Day 60 - Savannah: Mercer House, Crystal Beer Parlor, First African Baptist Church, the Perch

Today is the day I am going to visit the famous/notorious Mercer House.
This is now called the Mercer Williams House Museum, and it is the main sight of the Book.
I can't wait to see what the interior looks like.
This is where James Williams lived. This is where he worked and conducted his business as an antiques dealer. This is where he had his shop and restored his antiques. This is where he gave his exclusive Christmas Parties.  This is where he murdered his lover, Danny Lewis Hansford! This is where he died of heart failure just six months after the last trial!
We drove straight there and took the tour. Pictures are not allowed. The house is everything I expected and more. I love the views from the large windows on the garden palmettos and palm trees.
My favorite room is his library. The desk has several pictures of him with several women, including his sister. She is in her eighties and she still lives in the house with her cat. We got to pet her black cat, Shelton, as he was following us around.

 We stopped for lunch at the Crystal Beer Parlor. This restaurant has been around since prohibition time and probably even before as a speakeasy. It has a lot of history and the food is very traditional of Savannah.

Crystal Crab Stew and Chicken Pot Pie

After lunch we drove to the First African Baptist Church. We took the tour with the pastor's wife. The church has seen so much. It was built by enslaved people, who had to work at night after their day jobs. It was one of the first baptist churches in the nation. It was founded in 1773 under the leadership of Reverend George Leile. When The British left Savannah, Rev. Leile had to leave for Jamaica to avoid enslavement and he became the first American missionary. The sanctuary was completed in 1859. It became famous for being part of the underground railroad. Even during the civil rights era, it played an important role as a refuge for activists, assembly, and protection.

First African Baptist Church

The First Six Founders are depicted on the glass windows behind the altar

The back of the church with the organ, activated manually

The day before, we had met on the street, Roberto Ochoa and the bass player, and they told us about a rooftop bar, the Perch, where you can see the whole city. So today, since it's Mardi Gras, we decided to check it out.
So worth it!