Poetter Hall, Academic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States

Poetter Hall is a three-story Richardsonian Romanesque building of rough-hewn stone at Bull and Madison streets, designed by William G. Preston and completed in 1893 as the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory. Its heavy arched entrance and rock-faced walls recall Preston's Chatham County courthouse. Since 1979 it has been the first academic building of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

William G. Preston designed this building in 1892 originally as the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory for military drills and public gatherings. Its conversion to an art school reflects how the structure was later reimagined to serve an entirely different purpose.

The building houses shopSCAD, where students sell their artwork, and the May Poetter Gallery with rotating exhibitions of contemporary art. Visitors can regularly discover new works by artists connected to the school.

The building functions as the main headquarters of Savannah College of Art and Design and is accessible to the public to view galleries and sales areas. Visitors should plan their visit during the school's operating hours and ask staff for directions if they want to explore specific areas or current exhibitions.

The building was renamed for May and Paul Poetter, two SCAD cofounders and parents of cofounder Paula Wallace; it had first been rechristened Preston Hall after its architect when it opened in September 1979. In 1980 the Historic Savannah Foundation gave SCAD an award for its preservation work on the structure.