The Martin Luther King Jr. Arena is currently set to be demolished in the first quarter of 2026, opening up the possibility of restoring Elbert Square. The Haitian Monument in Franklin Square commemorates the Black Soldiers who fought in the 1779 Siege of Savannah. Ellis Square was once the home of the City Market before it was demolished in 1954 to build a parking garage. The square was restored in 2010 as part of the city’s preservation efforts. Walking through the squares in downtown Savannah is like opening a page of a Georgia history textbook. The squares form the foundation of Savannah and its colonial beginnings — without them, the city would not be what it is today. But what happens when that textbook is missing a few pages? Is that history forgotten or rewritten? That same question applies to the lost squares: pieces of Savannah that have been lost to make room for industry and development. Back in 1733, when Savannah was founded, there were four original squares, meant to serve the purpose of residential areas and trustee lots. By 1851, that number had grown to 24 squares. However, not all 24 squares still exist today. In 1935, there was a push to bring highway deve
