Southern Tea Time Getaway - Day 7 Part II

After leaving The Tea Room we walked a short distance through Madison Square for our 11:30 a.m. reservations for Afternoon Tea at the Gryphon Tea Room at 337 Bull Street.

The Square is named for American President, James Madison.

Savannah has 24 beautiful park-like squares, and it is known as Georgia's 'First City.'  While walking from The Tea Room to the Gryphon [pronounced Griffin] Tea Room, we had to pass through Madison Square, which meant stopping to pose for a group picture.  ;-)

There's a monument or fountain in almost every square, along with beautiful old Southern Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish moss.  The Southern Live Oak is Georgia's State Tree.  In the group photo above we were standing in front of the monument of Sergeant William Jasper, a three-time Revolutionary War hero who was fatally wounded in 1779 near his monument.

Across from the monument on one corner was the Savannah College of Art and Design [SCAD] store. It was the first building SCAD acquired in 1979 - the old Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory built in 1893. Inside the SCAD store was fine art, jewelry, clothing accessories, and home décor available for purchase made by students, alumni, and professors.  Across the street on the other corner is the Gryphon Tea Room. 

I immediately spotted a tea display inside the store!  The teas are blended by The Captain's Daughter - a tea business founded in 2017 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, by SCAD alumni Dani Niedzielski and Meghan O'Connor.

The Gryphon Tea Room is on the corner of W. Charlton and Bull Street in the Scottish Rite Building [Masonic Temple] constructed between 1913-1926.  Solomon Drug Store [one of the oldest drug stores in the country] leased the ground floor when the building was completed.  SCAD acquired the lease for its café/tearoom and staffs it with students.  They kept the carved mahogany bookshelves and other antique furnishings, 14 original stained glass-panels, and tiled entryway, which gives an ambiance of times gone by. 

~ Front Reservation Desk ~

It was bustling with patrons when we arrived.

~ Our student server ~

Since we didn't have very many group pictures taken during the trip ;-), we tipped him well to take the picture below.  

~ Fresh flowers on the tables ~

~ Blueberry Green Tea ~

We all ordered Afternoon Tea but there were menus with other options had we wanted them.

Sandwiches:  Cucumber and Cream Cheese on White Bread and Chicken Salad on Wheat Bread.

Blueberry Scone with Devonshire Cream and Jam, and Fresh Fruit.

There were assorted desserts to choose from:  Mango Tart, Coconut Cookie with filling, Lemon Poppyseed Cake, Apricot Cake with Strawberry Windowpane Topping, Chocolate Walnut Pie, and Blueberry Cream Puff.  

~ Cheryl H. and Judy ~

~ Apothecary File Drawers ~

It was a lovely atmosphere for Afternoon Tea and we enjoyed the Gryphon [a mythical creature] tearoom very much.  After our tea we toured the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America.   Next post...