Just 20 minutes northwest of Pin Point is the crown jewel of the Georgia coast, Savannah. The juxtaposition of Pin Point and Savannah presents in stark contrast the glaring inequity of life in the South. Savannah was established in 1733 when General James Oglethorpe and 120 colonists landed their ship “Anne” at the foot of a bluff on the southern bank of the Savannah River and founded the 13th and final American colony, Georgia, after King George II. Oglethorpe laid out the city in a series of grids that included 24 park squares surrounded by wide streets. Cotton and rice plantations flourished in the coastal plain and while the slaves toiled on the plantations, owners built lavish town homes and churches in Savannah. An incredibly rich city rose on the banks of the Savannah River with a vibrant business area closest to the docks and gracious residential blocks surrounding the picturesque squares stretching south along Bull Street. The Civil War decimated the plantation economy but when General Sherman and his Union Army captured Savannah in December 1864 he was allegedly so impressed with the beauty of the city that he chose not to destroy it. Savannah’s port was the key to surviving Reconstruction and entering the 20th Century, providing a solid foundation for the local economy just as it does today. In the 1950s a group of women began the Historic Savannah Foundation, dedicated to saving the historic architecture of the city center. An area roughly one mile square from the riverbank south to Forsyth Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and today Savannah is one of the leading tourist destinations in the United States. My exploration of Savannah stretched over two days, the first day I concentrated on the commercial district along the river bank and the second day the residential district to the south.
Savannah Commercial District
The economic importance of the port of Savannah to the southeast can’t be over-emphasized. The wealth of the southern United States poured into Savannah for shipping around the world and in turn the world shipped their products to the South through Savannah. The “middle man” in this process was the railroad, and the Central of Georgia Railway complex on the west side of the downtown historic area is where my adventure begins. The former passenger depot and train shed built in 1860 just prior to the Civil War is now the Savannah Visitor Center and, more importantly for me, also has that most prized of commodities, a RV parking spot! (for $20 a day, of course).
The railroad complex stretches west on blocks on either side of the visitor center and as I head north towards the river I pass the 1887 “Red Building”, also constructed by the Central of Georgia Railway. The Red Building is now home to my first experience with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), a world famous art college that is housed in various historic buildings around Savannah.
One block further north is the 1856 headquarters of the Central of Georgia Railway, now home to the SCAD Museum of Art.
Veering into the historic district a street lined with shops leads me to Franklin Square, home to the Haitian Monument which pays tribute to the largest unit of soldiers of African descent to fight in the Revolutionary War. The unit was instrumental in the campaign to capture Savannah from the British in 1779. This is my first sight of one of the famous squares of Savannah, an oasis of green and tranquility in the midst of a busy city.
On the west side of Franklin Square is the First African Baptist Church, one of the oldest continuously operating African-American churches in North America. The congregation traces its roots to 1773, the current building was completed in 1859.
East of Franklin Square is City Market, a two block section of West St. Julian Street between Franklin Square and Ellis Square that has been converted to a pedestrian mall lined with restaurants, bars and shops.
Turning back to the north I strike out towards the river. Savannah is built atop a ridge that rises steeply from the actual riverbank. Bay Street is the major thoroughfare along the top of the bluff, River Street runs at the base of the bluff along the Savannah River. Walking down a series of stairs and across an old railroad track, Riverwalk opens up before me. The view west showcases the striking bridge over the Savannah River towards South Carolina, to the east I can see the convention center on Hutchinson Island as well as a paddle boat waiting to take tourists on a cruise.
There simply was no large open land available in Savannah proper to build a convention center, thus the decision to build it on the island. A small passenger ferry runs back and forth between the convention center and the Riverwalk.
Standing on Riverwalk and turning south to look at the city I can see the line of historic buildings along River Street who have their ground floor on River Street and their top floors facing Bay Street above.
Directly in front of me is the back of the 1906 gold-domed Savannah City Hall. Again, the base is down on River Street and starting roughly with the third floor the top of the building fronts Bay Street looking north.
Climbing back up to Bay Street the historic business center of the city unfolds. On either side of City Hall the top floors of the commercial buildings that rise from the base of the bluff on River Street spread east and west across Factor’s Walk, a small street that angles down the bluff, providing historic access from the upper city to the docks.
Lining Factor’s Walk north of a square on Bay Street is a long stretch of business buildings, anchored by the 1887 Cotton Exchange. At its peak as a cotton port over two million bales of cotton a year passed through the docks of Savannah.
The north side of Bay Street is lined with impressive buildings including the 1848 United States Custom House and the 1914 Hibernia Bank of Savannah Building.
US Custom House – 1848 
Hibernia Bank of Savannah – 1914
A block of buildings along Bay Street contains the 1853 Central Railroad & Bank Building, confiscated by General Sherman’s Union Army in 1864 for use as their headquarters in Savannah and now a tavern.
Two blocks from City Hall up Bull Street is Johnson Square, home to the Nathaniel Green Monument which marks the actual gravesite of General Nathaniel Greene. General Greene was the American general during the Revolutionary War who led the campaign that ended the British occupation of the South. The cornerstone of the monument was laid in 1825 at a ceremony featuring General Green’s friend and colleague, the Marquis de Lafayette.
Johnson Square is bordered east and west with impressive buildings from the early 1900’s.
Citizens and Southern Bank – 1909 
Citizens Bank & Trust – 1912
Continuing on, one of many tourist trolleys takes up a side street.
The next square two blocks east is Reynolds Square, home to The Pink House. Originally known as the Habersham House, it was built in 1771 by James Habersham, a wealthy cotton merchant whose ghost is said to haunt the building today. The building is one of the few to survive the fire of 1796 that leveled the city and has served many functions over the years. Restored in the 1990s, today it is a restaurant.
Across the street in Reynolds Square a statue of John Wesley, founder of Methodism, stands.
Heading south east from Reynolds Square the area changes from commercial to residential.
Fronting on Oglethorpe Square the Owens-Thomas House was built in 1819 for banker, shipping merchant and slave trader Richard Richardson. The mansion, gardens and carriage house cover an entire city lot with the main house on the square separated by a large garden from the carriage house and slave quarters at the far end. Richardson lost his fortune soon after the house was completed and by 1824 the Bank of the United States owned the house which was leased to Mary Maxwell as a boarding house. The Marquis de Lafayette stayed here during his visit to Savannah in 1825. George Owens, mayor of Savannah, purchased the home in 1830 and his descendants lived in the house until 1951 when Margaret Gray Thomas, George’s granddaughter, passed away with no heirs. She willed the house to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences to be run as a museum.
Heading west back into the commercial district Wright Square provides a pleasant oasis from the warming sun. Wright Square was named after George Wright, royal governor of the province of Georgia until the end of the Revolutionary War. A monument to William Gordon dominates the square. Gordon was founder and president of Georgia’s first railroad, the Central Railroad and Banking Company.
My next destination is the restaurant Lady and Sons, perched on a prominent downtown corner and home restaurant of the queen of southern cooking, Paula Deen and her sons. The walk through the central district takes me past numerous restaurants, shops and bars.
I wrap up my tour of the business district by heading south to Telfair Square.
The southwest corner of the square looks across to the Trinity Methodist Church, the oldest Methodist Church in Savannah, completed in 1850.
Sharing the same side of the square is the original building of the Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences, created under the will of Mary Telfair in 1885. The Academy opened to the public in 1885 as the first public art museum in the southeast. The building originally was constructed as the home of her brother, Alexander Telfair, in 1818. After her brother died in 1832 Mary Telfair was the only heir to the Telfair estate. Her will left her home art collection and money to establish the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, the premier art museum complex in Savannah.
In 2006 the foundation completed construction of an additional museum occupying the southern block fronting Telfair Square.
Thoroughly “walked out” for the day I head back to the Lunch Box at the visitor’s center and return to the RV Park outside of the city. Tomorrow, day 2 in Savannah!
Savannah Residential District
In general the pattern that is replicated in the historic district of Savannah is a grid where every two blocks in any direction is a “square”, an oasis of green in the midst of the city. The blocks surrounding the squares are generally lined with row houses, but occasionally a larger home will appear. Closer to the commercial district the homes were built prior to the Civil War, farther south many were built around the end of the 19th Century. Most have been beautifully restored, down to the smallest detail. Note the brass fish at the end of a corner downspout.
The first square that I encounter is Pulaski Square, named after the Polish general who fought on the side of the rebels during the Revolutionary War and was killed during the rebel assault on Savannah in October 1779. A monument honoring General Pulaski was erected in the center of the square in 1854.
Two blocks away fronting Monterey Square are two historic homes. The first, Comer House, built in 1880 for the president of the Central of Georgia Railway, is known for hosting Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1886 for a community celebration of a local military unit. Across the square is the Mercer-Williams House, built in 1868 and site of the 1981 shooting death of Danny Hansford by Jim Williams as told in the 1994 book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and movie of the same name.
The setting around the square is one of calm and beauty under the spring sun.
Bull Street runs from the Savannah City Hall on the river to famed Forsyth Park, interrupted by a couple of squares. By far the most imposing home on Bull Street is the Armstrong Kessler Mansion, built in 1919 and saved from demolition in 1967 by the Historic Savannah Foundation. They sold the home to preservationist and antique dealer Jim Williams (he of the 1981 shooting incident) who restored the home, which is now a private residence. The home sits opposite the signature park of Savannah, Forsyth Park.
Standing at the end of Bull Street looking south into Forsyth Park an avenue of oak trees festooned with Spanish moss leads the eye to the one of the most photographed icons of Savannah, the fountain in Forsyth Park.
Across Bull Street from the Armstrong Kessler mansion is the Oglethorpe Club, an exclusive private club founded in 1870 that is housed in a building constructed in 1837 as a home for the British consul who lived there until 1863.
The wealth of the South is on display all over Savannah and the people who lived in the city spent lavishly on their homes and churches. Leaving Forsyth Park and wandering north I pass the temple of the Congregation Mickve Israel, founded by a group of Spanish-Portuguese Jews who landed in Savannah in 1733, barely five months after the establishment of the colony by General Oglethorpe. The congregation is now the oldest Reform Judaism congregation in the United States and practices in this magnificent temple, completed in 1878.
Nearby on Calhoun Square is the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, started in 1875 and completed in 1890.
I head west back to Bull Street, walking past row homes built prior to the Civil War.
Bull Street is now transitioning from residential to commercial and homes are replaced with large buildings. Near Madison Square the imposing Scottish Rite Masonic Center was completed in 1923.
Across Bull Street from Madison Square is the 1892 Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory. The Guards are a local volunteer military unit first organized in 1802. They fought in the War of 1812 and on the Confederate side during the Civil War where it was decimated as part of General Robert E. Lee’s army at Petersburg. The Guard was reorganized in 1872, served in succeeding wars, and is now an active unit in the Georgia National Guard. The building is now Poetter Hall, home to the first classes of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 1978.
East of Bull Street the Andrew Low House, built for cotton magnate Andrew Low in 1849, faces Lafayette Square.
Perhaps more significant for the memories of many young girls, around the corner is the mansion’s carriage house, home to the first headquarters of the Girl Scouts. Juliet Gordon married into the Low family in 1886 and in 1912, after meeting Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, Juliet Gordon Low returned to Savannah and created a similar organization for girls. Today the carriage house contains a small Girl Scout museum and gift store.
Returning to the front of the Andrew Low House, the view across the street is into the lush interior of Lafayette Square.
Across the square is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a Catholic cathedral. The original charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in the city, but the prohibition ended after the Revolutionary War. The first Catholic church in Savannah was established by people fleeing slave rebellions on Haiti in 1791. The Diocese of Savannah was officially established in 1850 and the cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid in 1873. A fire destroyed much of the cathedral in 1898 and a stunning new cathedral was dedicated in 1900.
Turning back to the west as I “crisscross” Bull Street is the Sorrel-Weed House, completed prior to the Civil War and now one of the top spots visited by tourists in Savannah who are looking for a “super-natural” experience. The Sorrel family experienced a number of tragedies in the mansion and it is reputedly haunted by them.
Blocks west is Chippewa Square, named after the Battle of Chippewa in the War of 1812 and home to a stature of General James Oglethorpe, founder of Savannah and the colony of Georgia.
Fronting the square on the west is Savannah’s oldest standing house of worship, the First Baptist Church, completed in 1833. The front of the building was extended and columns added in 1922.
Next to the church to the north is the Philbrick-Eastman House, built in 1844 and remodeled in 1911. It now houses private offices.
The side streets between squares continue to be lined with row homes.
Near the western edge of the historic district the Harper-Fowlkes mansion fronts Orleans Square. The house was built in the 1840’s as a townhouse and base for entertaining by the McAlpin-Champion family, owners of the Hermitage Plantation outside of Savannah.
Finally I’m back to where I started, the railyards and the Savannah Visitor Center. I have to say that, for a history/architecture buff, Savannah certainly lived up to the hype. My entire time in the southeast low country of Georgia was one of the most memorable parts of this rather epic adventure.
Next up: Marching Across Georgia
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