The James Habersham House or more commonly know as The Olde Pink House was built before the United States was formed! Construction was begun in the British Colony of Georgia in 1771 by James Habersham Jr. After his death, it went on to house Georgia’s first bank – Planters Bank in 1811. During the Civil War, after General Sherman captured Savannah from the Confederacy, the house was used for General York’s headquarters. After the war, it was used for a variety of things including a tea room, attorney’s office, and book shop. Since the 1930s, it’s been an upscale fine dining establishment.
But why is it pink?! The mansion’s main structure was made of brick and then covered with white plaster. The red color of the bricks would bleed through to the plaster giving the house a pink shade. James Habersham didn’t want it to be pink so he would paint over it with white on a regular basis. Years later in the 1920s, after it changed hands a few times, the owner turned the home into a tea room and decided to embrace the pink. She went all out and painted it pink and it’s been this way ever since!
