-professional revue company specializing in oldies shows.