Another Mile Another Destination Blog: Savannah, Georgia

“The famous Oglethorpe plan for Savannah… made a unique use of the square in the design, nothing like it having appeared in a town plan before or since. Here in Savannah, the square by frequent repetition becomes an integral part of the street pattern and creates a series of rhythmically placed openings which give a wonderful sense of space in a solidly built townscape.”

Paul Zucker

A storm front was coming into the area and Joe and I started looking for a place to go that had good weather and not too hot. We chose Savannah since besides not having been there for years, it looked clear. It is hard to believe we hadn’t been back for at least ten years since it is an easy drive of only about two and a half hours from Augusta and it is one of our most favorite cities to visit.

What makes it so special you ask? For one, all the green space in this city. There is a park on just about every other block that is beautifully landscaped and extremely well cared for with magnolia trees, crape myrtle trees and live oaks throughout the city. There are currently twenty-one squares in Savannah out of the original twenty-four. Besides it being a picture perfect city to visit, the people are very friendly. Today we were lucky enough to pull into the parking lot of Forsyth Park as a car was leaving and we got a spot to park for free. We hit the jack pot on that one.

Here is a little of what I have learned about this one of a kind city. Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and was established in 1733 when James Edward Oglethorpe, a British soldier landed in this area. Oglethorpe was the founder of Savannah and his elaborate plan of the layout of Savannah was nothing less that brilliant. His plan started with six interconnected wards built around a central square. Each ward had trust lots located on the east and west side of the square for public buildings and churches. Each ward had four tything blocks of ten houses on each. Each tything block was given a square mile of farmland outside the city limits and each family was given a forty-five acre plot within that land to use. The tything trained for military duty in the squares which was necessary while living on the frontier in those days. The families were also assigned five-acre kitchen gardens near town. The grid system is very evident in Savannah. The Oglethorpe Plan made this town into a southern masterpiece and to this day, a very unique and beautiful city. He had dreamed on continuing this plan much further out but it was not to be. It was Georgia’s first state capital and was a strategic port city during the American Revolution and during the Civil War. This city has a charming Southern feel loaded with beauty, charm, and history.

We locked up the car and strolled through Forsyth Park, a beautiful thirty acre park. This park was named after a Georgia Governor in 1851, John Forsyth who donated an additional twenty acres to the original ten acre park bringing it up the current size. It is now the largest park in the historic area of Savannah. Walking down the wide path lined with beautiful live oak trees draped with Spanish moss, we watched all the people lying in the grass soaking up the sun and playing Frisbee. When we passed the playground, we loved seeing all the energy of a class of young-ins playing there. How I wished I had their energy or at least a portion of it.

There were lots of artists displaying their works of art along the benches, musicians and singers demonstrating what talents they have, and various other entertainers along the path. We saw the half shell theatre where they have concerts through out the year. This is a great place to sit on one of the benches that line the walkway and people watch. The day we were there, we heard a very good trumpet player, saw a crazy looking lady playing the keyboard but singing pretty well, and saw the works of a handful of wonderful artists who were painting while sitting in the park. One artist in particular, spoke to us for about ten minutes and we had no idea anything she had said. We felt bad but neither of us caught a word she said and the odd thing is that we both believed she was speaking English.

We came upon the Confederate Monument which was added to the park in 1879 and has a detailed column with a bronze soldier on top. It was dedicated to all the Confederate soldiers who fought during the Civil War. Before the soldiers went to war, they had drills here at this park making it very fitting having this memorial here. It is an impressive monument.

We saw the fountain from a distance and just marveled at how picture perfect it was in this setting. When we reached the beautiful ornate fountain we saw a hawk land on the top and drink and splash in the water of the statue. The gardens around this fountain are gorgeous and well maintained with bright red caladiums surrounding it as well as white daisies. We loved the Triton's, half men and half fish, with shell horns with water squirting out. This famous fountain was added to the park in 1858 and later remodeled in 1988.

We continued walking toward the river and passed park after park that were amazingly landscaped and each park with a theme. We enjoyed reading all the historic markers as we walked through the parks. Since today was so beautiful and not hot, there were loads of people walking around. It was wonderful seeing a town that is so vibrant and full of life.

The homes and buildings of Savannah are amazing to see. The iron work on some of the homes was extraordinary and the details on the buildings were something to see. We marveled at the 18^th and 19^th century architecture. The many churches in this town were beautiful to see and the eating establishments all beaconed for us to enter. We strolled on.

We did stop to visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist which is a lovely church both inside and out. This church is the Mother Church for the Roman Catholic Diocese in Savannah. It was built in 1873. Follow my blog and I will dedicate a whole blog just to that church as it is a site to behold.

We past Colonial Park Cemetery and were amazed at the years on the cemetery markers. This cemetery was the cemetery that was used in Savannah between 1750 – 1853. There are many notables buried here but the most notable is Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. There were many dueling pairs that are buried here as well as over 700 victims of the 1820 Yellow Fever epidemic. By the start of the Civil War, this cemetery was closed. Federal Troops took over this cemetery and left their mark on it by looting and desecrating graves. It is said they may have even changed some of the dates on the gravestones. Ghost tours come to this cemetery at night. That must be a little scary, don’t you think?

We made it down the ancient uneven steps to River Street where the shops, bars, and restaurants line the old cobblestone road. As you walk down this road you get great views of the Savannah River with all the going ons as the ships came and went. Our first stop was the Cotton Exchange Tavern and Restaurant. We sat at the bar and enjoyed our bartender, Jean who’s nickname is Mean Jean and has a drink named after her. She has been the bartender there for 38 years and says she loves her job. She told us she gets to meet new people everyday and see the view of the Savannah River while she is working. What could be better? She told us she has been waving at ships longer than the Waving Girl had but the girl stole all her glory. We enjoyed our conversations with her and others who came in. The food looked great but we held off. Next time we will eat there as all the locals said it was the best food on River Street.

After a couple drinks we walked down River Street carrying a beer since you can carry a drink with you in Savannah. We wandered by the shops till we got to the Statue of the Waving girl at Morrell Park. The waving girls name was Florence Martus and she lived on Elba Island. She waved a handkerchief by day or a lantern by night to great all ships entering Savannah between 1887 to 1931. She was known world wide for her greetings.

Then we walked back up another set of ancient steps to Bay Street where we saw many beautiful and interesting things. The Cotton Exchange Building was built in 1886 by William G. Preston, a Boston architect and was built of red brick with a terracotta facade. That building has gorgeous details and really stands out. This is a reminder of when cotton was king and when Georgia was the leading producer of growing cotton. Oglethorpe brought the first cotton seeds with him and started the success of growing cotton in the south.

The Bell was built in 1802 and hung in the City Exchange Building on Bay Street. This bell is believed to be the oldest in the state. This bell was used to celebrate special events, and was used to signal fires. The original tower that the bell hung on the City Exchange, came down in a hurricane but in 1957 a replica of the tower was built and the bell was hung.

The bronze cannons on Bay Street, known as Chatham Artillery were presented to Savannah by President George Washington in 1791. They were surrendered in York Town in October 1781. These cannons were fired when distinguished visitors came to the city such as James Monroe, the Marguis de Lafayette, James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore, Chester A. Arthur, Jefferson Davis, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The cannons are nicknamed George and Martha. How cute.

City Hall is a gorgeous building topped with a gold plated dome that shines brilliantly in the sun that was built in 1906. The clock on the tower has helped business men for years know what time it is. You can go in but we didn’t have time to that day.

The Custom House was constructed from 1848 to 1852 and built of gray granite. The architect was John S. Norris and this Greek Revival building sites on Bay Street also. It is a pretty stark looking building and stand out from all the others on Bay Street.

We ate a late lunch on Bay Street at at the Moon River Brewing Company. I got a great burger there and Joe got nice chicken wings. It was a great day to sit outside at their large picnic tables and enjoy this beautiful May weather. We got to meet two sisters who were driving from Philadelphia to Florida and taking in the sites along the way.

After lunch, we started our walk back to car. We saw a few more parks along the way and loved watching the carriage rides go by. That is one way to get around but another great way to get around the city is the Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour. It departs every 20 minutes and stops at fifteen stops where you can hop off and check out the area before hoping on anther trolley. The guides explain what you are seeing as they drive you around Savannah. Another fun way to go around the city is Savannah Pedals which is a tour where you sit with up to 14 of your friends and pedal around the city drinking beer. We saw a few of them go by and they seemed to be having a great time. For us, the best way to get around town was to walk and explore.

You can spend days in Savannah. This is our abbreviated version of things to see. There is so much more. Check out Savannah and follow my blog. I will be posting more about this city. We love Savannah and will be back. Bye for now.

“As one walks from square to square, passing each building, discovering a different nuance of detailing, from the eaves to the railings can be as overwhelming to the eye as a symphony is to the ear.”

Eric Meyerhoff, Architect