History of Savannah Bridge Club
History of duplicate bridge in Savannah from fall, 1991 to present.
There were several bridge clubs in Savannah in the fall of 1991; some were sole proprietorships; others were run as non-profit clubs with a board. Sanctioned games were run at different locations in the city, including “The Bridge House”, the JEA, and the dining room at the Best Western. Games for members only were run at the Landings Club on the 3rd Thursday evening and the 4th Wednesday during the day.
As time passed and the games became non-smoking, the clubs were continually looking for space to play. Computer scoring was introduced for the games.
October 1997 - September 2002: 54 Montgomery Cross Road
With the help of a commercial realtor, who also was a bridge player, the Savannah Bridge Center was opened in the fall of 1997. The location consisted of two connected units in the strip mall between Sushi Time Towa and an Indian grocery store. The plan for the center was to offer space to play for the various clubs, as well as to provide bridge lessons. Most moved to the bridge center. They could keep their sanctions if they wanted to continue their club games or turn the games over to the bridge center. The JEA continued to hold two games a week and more games were added to the Landings sanction. Even though the center was set up as a sole proprietorship, there were many volunteers from the different clubs who helped assemble cabinets, clean, whatever was necessary. Our motto was “Cheaper than a movie and much more fun!”
The 5-year lease ended in September 2002 and was not renewed. There wasn’t enough parking for the restaurant, the bridge center, and the other small businesses in the mall. Fortunately, there was a “For Rent” sign posted for space at 77 Fairmont Avenue, almost directly behind the existing location. The space was between Alvin’s Gym and John’s Motorcycle Shop.
September 2002 - August 2008: 77 Fairmont Avenue
Again, lots of volunteers helped to make the move happen. One player owned a moving company and hauled our tables and chairs to the new place. Another player wallpapered the ladies' bathroom. During the time we were there, the players and bridge clubs pitched in for the dealing machine, a large screen TV and bridgemates. There were large donations from the Monday night bridge club, the owner of the Landings game sanction, and from one of the bridge players who had just inherited some money from a relative. There were contributions from many of the players. An online screen was set up so we could post results from our games, only one game at a time. We outgrew the space quickly. Reservations were taken for the team games, as there was only room for 20 tables.
September 2008 – December 2014: 8511 Ferguson Ave, St. D (Sandfly)
The bridge club, run by Veronica Ruggles, boomed. The expected growth for five years happened in one year. A lot of the growth was due to “baby boomers” retiring. With advice from the Hilton Head Bridge Club, a club website was set up using BridgeWebs.
January 2015 – September 2020: 8511 Ferguson Ave, St. D (Sandfly)
The club was changed from a sole proprietorship to a non-profit social club on January 1, 2015. The club was now owned by its members – as it is today.
Attendance continued to grow and we had thriving Open and 499 games, then leveled off. Then the pandemic hit in spring, 2020. The club adapted by offering online games for all skill levels. On September 8, 2020 there was a fire in the space next to the bridge club, which damaged the contents of the bridge club. The only thing that survived was the Swiss Teams scoreboard.
February 28, 2022 – April 21, 2023: Congregation Agudath Achim
After the members were vaccinated, the club looked for space to hold F2F games. Temporary space was rented at the Congregation Agudath Achim.
April 24, 2023, to present: 8511 Ferguson Ave, St. A (Sandfly)
Space opened in Sandfly on the same property but a different location. It is beautiful – much hard work from the members went into renovating it. Rent is considerably higher. Attendance is lower than before the pandemic, as it is all over the country but has grown significantly since we moved in. Some of the players prefer online games Classes are going well and there is hope that attendance at the games will continue to grow.
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