By Eric Curl
May, 29 2023 – The Historic Savannah Foundation is marketing the historic Kiah House for sale to a “preservation-minded” buyer with the intention of rehabilitating the dilapidated structure and recognizing the significance of Savannah’s first African-American founded museum.
The buyer is expected to rehabilitate the historic home and carriage house, while retaining all elements indicative of the time the structure was used as the Kiah House Museum, between 1959-1998, according to the request for proposals. The RFP states further that applicants that propose public access and interpretation of the significance of Virginia Kiah will be prioritized.
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Built in 1915, the house at 505 W. 36th St. in historic Cuyler Brownville was transformed into a community museum in the late 1950s by the late artist and educator Virginia Jackson Kiah and her husband, Calvin Kiah, a former Dean of Education at Savannah State College.
HSF purchased the property in 2022 after the structure had deteriorated as a result of a more than two-decade-old Chatham County Probate Case concerning the estate of Virginia Kiah, who died in 2001.
Kiah said she established the museum to “reach the masses”, a dream she had since she was a little girl growing up in Maryland.
“Because in Baltimore, black people were not encouraged to enter a museum at all,” she said.
The property now needs extensive repairs and work is expected to cost more than $500,000, according to the RFP. HSF’s suggested minimum bid for the property is $99,595.
Read past coverage of Virginia Jackson Kiah, her art and the museum
The planned sale comes after the Savannah City Council voted to designate the Kiah house a local historic structure, along with 89 other Cuyler-Brownville properties, in 2021. Later that year, the city council approved the African Diaspora Museology Institute’s request to install a historical marker outside the home to recognize the significance of the property.
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After acquiring the property, HSF began taking steps towards the property’s preservation and rehabilitation. This included the installation of temporary roof to secure it from adverse weather and hiring an engineer to evaluate the property and determine what is wrong with the structure. In addition, HSF has been working to get the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which will open the door for grant opportunities and tax credits to help restore the structure.
Local architecture firm, Ward Architecture + Preservation, recently compiled a history and physical description of the property, with supporting documents, as part of the NRHP application process.
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