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19 E Gordon Savannah Georgia

History

19 East Gordon Street, Savannah, Georgia 31401
Lot 30 Montgomery Ward

Lot #30 was sold in 1850 for $700.00 where improvements first appear in the 1855 tax digest
suggesting a house had been built in 1854. The exterior appearance of the present house on the

lot which is typically post-Civil War, suggests the original 1854 structure was removed and a new
house built. This seems to be supported by the fact that there is a large increase in the value of
improvements from $1200.00 in 1880 to $5700.00 in 1882. In a Savannah Morning News item

of May 26, 1882 which says; “On Gordon near Drayton a two-story brick dwelling on basement
is being erected for John C. Rowland.”

1882 – 1908 J. C. Rowland

Carol Johno Flounder Otter

Carol Sawdye & Johno Morisano

In the spring of 2010, thanks to an Icelandic volcano, a cancelled vacation to Italy and a hastily put together
trip exploring the American South, Johno Morisano and his wife, Carol Sawdye, spent a memorable thirty-six
hours in Savannah, Georgia. A year later, during a follow up, weekend visit, the Morisanos bought a home
there.

With a primary residence in The National Arts Club (NAC) on Manhattan’s Gramercy Park, where Johno
spent almost a decade deeply involved in the arts, the renewal of the Club and as an active member of the
Board of Governors, the Morisanos love of art, aesthetics, architecture and design grew to the point that
Savannah, in many ways, became the perfect second city for them. Johno then sought a way to combine these
passions with his love of food and wine.

In March of 2013 he purchased an abandoned Greyhound Bus terminal and in December 2014, after a near
two-year preservation, he opened, with his business partner and Chef, Mashama Bailey, The Grey, a
restaurant in Savannah’s Historic District. In its first year, The Grey received a nomination from the James
Beard Foundation (JBF) for best designed restaurant in America, won a variety of architectural, preservation
and design awards and was, in 2018 added to National Register of Historic Places. The Grey is currently
Eater’s Restaurant of the Year, Mashama just received her first JBF Nomination for Best Chef – Southeast and
The Grey has become a Savannah icon, firmly rooting it and the Morisanos in the Savannah business, social
and cultural communities.

While Johno became a restaurateur after a career in media, entertainment and the arts, Carol was also
transitioning into a global role at PwC where she is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the firm’s global
network. In this role, Carol is either on the road, primarily in Europe, crashing at their apartment in NYC or,
as often as practical, working from her home office in Savannah where her companions are the couple’s pair
of Rhodesian Ridgebacks – Flounder and Otter.

With Savannah becoming the nexus of the couple’s life, a larger home that would accommodate frequent visits
from family and friends, as well as the space to entertain, was in order. The house at 19 East Gordon Street
met every need and filled every desire Carol and Johno had for a life in the South.

A step off of Monterey Square, the house is unquestionably unique for Downtown living. Its side garden and
multiple side porches capture the imagination of all who pass by. A hidden courtyard and lap pool, master
bedroom screen porch and a roof terrace that overlooks Forsyth Park complete the exterior living spaces.

The interior spaces weave together the story of each of the few residents who lived in this historic home prior
to the Morisanos. From the grand mid 1850’s Bosendorfer piano that commands the music parlor and was
contributed to the home by a convenience store magnate who raised his children within its walls, to the
archways of the gourmet kitchen constructed by a previous owner obsessed with all things Italian, to the
original, soft pine floors that bear the grooves, thumps and divots of all the previous residents, dogs and
(alleged) ghosts that have roamed the home since the 1870’s, 19 East Gordon is living history. And that is just
the way Carol and Johno like it. They purposely retained this history when they were redesigning the home
with their good friend Chuck Chewning as they felt deeply that, as stewards such a special place it was
appropriate to add to what they inherited rather than overwrite thepast.

In 19 East Gordon, Johno and Carol have found their home. They have, thanks to the genius of Chuck, made
it theirs while still paying homage to those who came before them. There is a thoughtful and eclectic nature to
their home that reflects everything they are about – family, friends, the local art community, food, wine,
history, their love of New York and Paris, a desire to make their guests feel welcome, and the visible comfort
they have in living in their own skins.

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX1

Chuck Chewning

Chuck Chewning has more than thirty years’ experience in the luxury interior design, decorative arts and
architectural preservation industries. Today he runs his own design business, Charles H Chewning Interiors
based in Savannah, Georgia and consults to The Rubelli Group in Venice, Italy on international projects.

Chewning joined the iconic American lifestyle brand Donghia in 2008 as creative director, a position he held
for eight years in New York City. Here Chewning implemented his vision for enhancing and elevating the
brand’s legacy globally. In 2015, he designed and curated the exhibition, Angelo Donghia: Design Superstar, at
the New School of Interior Design.

Chewning’s attention to conceptual design development, documentation and management in the interior
design field is coupled with his cross-cultural experience he accumulated from years of working in London,
Istanbul and Milan. In 2014, Chewning became design director of Studio Rubelli, the interior design division
of the Rubelli Group where he worked on prestigious hospitality and residential projects around the world
including Longcross, the English country house in Surrey of a royal family, a new showroom in Paris for the
Rubelli Group and the restoration of Palazzo Berlendis in Venice, Italy.

Today, Chewning is working on equally exciting projects in Savannah Georgia, such as the restoration of the
prestigious c. 1916 Armstrong Mansion, a new private townhouse in the Savannah Historic District and a new
May river estate in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina through his own design firm Charles H Chewning Interiors.

In 2013, Chewning completed the much-celebrated restoration of the historic Gritti Palace in Venice, Italy.
For his design, the Gritti was awarded the International hotel & Property Award and was featured prominently
in Architectural Digest (May 2013.) Chewning has also won awards for his work at The Prince de Galles in
Paris, The Grande Bretagne in Athens (Architectural Digest, March 2004) and the One & Only Kanahura in
the Maldives, as well as the Hospitality Design Award (2006) the European Design Award (2003 and 2004)
and the Golden Key Award (2004 and 2006.) His contributions to the design world have been recognized in
countless publications including Blue Cameron’s 2014 book Conversations: Up Close and Personal with Icons
of Fashion, Interior Design, and Art.

Before joining The Rubelli Group, Chewning founded the interior design firm CCID, Inc. where he focused
on national and global luxury residential and hospitality markets. Previously, he worked as a Senior Associate
at HBA, Hirsch Bedner Associates, designing in their Atlanta, London and Milan offices for more than
sixteen years.

Chewning originally received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in both Historic Preservation of Architecture and in
Interior Design from SCAD, The Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2008, he became the first recipient
of the SCAD Distinguished Alumnus Award. An honorary scholarship was set up in Chewning’s name in
2010, inviting notable industry leaders to teach the history of 20th century interior design at SCAD. Chewning
wrote a forward to thenewly published book SCAD: The Architectureof a University.

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Entry Hall Map Reference: EH1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Living Room Map Reference: LR2

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Living Room Map Reference: LR3

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Living Room Map Reference: LR1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Music Room Map Reference: MR1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Music Room Map Reference: MR2

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Powder Room Map Reference: PR1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Garden Porch Map Reference: GP1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX4

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Dining Room Map Reference: DR1



19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Dining Room Map Reference: DR2

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX2

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX5

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Family Room Map Reference: FR3

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Family Room Map Reference: FR1



19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Family Room Map Reference: FR2



19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Family Room Map Reference: FR4

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Master Bathroom Map Reference: MBA1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Master Bedroom Map Reference: MB1



19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Master Bedroom Map Reference: MB2



19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX6

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX7

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Exterior Map Reference: EX8

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Garden Level

FR4

FR1 PR1
GP1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA First Floor

MBA1

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Second Floor

19 E Gordon, Savannah, GA Third Floor