In With the Old: Peter Galloway '08
In Galloway’s spare time, he pores over history books, immersing himself in 17th- and 18th-century architecture.
“My wife thinks I’m crazy because all I do is read books on old houses,” he laughs. “She’s like, ‘You’re a little obsessed.’”
But there’s a method to the madness.
Peter Galloway is the owner and operator of the Printmaker’s Inn in Savannah, Georgia, a 19th-century Italianate Victorian mansion. The inn is complete with four suites, each outfitted with a bedroom, kitchenette and living space: the Henry Suite, the Button Suite, the Nichols Suite and the High Cotton Suite. The rooms are furnished with period antiques but aren’t without all the luxuries of modern living, including larger bed frames, fresh paint, comfier cushions and mattresses, and up-to-date bathroom fixtures.
The goal, for Galloway, is to give guests the feel of a bed and breakfast without all of the forced togetherness that can come with it. If guests want to mingle with others, they can hang out in the community spaces, like the outdoor seating area. Or, if they want to have a private getaway, everything they need is in their room.
Galloway bought the Printmaker’s Inn after leaving an unfulfilling management job in Florida, relocating his family to the Georgia coast. The renovation process was challenging but fun for him and his wife, and the property also left space for more development since it came with an empty lot next door. When Galloway found a circa 1740 Georgian home in New England, he was sold.
“There’s nothing like it in Savannah,” he says. “What is really incredible about the house is all the original woodwork with wood-paneled walls and huge fireplaces.”
Moving the house from Connecticut to Savannah was ambitious, requiring disassembling, moving and reassembling, but Galloway says it also has its perks, like getting to install new plumbing and electrical as they go.
“What’s cool is we can kind of customize more in this house because it has new construction elements, likethe foundation, roof and bathrooms, but with the original frame and woodwork,” he says. “It will be the most intact 18th-century house in Savannah.”
The disassembled house arrived in Savannah in mid-June, kicking off the reconstruction stage.
When Galloway talks about the project, it’s obvious he’s excited about the new addition to the Printmaker’s Inn. But more than anything, he’s happy they could save it: “The house was going to be taken down or demolished if nobody saved it or moved it, so that’s really cool that we can help preserve it, even if it’s in a different city, different state.”
