Excursions
Usually held twice a year, these tours are our primary activity and are organized and led by volunteers. Itineraries vary considerably but all are generally limited to a Saturday. Occasionally limitations on numbers of attendees may be necessary. Group interests are inherently eclectic, ranging from eighteenth-century residences to mid-twentieth century fast-food restaurants. If you would like to host a tour in your corner of the state, please let us know. All we need is an itinerary and a place to eat lunch.
Upcoming!
Spring 2012 Excursion to the Georgia coast!
—Brunswick, St. Simons Island, and Darien in Glynn County—
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Join us for our first return to the Georgia coast in several years. We will meet at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in Darien, Georgia at 9 AM on Saturday, 2 June 2012. Probably the best thing to do if you do not live at the coast already, is to spend the night of the 1st at a motel along Interstate 95 near Darien. After the excursion is over (about 4 in the afternoon), a drive home to Atlanta or wherever won't make you too late getting home.
We will look at several things in the colonial town of Darien, including three churches (most especially St. Cyprian African-American Episcopal Church), the town plan (an echo of Oglethorpe's Savannah), and several other tabby structures. We will eat lunch at one of the two great seafood restaurants on the Darien water front. After lunch we will drive to upper St. Simon's Island for a tour of rarely-visited Canon's Point Plantation (a real treat), stopping also at Harrington School. Then we will end up in Brunswick to tour the oldest house in town, a nineteenth-century commercial block, and St. Athanasius Church (another African-American congregation).
Tour organizers are Mark Reinberger, Daves Rossell, and new VGA member Taylor Davis of Brunswick
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What is vernacular architecture?
Most of the historic buildings in Georgia—in its cities, small towns, and rural countryside—are vernacular in character. Vernacular architecture can be difficult to define and is often characterized by what it is not: it is not high-style design created by professional architects and based on academic or theoretical principles. Rather, it is the skill of traditional building construction passed from one generation of builders to the next in a practical hands-on way through the use of materials, form, and ornamentation. It is more accurately cataloged and described by building type than by style. Vernacular architecture tends to be commonplace and to reflect the everyday life and experience of people within a culture or region. Because these buildings are all around us and are very often plain in appearance, vernacular architecture is often taken for granted. Yet this is the architecture that reflects the daily experience of the broadest aspects of our culture, from Georgia's living places and peachpacking sheds to its textile mills and villages. ---Julie Turner
What is Vernacular GeorgiA?
Vernacular GeorgiA, a non-profit (501(c)(3)) organization, is a loosely knit group of those interested in the common architecture of the state. The organization's purpose is to sustain a focus on Georgia's historic vernacular architecture and its associated cultural landscapes and to promote their preservation.
Inherent in the aim to promote and sustain is greater public awareness and understanding through education. The organization seeks to educate and serve as a forum for discussion of issues, problems, solutions, and opportunities concerning historic vernacular architecture and its preservation.
MEMBERSHIP is open to people of all disciplines, professions, and interests who appreciate the State's vernacular architecture.
Click here to access a membership application. |