If you take a short walk up Bull Street, you will be following in footsteps of thousands of race fans. One very
interesting place to stop is the Savannah Bulldog Cigar Shop at 244 Bull Street. In 1908 this was the home to Auto Livery
& Sales - a Packard dealer which rented Packards, Daytons and Stoddarts. Across the alleywall is the home
of the owner of the dealership, which houses a "car elevator" that still exists today. So if you were the owner
of this beautiful home, you could drive your Esperante into the elevator and raise it up to the livingroom to keep next to
you as you watch tv!
The Arcadia Theatre is another Savannah tradition that you can still enjoy today. Throughout most of its life it
has been known as the Savannah Theatre. It changed hands several times, and during the Great Races was called The Arcadia. It
is still located at Broughton Street and is owned by the famous Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) who have restored
it to its current Art Deco style. Some of its greatest celebrities include: W.C. Fields, Oscar Wilde and Lillian
Russell. As with the boxing, the playhouse entertained race fans with many daily performances that ran over
the entire race week.
Click here to visit the Savannah Theatre website.
Pictured above is the DeSoto Hotel in 1911. During the 1908-1911 races of Savannah, the Desoto opened its ballrooms
and set them up in a dormitory fashion. Wall to wall gentlemen race fans stayed in these quarters.
