Bradley Lock & Key
Bradley Lock & Key has cut keys since 1883, making it the oldest continuously operating business in Savannah; it has held the ground floor of the 1850s Patrick Duffy Building, a few steps from Wright Square, since 1967. Across five generations the shop became a cluttered little museum of skeleton keys, iron locks, and antique curiosities, and its name carries a famous thread: owner William "Dini" Bradley was named for Harry Houdini, whom his hypnotist father Aaron knew and worked alongside. From that connection grew the shop's most repeated legend that Houdini's spirit still drops in to visit his old friends, though even ghost-tour guides treat that flourish as embellishment. The more durable accounts come from passersby who glimpse shadowy figures drifting between the dusty aisles after dark and pale apparitions standing in the windows, while former tenants of the apartments above tell of cold spots, moving objects, and strange scents. Whether residue clinging to a century of old locks or simply the city's love of a good story, the little locksmith keeps its quiet reputation as one of State Street's lingering curiosities.
📍 24 East State Street, Savannah, GA, Savannah, GA · Get directions