This is the story of how one city and a handful of dedicated citizens turned a genteel antebellum city into one of America’s greatest urban success stories. Having survived more than 260 years of wars, hurricanes, and the Great Depression, Savannah was a prime target for a more subtle and elusive enemy — the threat of losing its identity as a result of poorly conceived civic projects that placed no emphasis on retention of the classical city plan and its component architectural elements. This account shows how a few citizens worked individually and in newly formed organisations to redefine what they viewed as inappropriate urban planning for their city. It is also a story of the early days of the historic preservation movement, when few people valued the worth of a city by its historic and ethnic neighbourhoods and the ability of these historic districts to create an urban environment that was economically viable.