A view of Savannah, Georgia's old Cotton Exchange Building. The building was completed in 1887, during the era when Savannah ranked first as a cotton seaport on the Atlantic and second in the world. In its heyday as a cotton port more two million bales a year moved through Savannah. The Cotton Exchange was the center of activity in the staple that dominated this city’s economic life before its evolution into a leading industrial seaport. The Exchange was designed by Boston architect, William Gibbons Preston. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2017.