Next phase of Wright Square restoration begins

Taylor Cooper, The Brunswick News, Ga.
·2 min read

Jul. 19—Monument specialists started installing the centerpiece of renovations to one of the city's historic squares on Thursday.

Bailey Monument and Vault Co., which has been around for close to 115 years, is based in Waycross and does work across South Georgia but is no stranger to Brunswick, said president and owner Keith Hawthorne. His outfit does much of the stonework in the historic cemetery at Christ Church Frederica on St. Simons Island.

On Wednesday, he worked alongside employees John Lee and Steven Wyllard to place some marble columns believed to have been recovered from the old Oglethorpe Hotel, an opulent establishment in downtown Brunswick frequented by those who were on their way to one of the islands. It was demolished in the 1950s.

The two columns will anchor the newly renovated park's layout when the project is complete. Wright Square is about the same size as Hanover Square, and the restoration will follow a similar layout of brick sidewalks, said Julie Martin, a city commissioner and a founder of Signature Squares.

"The renovation of that square will be a multiphase project so it will progress much like Hanover square did, where we start with the centerpiece then get all the sidewalks done and go from there," Martin said.

Signature Squares of Brunswick is a nonprofit dedicated to assisting the city in the renovation and preservation of historic squares.

Hawthorne estimated the two pillars weigh close to 7,000 pounds in total, including the pedestals and capitals. Both are roughly 14 feet tall.

The city's squares, also known as pocket parks, are intended to be centerpieces unto themselves, but Hanover and Wright squares in particular are focal points of Brunswick's Colonial-era grid layout.

Brunswick has a total of 14 squares, which were incorporated into the city's original layout designed by Gen. James Oglethorpe during the early days of the Georgia colony. Oglethorpe's designs were first implemented in Savannah in 1733 and in Brunswick at the city's founding in 1771.