By Eric Curl
Sept. 27, 2020 – While not necessarily on par with, let’s say, the historic Owens-Thomas House, the globe – a former gas storage tank painted to resemble Earth – is a notable piece of “Savannahcana” that may be missed by some residents and visitors who have grown used to seeing the quirky landmark on Savannah’s Southside over the past six decades.
Barring any “keep-Savannah-strange” opposition, the 1950s-era globe is poised to be demolished to make way for a new Parker’s convenience store and gas station, as part of a development plan approved on Sept. 1, without mention of the spherical elephant in the room, by the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission.
The conceptual site plan for the property along DeRenne Avenue and White Bluff Road, shows the layout of the proposed structures, which will also include a fast-food restaurant and coffee shop. In addition to the globe, all of the buildings on the 3.43-acre site will also be razed, forcing businesses such as the 44-year-old California Tattoo Company to find a new home.
The globe was built by the Savannah Gas company in the late 1950s to hold natural gas and painted to resemble the Earth about two years after construction was complete, as described in this recent WSAV broadcast.
The sphere was initially painted to resemble a classic desktop globe before being repainted to look like a more realistic representation of the planet, as documented in this Savannahnow.com photo gallery.
Complete with a “moon” mailbox, the globe is an example of a high-pressure storage tank, a “Hortonsphere”, invented in the early 1900s by Horace Ebenezer Horton.
Oh yeah, if you haven’t already, complete your US Census form.
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