Beach Institute African American Cultural Center
Savannah's first school built for newly freed African Americans (1867), now a museum of African American art, history and culture with a large collection of Ulysses Davis wood carvings.
- Address
- 502 E Harris St, Savannah, GA 31401
- Hours
- MonClosed
- Tue–SatNoon – 5 PM
- SunClosed
Hours may change, check before you go. Source: beachinstitute.org, checked Oct 2026.
- Admission
- Check the official website.
- Website
- beachinstitute.org
- Phone
- (912) 335-8868
About
The Beach Institute was founded in 1865 at the start of Reconstruction as the first school built specifically to educate emancipated African Americans in Savannah. The building was completed in 1867 with help from Alfred Ely Beach, the New York inventor and editor of Scientific American, and the American Missionary Association ran the school for nearly 50 years.
Today the original building is the Beach Institute African American Cultural Center, owned by the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation. It hosts changing exhibitions and programs and holds a collection of more than 200 wood sculptures by Savannah folk artist Ulysses Davis. It won the Governor's Award for the Arts & Humanities in 2016.
It stands in the Beach Institute neighborhood on the east side of the Historic District, a few blocks from the King-Tisdell Cottage, run by the same foundation.
Tips
- Hours and admission change: check the official website before you go.
