Savannah’s historic Cotton Exchange has sold for $8.2 million, with a public museum planned for the East Bay Street landmark. The sale puts one of downtown’s most recognizable buildings on course for a new use after decades as the home of Solomon’s Lodge.
The property at 100 E. Bay Street had been listed for $10 million. The sale closed in late September, with Cotton Exchange LLC purchasing the property for the planned natural history museum.
The red-brick building overlooks Bay Street and the Savannah River, with decorative cotton motifs worked into its facade. Inside, the former trading floor retains elaborate woodwork, high ceilings, a traders’ balcony and a large stained-glass window. The property includes several levels of rooms beyond that central space.
The Cotton Exchange dates to the late 1880s, when Savannah was one of the world’s leading cotton ports. Designed by Boston architect William Gibbons Preston, it stood at the center of a trade that shaped the city’s waterfront and economy. Part of the building spans the existing public street below, an unusual feature that remains visible along the Drayton Street ramp.
Details of the museum’s exhibits and a public opening date have not been announced.
