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YOUR INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE HOSTESS CITY OF THE SOUTH
A SPECIAL PUBLICATION FROM
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2019-2020 edition: WALKING TOURS • HISTORY • LOCAL TIPS & ADVICE • FOOD • THE ARTS • MUCH MORE! 1
40 Estill Hammock Road Tybee Island, GA 31328 www.thecrabshack.com Sunday-Thursday 11:30AM Til 9PM Friday & Saturday 11:30AM Til 10PM
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Since its founding in 1733,
the Hostess City has greeted a diverse stew of people and cultures mixed in the humidity of Southern summers. It’s become the home of writers, a canvas for artists and an inspiration for poets. We’ve asked residents, natives and non-natives, to share something special visitors should know about their city. From the picturesque squares to the quirky lanes and hidden gardens, there’s no place like Savannah. We want you to see the special things we see and enjoy adventures through squares we cherish.
There is no better way to see Savannah than on foot, so we’ve created some short walking tours to spark your interest and encourage you to make the best of your time in the Coastal Empire. There are driving routes to show you even more. We hope you enjoy the history and use the creative inspiration to find your Savannah. Our city is more than tree-lined streets and squares. Look for details you can only find on walks and time spent walking past buildings and doorways and walls. Listen for stories you’ll only hear from those who love this city like no other.
Immerse yourself in time, in Our Savannah.
©Wollwerth Imagery - stock.adobe.com
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SAVANNAH YOUR INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE HOSTESS CITY OF THE SOUTH A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF
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Dinner & live piano nightly 5-9pm. 7
Our UNIQUE AND VIBRANT CITY
On the Cutting Edge of Architecture and Urbanism By Robin B. Williams Savannah is justly celebrated as a city steeped in history. Yet, what’s less obvious to the casual observer is that Savannah has a history of being at the cutting edge of architectural and urban developments ever since Oglethorpe laid out his far-sighted town plan in 1733. The 1739 death of Tomochichi, the Yamacraw chief who helped establish Georgia, prompted Oglethorpe to erect a “pyramid of stone” in the center of Percival (now Wright) Square, likely the first large-scale public monument in America. Many more monuments would follow, especially during the 1800s. With the incorporation of Savannah in 1789, the newly formed city council passed innovative municipal ordinances that protected the city’s trees and provided forward-thinking guidelines regulating how they should be planted along streets. By the mid-19th century, Savannah had so many trees it was nick-named “Forest City.” In fact, Forsyth Place (later expanded and renamed Forsyth Park) was among the first municipal parks in the country when established in 1850, predating Central Park
by seven years. Trade and industry played strong roles in shaping Savannah’s architectural identity. One of the most remarkable and unusual urban features of Savannah is its mile-long row of riverfront warehouses straddling the 35-foot bluff, where terraced lanes and numerous iron bridges provide access to the upper-level stores of Factors Walk. The Central of Georgia, established in 1833 just three years after the nation’s first railroad, rapidly expanded by the 1850s. Its ensemble of industrial, passenger, freight and administrative buildings is the most complete antebellum railroad complex in the country. Prosperity from trade and industry supported the construction of numerous fine mansions and houses of worship in a variety of typical 19th-century revival styles. Among these the Owens-Thomas House, an early work by immigrant British architect William Jay, stands out. The house is a tourde-force of architectural experimentation with its undulating portico, tabby-concrete walls, cast iron side porch (one of the earliest uses of structural iron in America), and cutting-edge indoor plumbing (including flush toilets) supplied by attic cisterns. 8
After the Civil War, the city continued to embrace modernity. Beginning in 1895 with the Citizens Bank (now SCAD’s Propes Hall), skyscrapers began dotting the skyline. Savannahians were early promoters of automobiles, hosting international races from 1908-1911 and developing two of the earliest automobile suburbs in the country in 1910 -- Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent. After World War II, the Drayton Arms Apartments (1949-51) presented Savannah with one of the earliest American examples of the International Style and the first air-conditioned apartment building in Georgia. The threat of too much modernity spawned one of the nation’s most innovative preservation movements, led by the Historic Savannah Foundation from 1955 and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), established in 1978, and its on-going creation of a “campus” of repurposed historic buildings around the city, helping ensure the city’s past remains a part of the city’s future. Robin B. Williams, is the chairman of the architectural history department at Savannah College of Art & Design.
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contents contents
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savannah SAVANNAH is a publication of the Savannah Morning News savannahnow.com Publisher Publisher Michael C. Traynor Michael C. Traynor Editor/Designer Editor Christopher Sweat
Christopher Sweat Commercial Content Advertising Chris Corey Manager 912.652.0241
Graphic Designer ChiefK.Writer Stephanie Anderson Chuck Mobley
Chief writer: Chuck Mobley Photo Editor Photo editor: Steve Bisson Steve Bisson Archivist: Julia Muller Advertising: Archivist Chris Corey Julia912.652.0241 Muller
Our Savannah: A First-Timer Primer Welcome to Our Savannah Our History A Unique and Vibrant City Essay: General Oglethorpe’s Plan Transportation and Parking Tips Sites: The Squares of Savannah Our Savannah: A First-Timer Primer Tour: Historic Bull Street Our History History: Jewish Heritage and Culture Essay: General Oglethorpe’s Plan Tour: Forsyth Park The Squares of Savannah Tour: Abercorn Street Tour: Historic Bull Street Savannah’s Live Oaks History: Jewish Heritage and Culture History: Irish Heritage Tour: Forsyth Park Tour: River Street and Bay Street Tour: Abercorn Street Ways to Get Around History: Irish Heritage Free or Frugal Fun Activities Tour:Essay: River The Street and Bay Street Preservation Movement
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Tour: Four Art and History Museums Essay: Our River is Big Business Essay: The Starland District History: A Tale of Two Ships A list of annual major events Essay: Our Palate Ghost Tours: Scaring Up Fun and History Savannah’s Spirits History: Daffin Park Tour: Four Art and History Museums Essay: Dog Friendly Savannah Our Furry Friends Tour: The Moon River District A list of Annual Major Events Our Musical History: Johnny Mercer Our People: Johnny Mercer Essay: Coastal Gardens/Bamboo Farms Tour: Mighty Eighth and Canal Museums Tour: Savannah Cemeteries Savannah’s Live Oaks Tour: Mighty Eighth and Canal Museums Ghost Tours: Scaring Up Fun and History Tour: Forts and Battlefields Tour: Savannah Cemeteries The Great Outdoors: On the Water The LiveReef OakNatural Tree Gray’s Marine Sanctuary
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History: Tybee and the Islands Tybee Beach Rules AEssay: dvertiser Profiles Architecture and Urbanism
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36 32 37 Free History: or FrugalCity FunMarket Activities and Ellis Square 37 38 Essay: The Preservation Movement 38 40 Essay: Savannah’s Black Heritage
History: CityOur Market and Ellis Square Essay: Palate Essay: Savannah’s BlackPort Heritage Essay: Savannah’s History
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History: A Tale of Two Ships
Tour: The Moon RiverFishing District The Great Outdoors: Tour: Forts and and Battlefields History: Tybee the Islands
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getting around
Handy Transportation tips:
Parking:
Chatham Area Transit (CAT) • catchacat.org
ParkSavannah Mobile Parking Payments
19 fixed bus routes in Savannah and Chatham County. Fare for local one-way service is $1.50 and discounted weekly/monthly passes are available.
The City of Savannah is proud to introduce the PARKSAVANNAH parking app.
CAT also offers the 100X Airport Express for direct service from the Savannah/ Hilton Head International Airport to the Joe Murray Rivers, Jr. Intermodal Transit Center, as well as bike sharing.
With ParkSavannah, drivers can now easily pay for parking from their mobile phone.
The Liberty St. Parking Shuttle provides free weekday service throughout downtown to various parking facilities and offers the same safe, free service late-nights on Friday and Saturday.
The new app comes loaded with benefits over traditional ways to pay, such as:
DOT • connectonthedot.com
Faster Payments - No coins? No problem! Simply pay from your phone
The DOT is a fare-free service of Savannah Mobility Management System, a public-private partnership created to help visitors and residents get around downtown. Included in the system are 30-passenger shuttles serving 12 stops in the Historic District; a 54-passenger authentic 1930s streetcar with six stops along River Street; and the Savannah Belles Ferry (see below).
Reminder Notifications - Time running short? Get notified so you can avoid a ticket Parking Extensions - Want to stay longer? Extend your parking session with just a tap
Savannah Belles Water Ferries Free water ferry service between downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island is available seven days a week from River Street at City Hall Landing and Waving Girl Landing over to the Trade Center Landing.
ParkSavannah is available for free from the App Store or Google Play. You can also sign up and pay for parking by visiting parksav.net.
(Information from the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce) 10
Garages and Lots The City of Savannah operates over 3,000 metered parking spaces, 5 public parking garages, and 6 surface lots in downtown Savannah. Visit savannah.gov and search Parking and Mobility Services to find out more.
Our
SAVANNAH a first timer’s primer
Welcome to Our Savannah!
As a newcomer or visitor to our fair city, you’ll probably recognize immediately that we’re a little...different. And we’re rather proud of that fact! Here are just a few pieces of advice that can help you get acclimated pretty quickly. Speaking of acclimated... it gets pretty hot down here. Believe us, we’ve heard all the jokes. Just arrive prepared. We are used to it—we’re usually still wearing short sleeves at Christmastime—so keep hydrated and leave the parkas packed away.
If you’re lucky enough to visit during the Spring, when the azaleas are blooming all over town, you’ll get to experience one of the most beautiful sights we have to offer. But it also usually signals allergy season. So make sure you’re prepared to handle the sniffles. Streets paved with ballast stones are pretty cool, but they are pure, mortal danger if you don’t mind your step. And they have never, ever worked with high-heels. Don’t be surprised if you see ladies carrying their shoes if they happen to be out on River Street.
Sand gnats are real. You may call them something else, but we call them pests. Their season doesn’t last long, but it’s not a fun one. Locals have many recipes for keeping them away, so feel free to ask anyone and you’ll get their favorite remedy! Wearing green is a big thing here. If you’re visiting around March 17, you’ll find out why, along with hundreds of thousands of your new green-clad friends. And at any time of the year, you’re bound to run into one or two Girl Scouts, making the pilgrimage to their organization’s birthplace. Fried Chicken and Sweet Tea: We all think our Mama makes the best, but there are surely a lot of places to get them here. And we all have strong opinions on where to find our favorites.
And speaking of hydration...we are famous for being a cocktail friendly city. You’ll notice “to go” cups at the exit of every watering hole. Feel free to use them to carry your liquid confidence as you travel the city streets. But don’t use any glass containers. You only need to feed the parking meters Parking: on THERE’S an APP weekdays untilFOR 5pm.THAT! Weekends are on Both Savannah and Tybee Island have the house! At Tybee you should check your parking apps that can be loaded space and paid every hour or so. as you roam around. A quick download can save you from lots of headaches! 11
Just a few hints to help you along your way. Any other questions? Just ask us. We tend to be a very friendly sort. Yes, the Spanish moss is beautiful. But take our word for it, you do not want to pack it in your suitcase as a souvenir. Really.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
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HISTORY (It runs pretty deep.) They may not have lived in cities with streets and huge houses, but Native Americans called Georgia home long before European exploration began in the 1500s. There are many archaeological sites today, especially along streams and rivers, that give insight into what their life was like. Mary Musgrove
first lady of the georgia colony:
Known as Coosaponakeesa among the Creek Indians, MARY MUSGROVE served as a cultural liaison between colonial Georgia and her Native American community in the mid-eighteenth century. Musgrove was the daughter of the English trader Edward Griffin and a Creek Indian mother. Introduced by Tomochichi, Musgrove took advantage of her biculturalism to protect Creek interests, maintain peace on the frontier, and expand her business as a trader. As Pocahontas was to the Jamestown colony and Sacagawea was to the Lewis and Clark expedition, so was Musgrove to the burgeoning Georgia colony.
Perhaps the city of Savannah in its current location wouldn’t even exist without Tomochichi, the Indian leader who welcomed the Georgia settlers in 1733, accompanied Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe on a storied trip to England in 1734, and whose contributions to the colony were commemorated in 1739 with one of the first public monuments in America. Oglethorpe negotiated with Tomochichi, the chief of the Yamacraw Indians, before bringing the other colonists to Savannah. It was a wise move, especially considering the 1715 Yamasee War, a struggle in South Carolina pitting the Creek and Yamasee tribes against backcountry traders and settlers. After that conflict ended, Tomochichi split from the Creeks and formed the Yamacraws, a band of 200 or so Indians. They settled on the bluffs overlooking the Savannah River, the location Oglethorpe had chosen to place the new colony. The Indian chief and the English commander soon forged a strong bond. 12
a memorial to tomochichi in wright square Tomochichi, and eight Indian companions, received a royal welcome when Oglethorpe took them to England. The Native Americans met the king and queen and toured several sites, including the Tower of London. Their appearance brought much positive publicity to the fledgling colony. Tomochichi continued to be an important figure in Georgia until his death in 1739. Though his exact age was unknown, he was thought to be in his late 90s. He was buried in Percival (now Wright) Square with impressive pomp and ceremony. Oglethorpe was one of the pallbearers.
ESSAY
General Oglethorpe’s Plan Even after over 285 years, the elegant design Georgia’s founder envisioned for Savannah continues to endure and enchant By Stan Deaton After establishing the colony of Georgia in February 1733, Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe spent the next 10 years of his life virtually married to the colony. Besides being a Trustee — a member of the governing body back in England — he had no authority to take command, but he did so without hesitation. Under the colony’s charter, Oglethorpe, as a Trustee, couldn’t hold office, own land, or receive a salary. It was all volunteer work, and it consumed him and everything he did. The colony had to be established, peopled, governed, and strengthened in the face of challenges and problems that would have killed a lesser man — medicine, sanitation, disease, food, housing, Native Americans, the Spanish, disgruntled and unhappy colonists, unhappy Trustees back home, and the
sweltering heat, humidity, monsoonlike rains and mosquitoes of a Savannah summer. With the help of enslaved African Americans, much of the pine forest was cleared and Oglethorpe laid out the town of Savannah. Besides actually building the city, Oglethorpe also had to allocate land, build forts, roads, and bridges, arbitrate disputes, train the colonists in using firearms, maintain good diplomatic relations with the Indians and with the neighbors in South Carolina, care for the sick, keep up morale — in other words he acted as father figure, commander in chief, diplomat, county commissioner, mayor, chief justice and governor. New York does not now look like it did when the Dutch first established it as New Amsterdam in 1624; Boston has changed since John Winthrop founded it in 1630; William Penn’s Philadelphia was a planned city when he founded it
in 1682 but it’s been altered. But the city of Savannah still follows the urban plan that Oglethorpe laid out in 1733. It created one of the most unique urban areas in America, the largest Urban National Historic Landmark District in the United States, at 2.5 square miles, with 22 green squares that are like mini-parks. Oglethorpe’s time in Savannah ended
in 1743. He returned to England, married an heiress and, for the most part, lived the life of a country gentleman. Were he to return to Savannah today, he would immediately recognize it as his city. Stan Deaton is the Senior Historian and the Dr. Elaine B. Andrews Distinguished Historian at the Georgia Historical Society, where he has worked since 1998
“Savannah survives today as an essentially nineteenth century collection of buildings, built upon (Gen. James Edward) Oglethorpe’s eighteenth plan, a truly superlative urban environment.”
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original building blocks
SAVANNAH’S SQUARES Telfair square
warren square
washington square
Oglethorpe square
columbia square
greene square
E. CONGRESS
E. BROUGHTON
W. STATE
E. STATE
W. YORK
E. YORK
wright square
W. OGLETHORPE
Orleans square
E. OGLETHORPE
W. HULL
E. HULL
W. PERRY
E. PERRY
colonial Park cemetery
Chippewa square
crawford square
TATTNALL
visitor center
civic center
LOUISVILLE
W. LIBERTY
W. HARRIS
E. LIBERTY
E. HARRIS
Madison square
pulaski square
W. CHARLTON
W. JONES
W. TAYLOR
chatham square
E. CHARLTON
lafayette square
troup square
calhoun square
whitefield square
E. JONES
E. TAYLOR
Monterey square
W. GORDON
E. GORDON
ALICE
E. GASTON
W. HUNTINGDON
GOODWIN
GREEN
HOWARD
W. GASTON
W. HALL
E. HALL
W. GWINETT
E. GWINETT
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PRICE
reynolds square
EAST BROAD
W. BROUGHTON
HOUSTON
E. BRYAN
Johnson square
W. CONGRESS
LINCOLN
ABERCORN
BULL W. BRYAN
DRAYTON
E. BAY
W. BAY
HABERSHAM
ellis square
MONTGOMERY
MLK JR. BLVD.
franklin square
WHITAKER
BARNARD
JEFFERSON
City Hall
america’s first planned city
The Squares of Savannah The original urban plan for the city of Savannah was drawn up by Gen. James Oglethorpe in 1733. Though the plan called for 24 squares, Oglethorpe himself built only six of them: Johnson, Wright, Ellis, Telfair, Oglethorpe and Reynolds. The remaining 18 were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Savannah’s squares are colorful, bright, historic oases that cater to pedestrians even as they slow down traffic on the city’s busy streets. Part of Gen. James E. Oglethorpe’s original city plan, they are named for presidents, politicians, war heroes, governors and, in the case of Whitefield Square, a preacher. The squares once served as markets and as gathering places for the residents in the adjacent houses. In Oglethorpe’s time, when each house was expected to provide one armed man to the local defense force, military drills were held in the squares. The blocks on the eastern and western sides of the
squares were called trust lots in the original plan, and major buildings, such as churches, banks, schools and courthouses, were placed on those sites. In the 1930s, some 200 years after Oglethorpe unveiled his plan, the city made drastic alterations to it. Three squares – Franklin, Liberty and Elbert – were butchered to bring tourists on U.S. 17, then a major north-south highway, through downtown streets. Some 20 years later, the longtime centerpiece of Ellis Square - the Old City Market - was leveled to make way for a parking garage. That decision, coupled with an attempt to demolish the 15
Davenport House, enraged and than engaged local preservationists. Historic Savannah Foundation emerged from that controversy, and under its umbrella, the city has restored structures and sanctuaries, such as the squares, to their rightful places. Today, the squares very much reflect their original purpose. They are once again places for people to congregate and socialize. Drive by, or, even better, get out and walk, bike or Segway through one...starting with the squares of one of Savannah’s most picturesque thoroughfares: Bull Street, from Bay Street to Forsyth Park.
City Hall W. BAY W. BRYAN
W. CONGRESS
Johnson square
W. BROUGHTON
W. STATE
wright square
W. YORK
walking tour
BULL STREET FROM CITY HALL TO FORSYTH PARK
W. OGLETHORPE
W. HULL
BULL STREET
Chippewa square
W. PERRY
The five Bull Street squares are verdant stepping stones through Savannah and United States history. They ring with the names of presidents, resound with statues and markers, and remind us of the wages of war and the sorrows of slavery. Take a leisurely, shady stroll that peals with past glories, even as it teems with trolleys taking tourists past the squares and people walking, talking and taking photos with their smartphones.
W. LIBERTY
W. HARRIS
DRAYTON
W. JONES
City Hall The old City Exchange stood here from 1799 to 1903. The current city hall, a granite and limestone Renaissance Revival structure, was built in 1904-05 and opened in 1906. Its 70-foot-high dome, originally copper, has been covered with a thin layer of glittering gold leaf since 1987.
W. TAYLOR
W. GORDON
Monterey square
W. GASTON
BULL
WHITAKER
W. CHARLTON
Madison square
E. GASTON
Bay Lane During the antebellum era, this once-seedy stretch that connects Bull to Drayton streets was lined with the offices of major players in the city’s thriving slave trade, wealthy and influential bankers, brokers and attorneys who 16
bought and sold thousands of people. One of these traffickers, Joseph Bryan, put together the 1859 sale of some 450 slaves at a race track several miles away, a well-chronicled episode that’s now called “the weeping time.”
Johnson Square The first and largest square, it was the city’s business center for many years. The monument in its center honors Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanael Greene. He defeated the British in several hard-fought Southern campaigns, and, in 1785, settled in Savannah, at Mulberry Grove Plantation, a gift from the state of Georgia. He died of heatstroke less than a year later. The cornerstone of this 50-foot-high obelisk, like the tribute in Monterey Square to Casimir Pulaski, was laid in 1825 by the Marquis de Lafayette. In 1860, Johnson Square hosted a raucous rally after the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. A flag, emblazoned with a coiled rattlesnake and the admonition “Our Motto, Southern Rights, Equality of the States, Don’t Tread on Me,” was hung from the monument. The final chapter to the Nathanael Greene story in Johnson Square came in 1902 when he was reinterred, with full military honors, beneath the monument. Surrounding buildings include the city’s first skyscraper, the Johnson Square Business Center. Located at the square’s northeast corner, it was completed in 1911 and was long known as the Savannah Bank Building. Christ Church, the “Mother Church of Georgia,” sits on the square’s east side. The foundation for the first church on this site was laid in 1744. The present one was put up in 1838 and was partially rebuilt after an 1897 fire. Wright Square It was named for Georgia royal Gov. Sir James Wright, who fled the colony in 1776 and returned in 1779 after British soldiers had retaken control of Savannah for the crown. The city remained in British hands through the end of the Revolutionary War. Wright acted as governor until July of 1782 when he, along with hundreds of Loyalists and their slaves, sailed out of the harbor on British ships. The monument in the square’s center was put up in 1883 to recognize the contributions of William Washington Gordon, who founded Georgia’s first railroad. A distinctive granite monument to Tomochichi, the Creek Indian chief who befriended Gen. James E. Oglethorpe and aided in the early development of the colony, sits off to one side. Long known as “Courthouse Square,” this also was a place where slaves were sold during the
antebellum era. Other notable buildings include the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, a 19th-century house of worship whose grand acoustics have won it a prominent place in local music festivals and competitions, and the old Chatham County Courthouse, a Romanesque Revival structure that was completed in 1889.
chippewa Square The Battle of Chippewa, an 1814 triumph by U.S. forces over the British, has long faded from prominence, but Chippewa Square has a seemingly permanent place in pop culture, thanks to its star-like presence in “Forrest Gump.” The Academy Award-winning movie opens with a winsome look at the square, and Tom Hanks spins improbable tales of his mama, Jenny, Vietnam, Lt. Dan and others while sitting on one of its benches. That perch, a fiberglass prop put in for the movie, was moved several years ago to the Savannah History Museum. The square’s focal point is the magnificent nine-foot-high bronze statue of Georgia’s founder, Gen. James E. Oglethorpe. The statue was unveiled on Nov. 23, 1910, part of a three-day celebration that included parades,
Independent Presbyterian Church One of the city’s oldest congregations, it has been a fixture at the intersection of Oglethorpe Avenue and Bull Street since 1819, when President James Madison attended its dedication. In 1885, the minister’s granddaughter, Ellen Louise Axson, married a young Woodrow Wilson in the church’s manse. Madison Square This is a square with impressive presidential connections. It was named for James Madison, and it played host to Grover Cleveland, whose 1888 visit to the city coincided with the unveiling of the bronze-and-marble monument to Revolutionary War hero Sgt. William Jasper. One of Savannah’s grand dames, the Green-Meldrim House, reposes on the west side. Built in the 1850s for cotton merchant Charles Green, it became the headquarters for Union Gen. William Te-
Juliette Gordon Low House It’s won world-wide renown as the childhood home of the founder of the Girl Scouts, but it was built circa-1820 for James Moore Wayne, then mayor of Savannah and later a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Wayne served on the court from 1835 to 1867, one of the longest tenures in its history. Though a slave owner, and though his son resigned from the U.S. Army to serve as a Confederate general, he stayed with the Union.
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cumseh Sherman in late 1864. It was here that Sherman wrote the famed telegraph in which he presented the city of Savannah to President Lincoln as a Christmas present, and it was here that Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met in early 1865 with 20 African-American leaders, a conference that led directly to Special Field Orders 15, the famed “forty acres and a mule” edict. During the 1779 Siege of Savannah, Allied defense lines ran through what is now this square. A 2008 archaeological dig found Revolutionary War musket balls literally in the shadow of the Jasper Monument. Ironically, a small monument to the Siege of Savannah roles of French commander Vice Adm. Charles-Henri d’Estaing and American commander Gen. Benjamin Lincoln now sits on one of the square’s sidewalks.
The 9-foot bronze statue of General James Oglethorpe (LEFT) has stood watch in Chippewa Square since 1910, facing south to keep an eye out for any Spaniards who may have ideas of an invasion. The bronze statue was designed and cast by Daniel Chester French, who also designed the statue of Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. He stands atop a pedestal on which is carved a portion of the charter of the colony. He is depicted in full military garb of the 1740s. 18
Monterey Square A classic commemoration to a United States victory in the Mexican War, this square has corralled its own place in the national spotlight, thanks to “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” The 1994 book, which spent a record 216 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, and the 1997 movie, which was directed by Clint Eastwood, each center on a 1981 shooting in the Mercer-Williams House. The sound and the fury over the book and movie shifted the focus from the square’s traditional centerpiece, the 55-foot-high monument to Casimir Pulaski, the Polish cavalry leader who was mortally wounded on Oct. 9, 1779, during the climactic battle of the Siege of Savannah. Put up in the 1850s, the Italian-marble monument was crumbling by the 1990s and had to undergo extensive and expensive repairs. A small metal box containing skeletal remains labeled “Brigadier General Cassimer (sic) Pulaski” was removed from the monument’s base during this process. In October of 2005, as part of ceremonies surrounding the 226th anniversary of the Siege of Savannah, the remains were reinterred next to the monument. But, because DNA tests to prove they were Pulaski’s were inconclusive, the remains were placed under an adjacent unmarked slab of Georgia marble. Other notable buildings on the square include the imposing neo-Gothic Revival-style synagogue Mickve Israel, built between 1876 and 1878 and home to one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the country.
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our people
Savannah’s Jewish Congregation Tight-knit community is oldest in the South, third oldest in U.S. On July 11, 1733, just five months after the colony of Georgia was founded, its first Jewish residents arrived in Savannah. The 42 Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews were victims of religious persecution in Portugal. They had been living in London, amid a large Jewish community, and arrived in Savannah aboard the ship William and Sarah. Their welcome in Georgia was warm, perhaps colored by the fact that one of the passengers was Dr. Samuel Nunes Ribiero, and Savannah was without a physician, Dr. William Cox having died of yellow fever, an epidemic that had killed more than 20 of the original colonists. The new doctor helped quell the epidemic, earning praise from Gen. James E. Oglethorpe, and the Jews quickly blended into the colony. They opened a synagogue, K.K. Mickva Israel, in July of 1735. It’s the oldest Jewish congregation in the South, and the third oldest in the nation. During the Revolutionary War, several Savannah Jews served with honor and distinction. Mordecai Sheftall earned the rank of commissary general, the highest-ranking Jewish officer on the American side. His son, Sheftall Sheftall, served as his deputy, and both Sheftalls were captured in late 1778 when British forces stormed Savannah. They were held as prisoners for months, a confinement that included time aboard prison ships. Sheftall Sheftall eventually became a celebrated Savannah citizen, in part because of his habit of wearing his old Revolutionary War tricorn hat, a distinction that earned him the sobriquet “Cocked-Hat Sheftall.” He can be clearly seen in Firmin Cerveau’s 1837 painting, View of Savannah, walking along Bay Street, wearing his famed hat. Congregation Mickve Israel moved several times after the Revolution, and eventually settled in a small synagogue at Liberty Street and Perry Lane. In the 1870s, when that building became too cramped for the growing congregation, a grand neo-Gothic Revival-style synagogue was constructed on Monterey Square. Its archives contain letters from Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and the Torah that Savannah’s original Jewish settlers brought with them on the William and Sarah in 1733. And now, 282 years of Jewish history in Savannah is wrapped up in a completely renovated museum at Congregation Mickve Israel that opened in the Summer of 2015.
Sources: Savannah Morning News files; Savannah: A History of Her People Since 1733, by Preston Russell and Barbara Hines; Congregation Mickve Israel Web site; Isaiah Davenport House Museum website.
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Walking tour Start: Bull and Gaston Streets Time: 45 Minutes
FORSYTH PARK
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The Heart and Soul of the City Itself A deep, dense vein of history flows through Forsyth Park and its periphery. Set aside as public land in 1851, Forsyth Park has entertained generations of visitors, tourists and Savannah residents. Its calm and cool green spaces have lent solace to those seeking respite from the conflicts that its monuments honor, and its languid vista up Bull Street has slowly shifted from that of a small, sandy Southern town to that of a dashing, yet still dignified, international destination. Forsyth’s sidewalk, a convenient one-mile-in-circumference for runners, offers the opportunity to stroll past grand houses, historic hospitals, and a moss-draped live oak that has stood for some 300 years. The wide central boulevard goes past a storied 19th century fountain that has graced countless magazine pages.
Marine Corps Monument Located at Bull Street’s intersection with Gaston Street, this marble and bronze monument was erected in 1947 to commemorate the 24 U.S. Marines from Chatham County who were killed in World War II. It was dedicated by Gen. A.A. Vandegrift, the Marine Corps commandant and the leader of the First Marine Division during the epic 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal. Plaques have been added since to honor local Marines killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars and the 1983 Beirut bombing. Armstrong House This imposing four-story Italian Renaissance structure at 447 Bull St. was built in 1916-19 for shipping magnate George F. Armstrong. In 1935, some 11 years after Armstrong’s death, his widow donated the house and its gardens to the city of Savannah, and it became the centerpiece of Armstrong Junior College. The school’s first class had 175 students. Now Armstrong State University, it sits on Savannah’s 23
southside and its student body has grown to more than 7,000 graduate and undergraduate candidates. The house, has been a setting for two movies, the original “Cape Fear” in 1962, a thriller starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen, and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” Georgia Historical Society Hodgson Hall, located at 501 Whitaker St., was completed in 1875. It serves as the headquarters of the GHS and houses its massive collection of manuscripts, photographs, portraits, books, artifacts and other assets that attract thousands of researchers a year.
Chartered in 1839, the GHS is the second-oldest state historical society in the nation. Built as a monument to William Brown Hodgson, scholar, diplomat, long-time member of the GHS, and husband of Margaret Telfair Hodgson, the hall was designed by architect Detlef Lienau, one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects. Tight-laced Mary Telfair, who oversaw much of the construction after her sister Margaret’s death, directed that the following inscription be displayed at the hall’s inside entrance: “No feasting, drinking, and smoking or amusements of any kind will be permitted within its walls.” Though not a museum, it’s worth the walk up the steep stairs of
the GHS just to see the research room’s three-story ceiling and vaulted arched windows. (At this point, take the diagonal sidewalk that leads to the center of the park. If it looks familiar, you’ve watched “Forrest Gump” too often. It’s here that Jenny told Forrest that she was sick, and he replied that she and Little Forrest could return to Greenbow, Ala., with him.) Forsyth Park Fountain The pleasing centerpiece of the park’s 30 acres, this cast-iron fountain was billed as the largest fountain in the United States at its 1858 unveiling. Based on a work that was featured in the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, it’s been a must-see, must-photograph, must-enjoy attraction since the water was first turned on. Union Army photographer George Barnard shot it in 1866; a haunting Jack Leigh image of its tritons and swans was the centerpiece of the poster for the 1980 Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston; and Burt Reynolds filmed a wild car chase around it in “The Longest Yard.” Confederate Monument One of the first monuments to the Confederacy, this 50-foot-high edifice was the fruition of years of work and devotion by the ladies of the Savannah Memorial Association. At its unveiling in May of
1875, it was topped by two statues of mourning women. The decision was made to change that, and a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier became the focus of the monument in 1879. The monument was made in Canada of Nova Scotia sandstone and Montreal limestone and shipped bu sea straight to Savannah. The ladies of the Memorial Association wanted to ensure that it did not contain Northern materials and did not touch Northern soil en route to its destination. The sandstone and limestone, however, deteriorated over the years, and an extensive renovation of the monument was undertaken several years ago. Small bronze busts of Confederate generals Lafayette McLaws and Francis Bartow are inside the fence that surrounds the monument. The busts sat in Chippewa Square for years before being moved in 1910 to accommodate the Oglethorpe Monument. Spanish-American War Monument It’s fitting that this monument, erected in 1931, stands at the south end of the park. In late 1898, some 13,000 soldiers were camped in this area, and the city hosted several celebrations for them, including a grand review that was witnessed by President William McKinley, and a banquet for officers and visiting dignitaries at the old DeSoto Hotel. William Washington Gordon II of Savannah, who was a Confederate cavalry officer
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during the Civil War, served as a brigadier general during this conflict. His wife, Nellie Kinzie Gordon, and daughter Daisy (who went on to found the Girl Scouts) aided the American cause as nurses. The patriotism of the Gordons, and thousands of other Savannahians and Southerners, during this brief and one-sided conflict helped heal lingering hard feelings from the Civil War. Telfair Hospital for Females Funding for this facility, built at 17 E. Park St. in 1884, was provided by Mary Telfair’s celebrated and contested will. She died in 1875, and the will, after being appealed several times, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in March of 1883. The provision for the hospital provided for “a facility” for “sick and indigent females” built to “moderate dimensions” and “with no unnecessary display connected with it.” By 1960, when the Telfair merged with Candler General Hospital, it had become the longest-operating women’s hospital in the country. Currently known as Telfair Arms Apartments, the building now provides residences for senior citizens. The Mansion The Mansion on Forsyth Park, an upscale hotel and restaurant, now occupies the entire 700 block of Drayton Street, but many Savannahians remember that site
as the location of Fox & Weeks Funeral Home. The firm, which dates back to 1882 and is one of the oldest funeral homes in the state, moved its business operation in 1953 into what was then known as the Kayton-Grainger-Huger House. Built in 1887-88, its distinctive design includes an elaborately scrolled false pediment.
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A festival for newcomers and connoisseurs alike. “
Die Welt (Germany)
Old Candler Hospital Founded in 1803 as a seamen’s hospital and poor house, the hospital moved here in 1819, and, over the next 160 or so years, fulfilled many community needs, including stretches as a medical college and nurses’ training school. During the Civil War, it treated both Confederate and Union soldiers. The Methodist Church purchased it in 1931 and renamed it the Warren A. Candler Hospital of Savannah, honoring an influential bishop. An underground morgue and tunnel, constructed in the 1880s, have gained the building prominent mention in local ghost tours. It’s currently the Savannah Law School. Candler Oak The largest tree in the Historic District (below), this venerable oak already had its place in the local forest when Gen. James Oglethorpe arrived in 1733. It’s 50 feet tall, with a 16-foot-wide trunk and 107-foot circumference at its crown. Its place in history
did not protect it from pavement, however, and by 1980, the tree was on the precipice of dying. It was saved by the Savannah Tree Foundation, which secured a conservation easement in 1984 to protect it. Oglethorpe Club Long a private club, the structure at 450 Bull St. was built in 1857 for Edmund Molyneux, the British consul at Savannah. It was occupied by Union officers in 1865. A prominent Savannahian, Henry R. Jackson purchased it in 1885. A United States officer during the Mexican War and Confederate general during the Civil War, Jackson served as a lawyer, judge and diplomat, and also earned renown as a poet. Sources: Savannah Morning News files; City of Savannah Tour Guide Manual; georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu, the Digital Library of Georgia; New Georgia Encyclopedia; georgiahistory.com, Web site of the Georgia Historical Society; thempc. org, Web site of the Metropolitan Planning Commission; savannahtree.com, Web site of the Savannah Tree Foundation; www.history.navy.mil, Web site of the Naval History & Heritage Command; armstrong.edu, Web site of Armstrong Atlantic State University; sjchs.org, Web site of St. Joseph’s/Candler; foxandweeks.com, Web site of Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors; savannahmagazine.com, Web site of Savannah Magazine; Mary Telfair, the Life and Legacy of a Nineteenth-Century Woman, by Charles J. Johnson Jr.
MARCH 26–APRIL 11, 2020 savannahmusicfestival.org
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walking tour Bay Street to Gaston down Abercorn Time: 60 to 75 minutes
ABERCORN ST. E. BAY E. BRYAN
E. CONGRESS
warren square
reynolds square
E. BROUGHTON
E. STATE
Oglethorpe square
columbia square
E. YORK
Tracing the Footsteps of Our Founders
E. OGLETHORPE
colonial Park cemetery
E. HULL
E. PERRY
An astonishing panoply of accomplished people – John Wesley, George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, William Makepeace Thackeray, Robert E. Lee, Juliette Gordon Low and Flannery O’Connor – have lived on or made visits to Abercorn Street, its houses and its squares. Beyond that, the street also borders the city’s first burial ground, a consecrated space that dates back to 1750. The setting, however, did not deter some of the men of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army from committing a little mischief during their winter here in 1864-65. Numbers were altered on several tombstones, changing ages to such unlikely figures as 124 and 421. You can look for those alterations as you meander along Abercorn to its juncture with Gaston Street.
E. LIBERTY
E. HARRIS
lafayette square LINCOLN
E. JONES
ABERCORN
DRAYTON
E. CHARLTON
HABERSHAM
troup square
E. TAYLOR
E. GORDON
calhoun square
whitefield square 26
Reynolds Square Named for John Reynolds, a cantankerous naval captain who was the colony’s first governor, this square is dominated by its connections to John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. The bronze statue in the center of the square depicts Wesley at 33, his age when he arrived in Savannah in 1736 to serve as the rector of Christ Church. The Planters Inn, at 29 Abercorn St., stands where that church’s parsonage and garden were located during Wesley’s tenure. Though he’s now considered one of the giants of Protestant religion, Wesley’s relationship with his fellow Georgia colonists was often rocky. His stern, unbending policies caused tensions with several of his fellow colonists, and a potential court case clouded his future. In his final diary entry in Georgia, written on Dec. 2, 1737, he described himself as a “prisoner at large.” He sailed for England a few hours later. Other notable buildings on Reynolds Square include the Olde Pink House at 23 Abercorn St. Now a popular restaurant, it was built in 1771 for merchant and Revolutionary War hero James Habersham Jr. Constructed of brick, it was one of the few downtown buildings left standing after a catastrophic fire swept through the city in 1796 and destroyed some 200 structures. The old Filature House The lot at Bryan and Abercorn streets was once home to the old Filature House, built in the late 1750s to contain the colony’s nascent silk-manufacturing business. Those efforts did not continue after the Revolutionary War, and the building was put to many uses, including service as city hall. In 1791, it was the site for a grand dinner honoring President George Washington. Another fire, this one in 1839, leveled this old connection to the colony.
Lucas Theater Built for Col. Arthur Lucas, its wide marquee has looked down on Abercorn Street since 1921. In its early days it hosted vaudeville acts and played movies. An early photograph shows D.W. Griffith’s “America,” a 1924 release, on the marquee. It eventually fell on hard times and its last movie, shown in 1976, was “The Exorcist.” After several unsuccessful efforts to renovate and reopen it, along with an attempt to demolish it and turn the space into a parking lot, the Lucas opened again in late 2000 with a showing of “Gone With the Wind.” It is now owned and operated by the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Oglethorpe Square Laid out in 1734, this is one of the few squares without a centerpiece. An effort was made several years ago to place a World War II monument in this space, but the city eventually decided that River Street would be a more fitting site. Oglethorpe Square does boast, however, one of the grandest residences in the city, the Owens-Thomas House at 124 Abercorn St. Built in circa-1820 by renowned British architect William Jay, this Regency-style masterpiece retains much of its original style and elegance, thanks to its single-family ownership from 1830 to 1951, when it was bequeathed to the Telfair Museum. It’s been a house museum since 1954, showing off such singular features as the gracefully arched wooden bridge the spans the second-floor hall and the original indoor plumbing that allowed its early-19th-century residents to enjoy baths and showers and utilize flush toilets. A portion of the carriage house at the rear of the property has been restored to reflect its original role as the living quarters for the Owens’ house slaves.
Colonial Park Cemetery This six-acre, mid-city cemetery at 201 Abercorn St. was open for burials from 1750 until 1853 and contains more than 9,000 graves. It’s the final resting place for many of Savannah’s prominent early citizens, including James Habersham, a superintendent of Bethesda orphanage and successful merchant and planter, and Archibald Bulloch, a Revolutionary War soldier and the state of Georgia’s first chief executive. It also holds the remains of bitter Revolutionary War rivals Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIntosh. Gwinnett was one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence, and McIntosh was the commander of Georgia’s Continental battalion. Driven by intense and insoluble political differences, the two faced off in a duel in May of 1777. They were each wounded, and Gwinnett died of complications several days later. Gwinnett’s precise grave site is unknown, but the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution put up a monument to him in Colonial Park Cemetery in 1964. It stands just a short distance, perhaps a pistol shot away, from the vault that marks McIntosh’s final resting place. St. Vincent’s Academy The oldest Catholic educational institution in the state of Georgia, St. Vincent’s Academy at 207 E. Liberty St. was completed in 1845 so the Sisters of Mercy could instruct day students and orphans. In the late 1860s, two children of Confederate President Jefferson Davis were students at St. Vincent’s. Today, as it has been since 1919, St. Vincent’s is a private, all-girls Catholic high School. 27
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist An awe-inspiring architectural and spiritual link to the city’s Irish heritage, this soaring French Gothic-style cathedral was dedicated in 1876. Inside, its main altar and four side alters were crafted from Italian white marble. Sadly, much of that was lost in an 1898 fire, a tragic conflagration witnessed by thousands of people who could only stand helplessly by and watch. The church, the oldest Catholic cathedral in the state of Georgia, was rebuilt, redecorated and formally reopened in 1912. In 1998-2000, the cathedral underwent a massive renovation, an effort that focused on its decorative paint scheme, murals, stained glass and Stations of the Cross. The project was undertaken as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the diocese and the 100th anniversary of the rededication of the cathedral. Lafayette Square Named for the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the Revolutionary War and an 1824 visitor to Savannah, Lafayette Square is home to two distinctive and quite different historic houses. The stately Andrew Low House, at 329 Abercorn St., was built by architect John Norris in 1848-49 for cotton merchant Andrew Low.
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Norris’ other creations in Savannah include the U.S. Custom House on Bay Street, the Green-Meldrim House and the Hugh Mercer House (now the Mercer Williams House Museum). Its guests included British author William Makepeace Thackeray and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. And, to add to the property’s history profile, Juliette Gordon Low, who married Andrew Low’s womanizing son in 1886, started holding scouting meetings in its carriage house in 1912. From that humble start, sprang the Girl Scouts, an organization that continues to influence the lives of millions. On the other side of the square, at 207 E. Charlton St., sits a considerably humbler structure, the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home. Considered one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, O’Connor lived there from her birth in 1925 until 1938 when her father was diagnosed with lupus, and the family moved to Atlanta. The parlor and bedroom floors have been remade with period furniture and furnishings, part of it originally the O’Connors’, to reflect daily life during the Depression for a family of modest circumstances. The years-long effort to make the renovation a success was aided by Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer, one of Hollywood’s leading couples. They became involved in the restoration, lending the effort welcome impetus.
Calhoun Square This tour led off with a look at John Wesley’s time in Savannah, so it’s fitting that it concludes at the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church at 429 Abercorn St. Groundbreaking for the church was held on June 30, 1875, but its construction was slowed by a yellow fever epidemic and the financial woes of Reconstruction. The sanctuary was completed in 1890, and during services the pastor and choir look out on the “Wesley Window,” which features life-sized busts of John Wesley and his brother Charles. Another notable building on this square is the venerable Massie School at 207 E. Gordon St. Designed by John Norris, Massie opened in 1856 and was the first public school in the city. It continued, with brief breaks for service as a Union hospital and a school for freedmen, as an active elementary school until 1974. Today, it continues to play an active role, housing a heritage center that focuses on local history and preservation.
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Our People
Irish Heritage Savannah takes great pride in its connection to the Emerald Isle
Savannah’s first small wave of Irish immigration involved 40 indentured servants who arrived unexpectedly in 1734. Aboard a storm-battered ship, they were starving, and Georgia founder Gen. James E. Oglethorpe took pity and allowed them to remain. Oglethorpe bought their indentures and placed them throughout the colony. Some were sent to work on the communal farms that surrounded the city, and others were assigned to aid the colony’s widows. This amiable relationship was short-lived. The Irishmen staged a revolt in 1735, an uprising that was quickly put down. By the early 1820s, Irish Protestants were achieving prominence in Savannah, and in 1824 they staged the city’s first St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Savannah’s Irish Protestants were joined in the 1840s by an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants. Starting in 1845, several years of potato crop failures, often called the Great Famine, sent some 2 million people fleeing Ireland. Some 70 percent of them wound up in the United States. Savannah’s census figures certainly reflected that. In 1850, the Irish represented 10.2 percent of the total population and 18.5 percent of the white population. In 1860, those numbers jumped to 14.1 percent and 22.7 percent respectively. Those early Irish Catholics generally could only find hard, unskilled labor. They toiled on the railroad, the shipyards and at construction sites. On Sundays,
they worshipped at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located between Perry and McDonough streets. Built in 1835, it contained 1,000 worshippers. Today, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is the central spiritual touchstone for Savannah’s Irish Catholics. Dedicated in 1876, this majestic French Gothic-style cathedral on Lafayette Square seats its worshippers amid a rich, carefully restored setting and is the oldest Catholic cathedral in the state of Georgia. It’s also an enormously popular tourism destination. Tour buses and trolleys constantly pull and depart in front of it, and tourists pause on its steps, lean back and photograph its soaring spires. The cathedral plays a central role in one of Savannah’s premier events, the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. That celebration has grown from its humble 1824 start to a multi-day, multi-media mega-extravaganza that pulls several hundred thousand people into the city, pumps up the downtown economy like Christmas on steroids and propels the city into the national spotlight. But it hasn’t lost its charming Irish touch: A few blocks after the parade has begun, tradition calls for the entire procession to pause at the Cathedral so the grand marshal can receive a blessing from the bishop. Sources: Savannah Morning News files; Savannah: A History of Her People Since 1733, by Preston Russell and Barbara Hines; Cathedral of St. John the Baptist website.
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savannah river RA MP
emmet park
walking tour Start: City Hall at Bull and Bay streets, down to the East Broad Street Ramp, and then back up River Street End: Barnard Street ramp on River Street Time: 60 minutes
BROAD
HOUSTON
PRICE
HABERSHAM
ABERCORN
LINCOLN
E. BAY BULL
WHITAKER
BARNARD
JEFFERSON
MONTGOMERY
W. BAY
factors walk
DRAYTON
RAMP
City Hall
MP RA
factors walk
RA MP
RIVER STREET
BAY & RIVER STREETS
Bay Street is one of Savannah’s major east-west conduits. It’s generally clogged with traffic and crisscrossed with pedestrians, their movements, or lack thereof, determined by the ever-present traffic signals. River Street, its parallel partner in slow vehicular progress, sits just to the north. Together, these two avenues have been part of the city’s history practically since Gen. James Oglethorpe stepped ashore in February of 1733. The buildings, monuments and markers that line Bay and River streets eloquently communicate the unfolding story of this city and its people. From the trials of slavery, to military service, to Olympic glory, to the singular, unflagging, decadeslong devotion of a woman to the sailors on the Savannah River, it’s all here. U.S. Custom House On the other side of Bay Street from City Hall, this imposing Greek Revival structure at 1-5 E. Bay St. sits on the site where Oglethorpe lived in a woodframe house during his tenure in the city. Designed by John Norris, the Custom House was built between 1847 and 1852 with granite shipped down from Massachusetts. The monolithic columns, which weigh an estimated 15 to 20 tons each, were lashed to the decks of ships to make the transit. The notorious “Wanderer” case, which involved the illegal importation of slaves, was tried here in 1860. The Cotton Exchange Fountain (Right) Crafted in 1889, the original terra cotta lion was a commanding presence outside the Cotton Exchange, at that time the heart of the city’s commercial district. And though it was protected
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by a portion of the distinctive wroughtiron fence from the long-demolished Augustus Wetter House, the winged lion took some hard knocks over the years. In 2008, a car smashed through the fence, ripped through the lion and banged into the doors of the Cotton Exchange. The old lion was shattered far beyond repair, only a few of its toes were left in place. A replace ment, carefully crafted and colored to match its predecessor, was put up in December of 2009. Washington’s Guns The oldest monuments in the city, these two cannons were captured by American forces in 1781 at the Battle of Yorktown, and presented to the Chatham Artillery by President George Washington following his 1791 visit to Savannah. Nicknamed “George” and “Martha,” they have been on public display since 1958.
Salzburger Monument of Reconciliation Dedicated in 1996, this monument was carved of green serpentine stone from the Hohe Tauern region of Austria and sent to Savannah by the state of Salzburg, Austria. It honors the plight of the Protestant Salzburgers who were driven from their Roman Catholic homeland in 1731 and who, with the help of Oglethorpe, found a new home just up the Savannah River at Ebenezer in 1734. Georgia Hussars Monument This British 6-pound cannon, which was likely used in the 1779 Siege of Savannah, honors the Hussars, a mounted troop that was organized by Oglethorpe in 1736. The Hussars’ record of service includes the 1739-1748 War of Jenkins’ Ear, Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It still answers the call of duty today as a unit of the Georgia National Guard. Dog Company Monument Made from Georgia granite, this 7,200-pound obelisk commemorates the deployment of Dog Company, a band of 182 Savannah Marine Corps reservists who were called to active duty in August of 1950 with the outbreak of the Korean War. Several of the Marines were still in high school when the call-up came in. The names of all 182 men are on the monument, and those of the five who were killed in Korea are etched in gold leaf. The inscription at the base of the monument reads, in part, “All of these Marines gave some. Five gave all. Semper Fidelis.”
Emmet Park This lovely stretch of green space that overlooks the Savannah River, along with parks, pubs and other places around the world, was named for the Irish patriot Robert Emmet, who was hanged and beheaded in September of 1803 for his part in a Dublin uprising. Emmet Park holds several monuments and borders the city’s Old Fort neighborhood, a community that was an Irish stronghold for many years. Today, several events associated with Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration are staged there.
Savannah Irish Monument/Celtic Cross Cut from Irish limestone and put up in 1983, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the colony of Georgia, this tribute to Americans of Irish descent features handcarved Celtic knotwork. The line at the base of the monument, “Erin Go Bragh,” is Gaelic for “Ireland forever.” 33
Vietnam War Memorial Dedicated in 1991, this monument pays tribute to those who served during that conflict and lists the names of the 106 Chatham County servicemen who were killed. The local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America holds ceremonies there, including an annual POW/MIA Recognition Day. Chatham Artillery Monument Placed in 1986, this was a tribute to the 200th anniversary of the unit’s organization. Inscriptions on the sides of the gray-granite monument recount its history and list its commanders. Plaques have since been placed in the ground to its side documenting its latest missions – deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Noble Wimberly Jones Monument A newcomer to Emmet Park, this 6-foot, 10-inch monument was put up in 2005 by the Georgia Medical Society. It’s a tribute to Noble Wimberly Jones, the son of colonial Georgia soldier and planter Noble Jones. The younger Jones, who came to Georgia as a child in 1733,
won great distinction in his own right. He served in the Revolutionary War, was captured by the British in 1780, and helped organize George Washington’s visit to the city in 1791. Jones was also one of the 1804 organizers of the Georgia Medical Society, the oldest medical society in the United States.
Beacon Range Light This 25-foot-tall, cast-iron post at the far edge of Emmet Park did not start out as any sort or monument, memorial or marker. It held a gas-powered lamp that was put up in 1858 to mark the entrance to Savannah Harbor and to help pilots avoid scuttled Revolutionary War vessels. Step carefully down the East Broad Street Ramp to the monuments of Morrell Park at the eastern end of River
Street. The individual street ramps, and the Factor’s Walk Retaining Wall, are a fascinating piece of history in their own right. Undertaken to improve access to shipping, and control erosion along the 40-foot-high bluff that overlooks River Street, it took from 1855 to 1869 to complete this project. It also helped to dispose of the tons of ballast that had been dumped alongside the river. Olympic Yachting Cauldron Sculpted by Georgia artist Ivan Bailey, this was erected in 1996 and then lit with the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece. Savannah, during the 1996 Olympic Games, hosted the yachting competition. The sails in Bailey’s work mark that distinction.
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Waving Girl Monument Florence Martus was born in 1868 at Fort Pulaski, where her father was an ordnance sergeant. As a young woman, she moved about five miles upriver to live with her brother, the lighthouse keeper on Elba Island. From their house, a small cottage overlooking the Savannah River, she waved – a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night - at every ship that passed from 1887 until 1931, when her brother retired and they moved to Thunderbolt. Her devotion won her international fame as the “waving girl.” She died in 1943, and this monument in her honor, donat-
ed by the Altrusa Club, was placed in Morrell Park in 1972. It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, whose other works include the Iwo Jima Monument in Arlington, Va. As you move west from Morrell Park along River Street, you’ll encounter a number of markers and monuments, including the Merchant Seaman Monument, which honors the memory of Chatham County merchant seamen who have lost their lives at sea, and the S.S. Savannah Monument, which pays tribute to that steamship and its 1819 voyage across the Atlantic, and also commemorates the World War II cruiser U.S.S. Savannah and the nuclear-powered N.S. Savannah.
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African-American Monument Dedicated in 2002 at a highly visible spot on River Street, this 7-foot-bronze statue depicts a family of four African-Americans standing with broken shackles, representing slavery, at their feet. The inscription written by Maya Angelou, which caused a large measure of controversy during the approval process, reads: “We were stolen, sold and brought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith, and even some joy … “ World War II Monument Originally set to be placed in Oglethorpe Square, this imposing monument is located near the Barnard Street Ramp and was dedicated in November of 2010. It includes the names of the more than 500 men and women from Chatham County who
died in service during the war. The names are placed inside two 20-foothigh hemispheres of a globe, split to symbolize the European and Pacific theaters of war. A mosaic walkway pinpoints shipbuilding and other World War II locations and activities along the Savannah River.
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Our SAVANNAH
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warehouses. through the many some sun and history. While you are Tybee Island Beach River Stroll street grab a bite in in Savannah one of theis the exploring sure Tybee Tybee Island’sIsland, beachesmake are just 20you minutesart galleries, A definite must-see from downtown Savannah! It isIna the very relax-many Rousakis Riverfront Plazaestablishor, as the locals eateries. The dining explore the pier and pavilion. ing place to soak some sunup and history. ments callwith it, River Street! Thereoptions is something outdoor eating are for island’s north, youupcan soak some While you are exploring Tybee, make sure everyone on the waterfront! From dining, popular for people watching and lishistory by exploring Fort Screven’s you explore the pier and pavilion. In the shopping festivals, you reallyLook can’t go tening to thetomusicians playing. 19th-century concrete gun batteries island’s north, you can soak up some history wrong. It’s FREE to explore this Savannah and the Tybee Island Light Station and for local favorites Bucky and Barry! by exploring Fort Screven’s 19th-century treasure. There is no admission charge to visit Museum for very reasonable prices. gun batteries and the Tybee Island Light Market! Station and Museum for reasonable prices. CityGeorgia State
Trolley Tours Railroad Museum Hop on a oneTours of the many trolRiver street Trolley If you have train lovers in your group, you Hop on of about the many trolley tours to make sure toin stop in at the Georgia ley tours anda one learn Savannah Aneed definite must-see Savannah is and learn about Savannah and see State Railroad Museum,Plaza a fully and see historical places along thehistori- the Rousakis Riverfront or,operational as cal There places along the way. There are several the locals turntable, explore historic way. are several different tours callyou it, can River Street! Thererailcars, different tours to choose from depending on experience the handcar, and go to choose from depending on your is something for everyone on theon guided your interests. tours. My son’s favorite part was taking a interests. waterfront! From dining, shopping to This is a great option for those who are tour on a historic steam or diesel locomoThis is a great option for those who festivals, you really can’t go wrong. only in town for a few days. I take all of our tive! Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for areout only in town for a few days. I take It’s FREE explore this Savannah of town guests on a trolley tour. If you childrento2-12.) allare of visiting our outsomeone of townwho guests oninaSavannah, troltreasure. lives leythey tour. you are visiting someone canIfget a FREE Hometown Pass and receive complimentary trolley who livesain Savannah, they canticket get awhen Georgia State accompanied by a Pass paid adult guest! a Railroad Museum FREE Hometown and receive
Take the FREE Belles Ferry ride across the Savannah River at sunset for breathtaking views of the riverfront and Talmadge Bridge.
on the cheap
10 Fun, Frugal (and maybe FREE)
complimentary trolley ticket when acFerry by Ride companied a paid adult guest!
things to do in Savannah By Melissa King, The Savannah Savvy Shopper Savannah ofof thethe South. This Savannahisisthe thejewel jewel South. city richisinrich history. There are so many Thisiscity in history. There are so places to visit and explore. The best part is many places to visit and explore. The that you can visit so many of these places best part is that you can visit so many and not break the bank while doing so. ofSavannah these places anda not the bank makes greatbreak destination to go while doing so. on an adventure, family trip, or a romantic Savannah makes greattodestination getaway. Whether youa want learn about to go on an adventure, trip,garden, or a art or architecture, go to afamily botanical or walk along trails that the firstyou visitors romantic getaway. Whether wantto Savannah walked, really is something to learn about art there or architecture, go for to aeveryone! botanical garden, or walk along Here are a few destinations I recomtrails that the first visitors to Savannah mend checking out if you are in town on a walked, there really is something for budget.
everyone! Here are a few destinations I recomMcQueen’s Island Trail mend checking out if you are in town This is 5.6 miles of beautiful trail for on a budget. you and your family to enjoy nature,
sign for Fort Pulaski National MonuFort Pulaski National ment. Parking is available along the Monument roadThe or defining at the fort. There is no cost events of Fort Pulaskito explore this Chatham CountyCivil treasure. occurred during the American War, but the people, places, and stories that shaped this monument of military ingenuity continFort Pulaski National ue to live on today. Monument You can learn about it’s amazing history, The defining events of Fort Pulaski watch live reenactments including cannon occurred during the American Civil firings. War,Admission but the people, places, and stories is $7/person, children 16 and that shaped this monument of under are FREE. Also, look intomilitary the FREE ingenuity continue to live on today. Junior Ranger program. You can learn about it’sdays amazThey do offer a few free throughout thehistory, year where entrance fees to all National ing watch live reenactments Parks are waived. including cannon Check firings.nps.gov.
Admission is $7/person, children 16 and under are FREE. Also, look into take fun pictures, or take a stroll with a the FREE Junior Ranger program. sweetheart. To reach the eastern trailhead, McQueen’s Island Trail They do offer a few free days follow 80 east toward Tybee Island. ThisUS is 5.6 miles of beautiful trail for throughout the year where entrance The trailhead entrance is about 15 miles you and your family to enjoy nature, fees to all National Parks are waived. east of Savannah. Look for the sign for take fun pictures, or take a stroll with Check nps.gov. Fort Pulaski National Monument. Parking a sweetheart. To reach the eastern is available along the road or at the fort. trailhead, 80 east Tybee Island Beach There is nofollow cost toUS explore thistoward Chatham Tybee Island. Tybee Island’s beaches are just 20 County treasure. The trailhead entrance is about 15 minutes from downtown Savannah! miles east of Savannah. Look for the It is a very relaxing place to soak up
If you have train lovers in your group, you need to make sure to Take a ferry ride across the river. The stop in at the Georgia State Railroad beloved Savannah Belles Ferry system Ferry Ride Museum, a fully operational turntable, operates as a link between Savannah and Take a ferry ride across the river. you can explore historic railcars, Hutchinson Island. The If beloved experience the handcar, and go on you areSavannah lucky to beBelles here onFerry the first system as a link between Fridayoperates of the month, you can enjoy a FREE guided tours. My son’s favorite part firework show in the evening. There is no was taking a tour on a historic steam Savannah and Hutchinson Island. fee for taking a ridetoon Savannah If you are lucky bethe here on the Belles or diesel locomotive! Admission is $10 Ferry. first Friday of the month, you can for adults and $6 for children 2-12.) enjoy a FREE firework show in the Forsyth Park evening. There is no fee for taking a Enjoy over 30 acres of beautiful scenery ride on the Savannah Belles Ferry. and a stunning water fountain. They have GHOST COAST DISTILLERY
a farmers market every Saturday, concerts, Learn how some of Savannah’s most Forsyth movie nights,Park and festivals. There is a lot to famous spirits are made at the Hostess City’s Enjoy over 30 acres tennis of beautiful see: a big playground, and basketball first legal distillery since prohibition. courts,and our 300-year-old Candler Oak tree, The free tour (open to children accompascenery a stunning water fountain. visitor center, and no market visit would be comnied by adults) takes you on an immersive They have a farmers every plete without a visitmovie to the Fragrant Garden trip through the fascinating history of alcohol Saturday, concerts, nights, and that was first created as a sensory experience in Savannah and Georgia’s coast. festivals. There is a lot to see: a big for the blind. A 360o short film introduces you to pirates playground, tennis and basketball Pack a picnic and a frisbee and head on and moonshiners and takes you from the courts, our 300-year-old Candler Oak Telfair Museums down to one of my favorite spots in the city. founding of the state and several liquor tree, visitor center, and no visit would list wouldtobe without This is a gorgeous venue and it is completely No prohibitions thecomplete “to-go” cup culture we beFREE! complete without a visit to the Framentioning Telfair. What makes this enjoy today! grant Garden that was first created as a museum really that it is and comYou’ll thenunique see the is production aging Cityexperience Market rooms featuring over 20 the different spirits sensory for the blind. prised of three buildings: Telfair CityaMarket downtown, very being produced right here in Savannah— Pack picnic isand a frisbeeand andishead Academy, the Owens-Thomas House, popular with both locals and tourists. City something that sets Coast apart from on down to one of my favorite spots in and the contemporaryGhost Jepson Center. Market is an open-air market that has operother distilleries. the city. This is a gorgeous venue and The Telfair Museums offer a wide ated since the 1700s with shopping, dining And, of course there’s a bar at the end of it is completely FREE! array of art experiences for all ages: & artwork in restored warehouses. Stroll the tour for tasting! classes, workshops, Free Family Fun through the many art galleries, grab a bite Ghost Coast Distillery is located just west City Market Days, ArtZeum, which is antheinteractive in one of the many eateries. The dining esof downtown, right under bridge. Oh, and City Marketwith is downtown, andoptions is museum space, an annual tablishments outdoor eating are children’s there’s also free parking! very popular with both localsand and tour- to Art and Technology Festivalevery and so popular for people watching listening Free tours are conducted day at theCity musicians playing. There is no admissionmuch different Check their website ists. Market is an open-air market more times. including visiting artists.for more charge to visit City Market! info: feature ghostcoastdistillery.com that has operated since the 1700s with They great combination and
shopping, dining & artwork in restored 37
student pricing!
Savannah’s Preservation Movement
saving ourselves
Savannah’s preservation efforts have led to the establishment of the nation’s largest Urban National Historic Landmark District, have put the city and its businesses on the travel plans of millions of tourists, and have instilled in its residents, and its visitors, a deep sense of place in Georgia’s first city. But it’s possible that none of this would have happened if seven Savannah women hadn’t gotten mad as hell at what was going on downtown in the early 1950s, and decided they weren’t going to take it anymore. In 1954, the old City Market, a weathered but still worthy circa-1874 structure with three gables on all its facades and large arched windows, was razed to make way for a parking garage. This came on the heels of a legislative proposal to run fire lanes through the Habersham Street squares, and the demolition of the Augustus Wetter House, an 1822 mansion with cast-iron balconies that displayed 50 portrait medallions of famous authors and statesmen, to construct a Chevrolet dealership. The next big target, in 1955, was the old home of Savannah master builder Isaiah Davenport, the circa-1820 Federal-style house on Columbia Square. The Davenport had certainly seen better days. Its once-grand features dark and dirty, it had been cut up into a boarding house in the 1920s, rearranged to fit a single low-income family into individual rooms. The owner of the Goette Funeral Home (now the Kehoe House) purchased the Davenport, and announced plans to flatten it and turn it into a parking lot. Those plans were halted, just a few hours before the wrecking ball was scheduled to start swinging, by the seven women of the fledgling Historic Savannah Foundation. Katherine Judkins Clark, Elinor Adler Dillard, Anna Colquitt Hunter, Lucy Barrow McIntire, Dorothy Ripley Roebling, Nola McEvoy Roos and Jane Adair Wright had raised $22,500, saved the Davenport House, and launched the preservation organization that planned to place a protective umbrella over the city’s historic structures. There was a new sheriff in town. Historic Savannah Foundation quickly became a powerful civic force. It changed the tone of downtown development, moving it from new parking lots to preservation of old buildings. It set up a revolving fund and has since rescued and restored hundreds of structures.
Davenport House: In 1955, Historic Savannah Foundation was formed to save the 1820 Isaiah Davenport House, which was scheduled for demolition. This is generally seen as the formal beginnings of the modern preservation movement in Savannah.
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That record has brought HSF national prominence, and increased local responsibility. HSF now serves as a watchdog for 11 separate National Historic Landmark Districts in the city and its environs. Its initial project, the Davenport House (above), stands as an unqualified success. It was opened to be the public in 1963 as a house museum, and its historic presence and imaginative programs appeal to a wide audience. The Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries named its staging of “Dreadful Pestilence,” a living history portrayal of the yellow fever epidemic of 1820, the Museum Program of the Year in 2004. In 2005, in an Oval Office ceremony, President George W. Bush presented HSF and the Davenport House with the prestigious “Preserve America Presidential Award for Private Restoration.” There’s even been a happy ending for Ellis Square. The graceless parking garage that was put up after the destruction of the old City Market came down in 2006, and the square is again an attraction. People pause on the steps of its fountain, pose with its life-sized Johnny Mercer statue, and even place their cars and trucks on its 1,000 or so parking spaces, all of them underground. Read more about Ellis Square and City Market on the following pages.
True History in the (Re)Making
Historic Savannah Foundation purchased this property at 1004 Park Ave. using its Revolving Fund to save it from demolition. The Snedeker House is a uniquely eclectic style house built in c.1894. Property Clean up: HSF uses its nationally renowned Revolving Fund as the primary tool to save vacant and endangered historic properties throughout Savannah. Pictured, HSF staff and volunteers at a recent clean-up of the property at 208 W. 40th. Built in 1897, this property had been vacant for over 15 years prior to being rescued by HSF. (Photos provided by
Sources: Savannah Morning News files; Savannah: A History of Her People Since 1733, by Preston Russell and Barbara Hines; Lost Savannah: Historic Savannah Foundation. Special thanks to Sue Adler.
History in the Details:
Historic Savanah Foundation)
Any walk through Savannah’s Historic District will result in new finds and a closer look into what makes this city’s restoration efforts so unique
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Our SAVANNAH
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The old Savannah City Market
city market ellis square city market //ellis square
From Historic Loss to Major Triumph Ellis Square was an element of Gen. James Oglethorpe’s original 1733 city design that has survived devastating fires and poor municipal planning to rise like a phoenix as a unique public space that is both a destination and a connection. It was named for Henry Ellis (17211806), the second royal governor of the colony. In its early years, it was an open space. Nearby residents gathered there to socialize and participate in military drills. Many of Savannah’s first Jewish families chose to live in the area, and a house on the square served as a synagogue until the early 1740s. The character of the square changed in 1763, when the city market was moved there from Wright Square. A 1755 act by the Georgia General Assembly allowed a market to sell meat, 40
fruit, vegetables and other goods after sunrise, except on Sunday. That first market was leveled by a fire in 1788. A second market, built in 1811, was torched by the great fire of Jan. 11, 1820. An illegal cache of gunpowder, stored in the market, exploded and enlarged the fire’s path. When it was over, the city had lost 463 buildings and two-thirds of its residents were without homes. A third city market, constructed in 1821, stood until 1870, when it was torn down. The fourth, and final, city market opened in 1872, and served a wide socio-economic swath of merchants, vendors and customers for more than 80 years. But the search for parking places, seemingly an unsolvable problem in Savannah, doomed the venerable landmark.
2017-2018 In 1953, the city approved a 50-year lease for the property to a company which planned to convert Ellis Square to a 200-space garage. The decision was a stinging defeat for Savannah’s fledgling preservation movement. Its adherents decided to bid adieu to the old market with a party, the Beaux Arts Ball. Held on Oct. 31, 1953, it was sponsored by the Savannah Art Club squeezed in some 700 costumed participants, sparking stories in Life Magazine and the New York Times. It did not, however, save the market. The building was razed in early 1954, and replaced by the Park & Shop Garage. Still, it’s important to remember that the loss of the market inspired local preservationists and led directly to the rescue of the Davenport House and the establishment of the Historic Savannah Foundation in 1955. And, the passage of few years amply illustrated that garage was an indisputable ugly structure in a city that prided
39 itself on its beauty. Longtime Savannah Morning News columnist Tom Coffey, in 1986, labeled it a “monstrosity.” A few years later, historian Dr. Preston Russell tossed out an apt analogy when he styled it “a thumb in the city’s eye.” However, complaints about the aesthetics aside, there was little that could be done about the garage, other than plan for 2004, when the lease expired. The most popular proposal called for returning the square to a green space and placing the parking underground. The unlamented garage was removed in 2005, and four levels of underground parking, encompassing some 1,065 places, were constructed. Reopened in 2010, Ellis Square now contains, among other features, a visitor center, space for performances, several oak trees, a fountain and a life-size statue of legendary Savannah songwriter Johnny Mercer. The project also restored the visual and historical connections between the square, its facing streets and surrounding buildings.
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Our SAVANNAH
40 our people our people
Savannah’s Black Heritage From From slavery slavery to to the the civil civil rights rights era, era, aa walk walk through through history history
ByVaughnette vaughnette Goode-Walker By Goode-Walker The black Savannah is a is story that begins Thehistory historyofof black Savannah a story that with the with founding of the 13thof colony and enslaved peobegins the founding the 13th colony and ple being brought South Carolina help the first enslaved peoplefrom being brought fromtoSouth Carosettlers. In Savannah’s Historic District there areHissites, lina to help the first settlers. In Savannah’s buildings and historic markers that help us remember toric District there are sites, buildings and historic this story. markers that help us remember this story. Wright Square is the site of the old Chatham County Wright is the site of thewere oldsold Chatham Courthouse,Square where enslaved people the first County Courthouse, where enslaved people were Tuesday of the month. The current structure, the third sold the first Tuesday thewas month. current county courthouse on thatofsite, builtThe in 1889, long after the slave ended.courthouse on that site, structure, thesales thirdhad county Thebuilt largest slave yard town,the which could hold was in 1889, longinafter slave sales hadup to 250 people at a time, stood on Johnson Square from ended. theThe late 1850s 1865.yard In 1859, that slave yard, on largesttoslave in town, which could Bryan Street, was owned by the broker of the “Weeping hold up to 250 people at a time, stood on Johnson Time” sale of Pierce Butler’s slaves, in which more Square from the late 1850s to 1865. In 1859, that than 400 people were sold over three days. slave on Bryan Street, washas owned the The yard, First African Baptist Church been by on Frankbroker of the “Weeping Time” sale of Pierce lin Square since 1832. It moved into the city after itButwas ler’s slaves, in which more Bryan, than 400 people were founded by Reverend Andrew on the Brampton Plantation, in 1788. It preceded the founding of the
soldBaptist over three days. First Church, and its original site was where The FirstBaptist African First Bryan sitsBaptist today. Church has been on Franklin 1832.Square, It moved the city The EllisSquare Square,since or Market site into was once after it was by Reverend Andrew covered with founded a 30,000-square-foot City Market Bryan, with more than 150 vendors. During the antebellum years, on the Brampton Plantation, in 1788. It preceded and after the Civil War, City Market was a hub for the founding of the First Baptist Church, and its urban slaves descendants to sellBaptist their wares original siteand wastheir where First Bryan sits within a thriving economy. This was, until it stood in today. the way of progress, and came under the wrecking ball The Ellis Square, or Market Square, site was in 1954. once with 30,000-square-foot City MarJustcovered on the edge of aEllis Square, sits the Montmollin ket with named more than During the anteBuilding, for its150 firstvendors. owner, John Montmolbellum years, andbroker after in thethe Civil War, lin. He was a slave 1850s, andCity builtMarket the was a hub urban their descendants structure as afor slave martslaves whereand people were sold. After the Civiltheir War,wares the building a school for freed to sell withinbecame a thriving economy. This blacks. There is an effort being made to put up a historwas, until it stood in the way of progress, and ic marker that the tellswrecking the story of thein building, came under ball 1954. There are two historic markers on Madison Square Just on the edge of Ellis Square, sits the Montrelated to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s arrival mollin Building, named for its first owner, John here in late 1864. One talks of his stay at the GreenMontmollin. Heand was slavedetails broker the 1850s, Meldrim House, theaother theinmeeting with and20built the structure a slaveinmart where the black ministers thatasresulted the issue of Special Field Order No. 15 and the promise of abandoned
people werelands. sold. After the Civil War, the buildConfederate ingAfter became a school for freed was blacks. Theretois an the Civil War, education important effort being made to put up and a historic marker that Savannah’s Black community, the Beach Institute, tells story of at 502the E. Harris St.,the wasbuilding, built in 1867 as the first school for blacks Today, it is open visitors as a There in areSavannah. two historic markers ontoMadison museum and African American Cultural Center. Square related to General William Tecumseh Vaughnette Goode-Walker is the owner of talks FootSherman’s arrival here in late 1864. One prints of Savannah Walking Tours. of his stay at the Green-Meldrim House, and the other details the meeting with the 20 black ministers that resulted in the issue of Special Field Order No. 15 and the promise of abandoned Confederate lands. After the Civil War, education was important to Savannah’s Black community, and the Beach Institute, at 502 E. Harris St., was built in 1867 as the first school for blacks in Savannah. Today, it is open to visitors as a museum and African American Cultural Center. Vaughnette Goode-Walker is the owner of Footprints of Savannah Walking Tours.
Beneath the auditorium of first african baptist church lies a subfloor, 4 feet in Beneath the auditorium of first african height, that was part of the underground Railroad. Holes carved in the main floor are in the shape baptist church lies a subfloor, 4 feet in height,
ofthat an was African symbolRailroad. knownHoles as acarved Congolese part ofprayer the Underground in the Cosmogram. In Africa, it also means “Flash are in the shape of an African prayer symbol known ofmain the floor Spirits” and represents birth, life, death, and rebirth. as a Congolese Cosmogram. In Africa, it also means “Flash of the Spirits” and represents birth, life, death, and rebirth.
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African-American Monument (Right) Dedicated in 2002 at a highly visible spot on River Street, this 7-foot-bronze statue depicts a family of four African-Americans standing with broken shackles, representing slavery, at their feet. The inscription written by Maya Angelou, which caused a large measure of controversy during the approval process, reads: “We were stolen, sold and brought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith, and even some joy …”
The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum (460 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) The museum is a tribute to the Savannah minister and organizer, opened in 1996 on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, once called West Broad Street, the area where African-American businesses and professionals flourished during the Jim Crow era. Constructed in 1914, the building housed several AfricanAmerican businesses, including a bank and insurance office. The effort to turn it into a museum was led by W.W. Law, who was president of the Savannah chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1950 until 1976. Law and Gilbert, who was the minister at First African Baptist Church from 1939 to 1956, campaigned peacefully for civil rights together. Gilbert was the president of the Savannah Chapter of the NAACP from 1942 to 1950 and helped organize some 40 other chapters across the state. The museum’s exhibits include a recreation of the dining room at Levy’s Department Store, a Broughton Street establishment where African-Americans could shop, but not dine. 45
First African Baptist Church (Opposite Page) One of the oldest African American Baptist churches in America, was organized in 1788. Its services, for a time, were held on a plantation outside the city. The congregation moved to West Bryan Street and built a church in 1794. In the early 1830s, the congregation, which had grown to more than 2,000 members, split. Some 155 of the members remained in the church on Bryan Street. It was first called Third African Baptist Church, and is now known as First Bryan Baptist Church. First African Baptist moved to Franklin Square. Its current building at 23 Montgomery St. was constructed in 1859. Its role in the civil rights movement is well chronicled. The Rev. Ralph Mark Gilbert, who served as First African Baptist’s pastor from 1939 to 1956, rejuvenated the city’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and First African held rallies, meetings and services to advance the cause throughout that troubled era.The church has its own museum open to visitors. The Haitian Monument was unveiled on Oct. 8, 2007, part of the celebration of the 228th anniversary of the climactic battle of the Siege of Savannah. On Oct. 9, 1779, the Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint-Domingue, a 500-man unit from Haiti, suffered losses of 25 killed or
wounded as it covered the allied retreat after an unsuccessful assault on British positions. The hatless drummer boy represents Henri Christophe, the future king of Haiti, who was just 12 when he served with the Chasseurs in SAavannah. The statues, made from cast bronze, were crafted by sculptor James Mastin of Miami. They now stand as the focal point for Franklin Square, which has a unique history. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, who served in London as the colonial agent for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Georgia. The original Franklin Square, along with Elbert Square and Liberty Square, was demolished in the 1930s as the city turned Montgomery Street into a thoroughfare, designed to speed tourists on their way to and from Florida. The current Franklin Square was rebuilt in 1985.
Our
RIVER BIG BUSINESS
Just as it was in the days of Eli Whitney, Savannah’s Port is the heart of the local economy By Robert C. Morris Less than a mile from the Savannah River, at the northern end of the Garden City Terminal, a field of truck chassis gives way to stacks of bright, colored containers, parked end-to- end for close to 1,200 acres. When the port is at its busiest, I can look out from my office window and see towering cranes reach out over ships measuring, at times, twice the length of a football field, with trucks, forklifts and smaller cranes on wheels all moving, crisscrossing, pulling, draying, positioning goods to and from the international marketplace in a brilliant, well-timed, mechanical ballet. Just beyond what has become the fourth-busiest container terminal in America, if you follow the river as it bends west and slightly north, the visible signs of commerce end, and a slight bluff appears, surrounded by live oak, pine, thick marsh grass and wetlands. This is the site where, in 1793, a young teacher by the name of Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, forever transforming the agricultural landscape, economy and society of the South. By 1855 Savannah would become one of the world’s leading exporters of cotton moving more than $20
million in goods. The desk where I sit, on the edge of the container terminal, overlooking that remarkable link between world commerce and local economies, is a fascinating window into the engine that has driven our local economy for centuries. When I take newcomers onto the port for the first time, their eyes widen and they often say things like – “I had no idea this was here.”But Savannah’s rise as a center for international commerce has been surging for decades. In the late 1880s, industry-minded northerners were drawn here for the timber industry, helping to make Savannah the world’s leading exporter of pine timber, resin and distilled turpentine. And by the turn of the century, Savannah’s exports, namely cotton and timber products, had made this port the powerhouse of the South. But the port, and its related industries, could never have grown into the second-busiest container terminal on the East Coast if the Georgia General Assembly had not, in March of 1945, created the Georgia Ports Authority and authorized it to purchase a 407-acre tract in Garden City, 46
eight miles upriver from Savannah. By moving the docks, and their related trade from the center of the city, it allowed
the port room to grow. In 1953, the port opened its first four general cargo berths with two 55-ton gantry cranes and three transit sheds. By 1965, the first containerized cargo began to move across Savannah’s docks, and the rest, as they say, is history! Robert C. Morris is senior director of corporate communications at the Georgia Ports Authority.
2017-2018
51 The SS Savannah, the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean Using steam engines for at least part of the voyage, and captained by Moses Rogers, the SS Savannah left the port of Savannah, on May 22, 1819, on her famous voyage. She arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 20, 1819, the steam engine having been in use for only part of the time on the 18 day trip (between 8 and 80 hours total). May 22 is now known as National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the date of her historic voyage.
Nuclear Ship Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship In 1955, President of the United States Dwight Eisenhower proposed building a nuclear-powered merchant ship as a showcase for his “Atoms for Peace” initiative. The N/S SAVANNAH, named for SS Savannah, was the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, built at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core. The SAVANNAH is one of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, in ceremonies at Camden, N.J., christened the NS Savannah on July 21, 1959. It sailed into Savannah on Aug. 22, 1962, part of a maiden voyage that sent it through the Panama Canal and on to Seattle for the World’s Fair. Fun fact: The Army considered using her as a power plant to be used during national emergencies.
SS and NSNSSavannah THE SS AND SAVANNAH
A Tale of Two Ships Two vessels taking Savannah as their name were pioneers in maritime history
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Our
palate A Heaping Helping of Savannah Food By Chef Darin Sehnert Running from Pawley’s Island, SC, to south of Savannah, the marshy Low Country region features an abundance of seafood thanks to the myriad of tidal waterways snaking through the region. Shrimp, crab, oysters and flounder are often easily caught from backyard docks, public fishing piers, and tidal inlets. Further off the coast deepwater sportsmen and fishing trawlers are likely to catch whiting, dolphinfish (mahi mahi), grouper, red snapper, and Spanish mackerel. The current regional cuisine is interwoven with the influences of native Creek Indians, the English, Spanish, French, and most heavily, the West Africans, brought during the slavery period. Many ingredients commonly regarded as “southern” have actually been transplanted from Africa, or made their way to our shores by way of Africa. Black-eyed peas, cucumbers, peanuts, and rice are among the many ingredients with African ties. Watermelon and okra are both indigenous to the African continent. Ingredients aren’t the only things that commonly transplant from one area to the other. A survey of warm weather climates around the world will show frying as a common cooking technique. While the south often gets an unwarranted bad reputation for frying, the historical use dates back to the time before air-conditioning. Extreme heat and humidity made
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it less than desirable for cooks to spend time baking, stewing and roasting. Frying was a quick method that could be done over an outdoor fire with minimal equipment. Plantation customs continue to influence the cuisine of the area in modern times. The prime cuts of meat and vegetables were reserved for the plantation families while the discarded parts would customarily be saved and cooked for the slave families. Thus the white owners would be served boiled beets and turnips and the green tops would be set aside to be simmered with neckbones and other flavorful, but less meaty, scraps. The liquid or “pot likker” would be sopped up with cornbread for a filling and inexpensive meal. Many of the wealthier families that found themselves financially ruined at the end of the war adopted the less expensive eating customs of the former slaves. Post-war, many of the freed slaves that had previously cooked in the “main house” of plantations made a living by going to work in the hotels, boarding houses, or as private cooks for wealthier families. Just as before, they continued to weave African and European cultures, culinary techniques, and traditions with the ingredients available to them to create and pass along the rich flavorful heritage of what has come to be known as “soul food.” Georgia was founded as a border colony to act as a buffer against the potential threat of the Spanish and French. To counter potential religious sympathy with
the mostly Catholic Spanish, Catholicism was one of four prohibitions put in place by the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia. (Lawyers, alcohol, and slavery were the other three. All four eventually went by the wayside. In order to minimize the effect of Catholocisim on the area, immigrants such as Lutherans from Germany, Presbyterians from Scotland, and Jewish congregations were all encouraged to settle in the new Georgia colony. Jewish immigrants arrived just a few months after the founding of Savannah aboard the ship William and Sarah. Shortly after the English settled Savannah and helped the Jewish immigrants acclimate, they were once again welcoming newcomers, this time the Salzburgers, a group that had left Augsburg, Germany in search of religious freedom to practice their Lutheran faith. They were greeted in early 1734 by General Oglethorpe and provided land upriver from Savannah where they created the settlement of Ebenezer. The town was later moved closer to the river and mostly destroyed by the British during the revolutionary war. Irish culture was introduced to Savannah during the construction of the Ogeechee Canal. The canal was built to provide a method of barge transportation to connect the Ogeechee river with the port of Savannah. Large numbers of Irish and Irish-Americans migrated from the north to find work building the canal. The late nineteenth century even brought influences from the Greek and Chinese.
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food and culture festivals Several Savannah restaurants and cultural groups celebrate food and culture throughout the year. Keep up with all things SAVANNAH FOOD at dosavannahnow.com and DINE SAVANNAH on social media.
l a c o L s ’ h a Savann n Store Kitche
B
ook a class now to get hands-on instruction for award-winning recipes. Join Chef Darin to cook up dishes from start to finish, learn proper technique, try new ingredients, and, of course, eat! Perfect for those new in the kitchen or experienced cooks, and great for girls’ day out or date night with your honey. Reserve your spot now!
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Hands-on ses Cooking Clas
Savannah Restaurant Week I Savannah Irish Festival SCAD International Festival Savannah Food Truck Festival Tybee Wine Festival Savannah Asian Festival Savannah Buds & Burgers Week Savannah Restaurant Week II Gourmet Seafood & Spirits Festival Oktoberfest on the River Savannah Brunch Festival Greek Food Festival Jewish Food Festival Savannah Food & Wine Festival
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912.662.6882
2514 Abercorn St., Suite 140 Savannah, GA 31401 Entrance on 42nd Street. Located just blocks from Savannah’s Historic District with free parking in the back.
Savannah isis aa very very diverse diverse city city with withdiverse diversemenu menuoptions. options. Whether you’re Savannah Whether you’re looking looking for Mexican, American or Soulthere Food, a menufor for Mexican, Korean,Korean, American favoritesfavorites or Soul Food, is athere menuiswaiting waiting thiswe’re town.known as a Southern food destination, but we’re almost as you in for this you town.inYes, Yes, we’re known as Whatever a Southernyou’re food hungry destination, butbe we’re famous famous for our pizza! for, you’ll surealmost to find itashere. forVisit ourdosavannahnow.com pizza! Whatever you’re for, you’ll be sure to find it here. And make to gethungry food news and dining recommendations. Visittodining.savannahnow.com get food news and dining sure follow DINE SAVANNAH ontosocial media. Your taste budsrecommendations. will thank you!
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Sav Sav SCA Sav Tyb Sav Sav Sav Go Ok Sav Gre Jew Sav
What would you like to drink?
Famous Savannah mixologist Sidney Lance gives his advice on how to mix up the perfect Savannah-style cocktail:
Grab a To-Go Beverage
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and Learn about Savannah’s Long and Interesting History with the Spirit World (That other kind)
As author John Berendt observed in his best-seller, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”: “If you go to Atlanta, the first question people ask you is, ‘What’s your business?’ In Macon. they ask, ‘Where do you go to church?’ In Augusta, they ask your grandmother’s maiden name. But in Savannah, the first question people ask you is “What would you like to drink?’” As any local can tell you, Savannahians love a good drink. In a city where it’s perfectly legal to sip your gin and tonic “al fresco” in a 16-ounce, plastic to-go cup (north of Jones Street, that is), it’s almost impossible to believe that alcohol was once banned in Savannah. Every March, Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration is a religious observance and family oriented parade as well as an alcohol-fueled extravaganza that pumps significant revenue into local businesses. Throughout the year, bars and lounges throb with live music and craft cocktails. Our own local distillery, breweries and pub crawls are all big business in Savannah’s tourism industry. Today, Savannah is home to the nation’s only museum dedicated to Prohibition. Located in City Market, the museum displays memorabilia related to the temperance movement and the 18th Amendment, from vintage cars to stained glass from the former Johnny Harris restaurant that once graced Victory Drive. Savannah even has its own drink. Chatham Artillery Punch was born in the year 1786, a child of the organization whose name it bears,” reads a tattered printed brochure from sometime in the mid-twenti-
eth century. “It has become historic in that Presidents, Governors, the judiciary, and even the Admiral of Manila fame are said to have enjoyed the tonic...” There are many stories associated with Chatham Artillery Punch. Ask several strangers and you’re likely to get differing opinions, as well as recipes. The drink has ties to the old Chatham Artillery; that much we know. But it’s definitely our most famous concoction. Try it yourself at any local watering hole, but because it generally contains red wine, whiskey, gin, “strongbrewed” tea, rum, brandy and champagne, it’s not advisable for the faint of heart or weak of liver. In many ways, the American drive for temperance dates back to our nation’s founding. Early colonists frowned upon alcohol, believing it promoted immoral behavior and lassitude. Georgia’s Founding Father, General James Edward Oglethorpe, banned distilled liquor from England’s 13th colony but permitted beer and wine in Georgia. Now that liquor is legally made and consumed in The Hostess City, a visit to Ghost Coast Distillery, the first since before Prohibition, should be on your agenda. The feather in their cap is their Bourbon, slowly waiting in charred oak barrels, getting more flavorful by the day using Savannah’s unique hot, humid climate as an integral ingredient. But they’ve also perfected over 21 different, award-winning “Spirits of Savannah” that are available to taste onsite or take back home with you.
(Sources: previously published content in the Savannah Morning News | savannahnow.com and Ghost Coast Distllery)
It’s hot here. Almost all-year long. So it’s always ok to serve a cold drink. Use lots of ice, freeze it and shake it. You won’t go wrong serving up a cold one.
local ingredients. We have tons 2 Use of locally-grown and locally-made products to keep your drinks fresh and filled with regional flavors. Verdant Kitchen is one of them. Look for their line of ginger syrups in local shops to add a delicious punch to your cocktail. local spirits from Ghost Coast Distillery, 3 Use of course! Here’s one of Sidney’s seriously Savannah recipes to try:
OGLETHORPE’s MULE INGREDIENTS 1 ½ oz Ghost Coast Vodka OR Ghost Coast Ginger Whiskey ¾ oz Lime Juice ¾ oz Verdant Kitchen Ginger Syrup Club Soda PREPARATION Add first three ingredients to shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously, strain over ice into mule cup, top with club soda. Garnish with lime wheel and mint sprig. (Recipe courtesy Sidney Lance and Ghost Coast Distillery, find more local recipes at ghostcoastdistillery.com)
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museums tour
Take a Walk on the Art Side A tour of four compelling Savannah museums
Telfair Academy The oldest public art museum in the South, this was once the home of the Telfair family, a political-planter-merchant powerhouse that occupied a place of prominence for more than a century. Mary Telfair, the diminutive doyenne who died in 1875, provided for the museum in her will. Drastically altered from its days as a Regency-style mansion, the Telfair Academy of Arts and Science opened in 1886. It’s now part of Telfair Museums, a downtown arts force that also includes the Owens-Thomas House and the
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Jepson Center. The Telfair Academy frequently hosts traveling exhibitions, and it has an extensive permanent collection that includes works by Gari Melchers, Frederick Frieseke, William Hogarth, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Romare Bearden. It also features such Savannah-centric artists as Augusta Oelschig and Luther Vann. Several of the rooms have been restored to reflect the original 1819 design of the house, including the dining room, which boasts a New York sideboard and set of chairs attributed to Duncan Phyfe.
The Jepson Center This is famed architect Moshe Safdie’s vision for Savannah, a block-sized, glass-fronted, plain-sided contemporary museum that has a drastically different look at different parts of the day, depending on the angle of the sun. Safdie’s resume is impeccable – the National Gallery in Ottawa, the Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, built in Bentonville, Ark., for Walmart heiress Alice Walton, and a long list of others – but that didn’t help when he presented his original plans for the Jepson in 1999.
Our SAVANNAH
54 used throughout the grounds. The museum, covering some 82,000 square feet, hosts ambitious and audacious traveling exhibitions and features several permanent collections, including the Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies, which contains works from renowned artists Jacob Lawrence, Clementine Hunter, Romare Bearden and others, and the Andre Leon Talley Gallery, which displays garments from modern fashion designers. In keeping with SCAD’s educational role, the museum also holds 10 classrooms, two study suites and a 250-seat theater. One of its other focal points is the 12-foot-long horizontal touch pad in the atrium, a quicklook, no-paper catalog that previews visiting exhibitions and provides detailed information on the permanent collections.
School fromprotested 1878 until 1962. Savannahians loudly and at length, Ships of the Sea purchased it fit in in 1995, charging that Safdie’s creation did not with the city’s crafted plan. Changesitswere made, and andcarefully painstakingly recaptured grandeur theas Jepson opened in 2006. Today, the Jepson muchfinally as possible. Models of many fitsprominent flawlessly, especially when school are vessels, including thebuses Titanic, outside, letting children they can enter the infamous slave out shipsoWanderer andthrough the the glass doors. light cruiser U.S.S. Savannah sit in glassThe Jepson serves as the Telfair’s edgy outlet. Its enclosed cases, large, bold, vivid exhibits include suchand nontraditional works as nautiSarah cal paintings theofwalls, several of them Frost’s Arsenal, a line display hundreds of hand-made placed black-marble paper gunsabove hung from the ceiling. mantelpieces. An interactive gallery forscrimshaw children is located on its asecond floor, to and The collection, testament there also time galleries devoted space theare spare sailors hadtoatphotography, sea and their thatskill displays works by artists as floor. WalkerThe Evans, at carving, is such on the third Jack Leigh and Dan Winters. museum also has a well-stocked gift shop, Also on display is The Bird Girl, the piece of a chance to buy books on Georgia and Bonaventure Cemetery statuary that photographer maritime history, along with several sizes of Jack Leigh made famous with the cover of “Midnight ships in a bottle. in the Garden of Good and Evil.” The Jepson also has a swanky gift shop, one that offers designer purses and jewelry, coffee-table-sized The Savannah College art of booksArt and replicas The Bird Girl. andof Design Museum of Art
Ships of the Sea Reflective of SCAD’s skill at renewing Maritime Museum and renovating old buildings and spaces, this You enter Ships of the Sea through the rear, an cutting-edge museum occupies what wasin the opportunity to amble through the largest garden oncedistrict, an antebellum railroad complex. historic a 19th-century space that stays cool The 1856 of thesultry Central of and inviting, evenheadquarters during Savannah’s summer. Georgia was refurbished refined for its The display spaces inside theand museum reflect the house’s riches-to-rags-to-restoration Once role as the main space, and thehistory. 1853 railroad a magnificent Regency-style residence depot, which was beyond repair, that wasplayed pulled host to President James Monroe in 1819, it sat vacant into the project as well, its two remaining for years over a couple of stretches and served as the walls saved with artful style, and its thouWest Broad Street School from 1878 until 1962.
sands of scattered Savannah gray bricks
Ships of the Sea purchased it in 1995, and painstakingly recaptured its grandeur as much as possible. Models of many prominent vessels, including the Titanic, the infamous slave ship Wanderer and the light cruiser U.S.S. Savannah sit in glass-enclosed cases, and large, bold, vivid nautical paintings line the walls, several of them placed above black-marble mantelpieces. The scrimshaw collection, a testament to the spare time sailors had at sea and their skill at carving, is on the third floor. The museum also has a well-stocked gift shop, a chance to buy books on Georgia and maritime history, along with several sizes of ships in a bottle. The Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art Reflective of SCAD’s skill at renewing and renovating old buildings and spaces, this cutting-edge museum occupies what was once an antebellum railroad complex. The 1856 headquarters of the Central of Georgia was refurbished and refined for its role as the main space, and the 1853 railroad depot, which was beyond repair, was pulled into the project as well, its two remaining walls saved with artful style, and its thousands of scattered Savannah gray bricks used throughout the grounds. The museum, covering some 82,000 square feet, hosts ambitious and audacious traveling exhibitions and features several permanent collections, including the Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies, which contains works from renowned artists Jacob Lawrence, Clementine Hunter, Romare Bearden and others, and the Andre Leon Talley Gallery, which displays garments from modern fashion designers. In keeping with SCAD’s educational role, the museum also holds 10 classrooms, two study suites and a 250-seat theater. One of its other focal points is the 12-foot-long horizontal touch pad in the atrium, a quick-look, no-paper catalog that previews visiting exhibitions and provides detailed information on the 54
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furry friends Savannahians Love Putting on the Dog
Walking the streets of Savannah, it’s hard not to notice that this is a very dog-friendly town. Taking advantage of sitting outside, whether you are resting or dining, will allow you to enjoy our beautiful city with your dogs in tow–or the other way around! Everything here in Savannah has a story. And, frequently, these stories here seem to involve a dog or two. The 1997 film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brought quite a bit of attention to Savannah. In the movie, one of the country’s most recognized college football mascots, Uga V, the University of Georgia English Bulldog, had a featured cameo, walking in Forsyth Park with his owner, Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler, a wellknown Savannah attorney. The current mascot, Uga X (or Que, as he is affectionately known) lives in Savannah between trips to football games and appearances, as the entire lineage has since 1956. Even our statues of famous residents have dogs! The Waving Girl statue at the east end of River Street depicts the story of Florence Martus. Florence was the daughter of a sergeant who was stationed at Fort Pulaski. Her closest companion, a collie, often stood and welcomed the incoming ships while she waved her handkerchief. It’s believed that she and her canine friend probably welcomed over 50,000 ships during their lifetimes. Folks go out of their way to make sure visitors feel at home here–that’s our down home southern sensibilities at work. And that goes for welcoming furry friends as well!
Savannah’s weather lends restaurants to take advantage of outdoor seating, serving both two and four-legged visitors. It’s common for most places to have water bowls outside, along with wait staff equipped with treats to spoil your canine buddies! Savannah is proud to have several off-leash dog parks within the city limits. The closest one to downtown is Mother Mathilda Beasley Dog Park, located at 500 E. Broad Street. The largest, which is also the City of Savannah’s first public dog park, is inside Daffin Park in Midtown Savannah, just off Victory Drive. Known as Herty Pines Dog Park, it boasts close to three acres of fenced areas for small dogs, large dogs, and a dog run. It’s located at the back corner of the park behind Grayson Baseball Stadium, at Bee Road and Washington Street. Then, of course, there is Forsyth Park, Savannah’s first and oldest park. Sitting on its benches alongside your furry best friend near the spectacular fountain should be on everyone’s bucket list. The city’s squares and parks are always frequented by dogs and their owners. Savannah even has a running/walking event designed for dogs and their owners. The Woof Woof Run 5K Over Pet Cancer is held in the Fall, and in the past few years has raised over $90,000 for pet cancer research and treatment. Savannah’s commitment to animal welfare is evident, as its various local pet rescue groups hold adoptions practically every weekend. Also, don’t miss “Wag-o-Ween,” a pet trick-or-treating event each October.
Savannah’s Wiener Dog Races take place early each October as part of River Street’s Oktoberfest celebration. In addition to the “wieners” of the race, there are prizes for costumes, owner lookalikes, and a division for mixed-breed Dachshundscalled the “almost wieners.” Right: Bark in the Park with the Savannah Bananas at Grayson Stadium.
Opportunities abound for bonding with your furry buddy in Savannah, from outdoor adventures to foot races to sharing fun at a baseball game. Right: Wag-O-Ween
pet Volun-tourism Get in some cuddles and help out a local pet rescue When you leave home and are missing your pet, don’t fret. Instead, head over and engage in voluntourism opportunities with Coastal Pet Rescue at their Camp Pawsawhile Retreat animal shelter. Camp Pawsawhile Retreat is just off Montgomery Crossroad at Truman Parkway. Volunteers are welcome seven days a week, twice a day, to aid in feeding and cleaning rooms and runs for the shelter’s resident canines and felines as well as socializing dogs in the play yards and cats out on their catios. Kitten cuddlers are also welcome to help socialize younger kittens after they have been weaned. For more information, visit coastalpetrescue.org or connect with the group on Facebook. 56
annual major events JANUARY Tybee Polar Plunge Annual Lowcountry Home & Garden Show Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade Winter Savannah Restaurant Week FEBRUARY A-Town Get Down Savannah Book Festival Music & Art Festival Critz Tybee Run Fest Savannah Irish Festival Savannah Black Heritage Festival Georgia Day Parade
MARCH Saint Patrick’s Day in Savannah Savannah Music Festival Savannah Stopover Festival
APRIL SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival Earth Day Celebration
Check out which events are going on this month. There’s always lots to choose from! JULY Fourth of July Celebrations Summer Savannah Restaurant Week Buds & Burgers Week
NOVEMBER Taste of Savannah Telfair Art Fair Rock ‘n Roll Marathon
AUGUST Savannah VOICE Festival Savannah Children’s Choir Season Starts MAY SCAD Sand Arts Festival Savannah Scottish Games Fine Arts on The River Festival Tybee Beach Bum Parade Historic Savannah Foundation Preservation Festival Savannah Seafood Festival Savannah Doggie Carnival Tybee Wine Festival Tybee Rainbow Fest
SEPTEMBER Savannah Philharmonic Season Starts River Street Bacon Fest Savannah Craft Brew Fest Surfers for Autism Beach Festival Revival Fest OCTOBER Oktoberfest on the River St. Paul’s Greek Festival SCAD Savannah Film Festival Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival The Savannah Brunch Festival Tybee Pirate Fest Savannah Pride Festival
JUNE River Street Blues, Jazz & BBQ Juneteenth Celebrations
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DECEMBER Savannah River Bridge Run Christmas Parade Holiday Boat Parade Holiday Tour of Homes Savannah Holiday Series at the Westin Savannah Harbor
our people
Savannah’s Beloved Son Still Puts a Song in our Hearts One of the most celebrated songwriters of all time, Mercer made it a point to give back to his hometown Savannah native Johnny Mercer is the famed lyricist whose 1944 hit “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” was recently selected for preservation at the Library of Congress, adding a little more luster to a singularly successful songwriting career that spanned from the 1930s into the 1970s. Mercer recorded “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” himself, with the Pied Pipers as background singers. That version rose to number 2 on the hit charts. Soon afterwards, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters also recorded the song, and their effort climbed to number 2 on the charts as well. Since then, it has been covered by many other artists, including Artie Shaw, Kay Kyser, and Aretha Franklin. “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” was also on the soundtrack CD “Midnight in the S for VANNAH Garden of Good and Evil.” to For Mercer, of course, hit recordings were noth-
AZ
M m
the pop charts. In addition to his song-writing acumen, Mercer was also a sharp businessman. In 1942, he was one of the cofounders of Capitol Records. In 1955, using some of the profits from the sale of Capitol Records, Mercer paid off the remaining $300,000 debt from the Great Depression-era failure of his father’s real estate company. He enclosed a note with the check, saying in part, “It has been my ambition since boyhood to pay off my father’s debt …” He also paid the final payment for the gym at the Victor B. Jenkins Jr. Memorial Boys’ Club, and he was known to have contributed to Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, where St. Andrew’s Church is now located. In 1976, Mercer died of complications from cancer at age 66. He is buried at Bonaventure
Johnny
Mercer M is for Savannah native JOHNNY MERCER, the famed lyricist whose 1944 hit “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” was recently selected for preservation at the library of Congress, adding a little more luster to a singularly successful songwriting career that spanned from the 1930s into the 1970s.
“On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” one of his Oscar winners.
In addition to his song-writing acumen, Mercer was also a sharp businessman. In ing new. In all, he wrote more than 1,100 songs and Cemetery, but he is 1942, immortalized bronze with he wasinone won four Academy Awards. a statue at Ellis Square in downtown Savannah. Mercer recorded “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the of the cofounders Yet, he never lost touch with his birthplace and The Back River flowing past Skidaway Island and Positive” himself, with the Pied Pipers of Capitol often returned. He did so by train, and he frequently his former home on Burnside Island was renamed Records. In 1955, as background singers. That version penned songs with railroad references, such as “On the Moon River to honor one of his most-famous rose to number 2 on the hit charts. using the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” one of his songs, “Moon River,” fromsome the movie “Breakfast at afterwards, Bing and the of the profits Oscar winners. His work Soon spanned stage, screen andCrosby Tiffany’s.” Andrews Sisters also recorded the song, from the sale of and their effort climbed to number 2 on Capitol Records, the charts as well. Mercer paid off the remaining 58 Since then, it has been covered by many $300,000 debt other artists, including Artie Shaw, kay from the Great Depression-era failure of
Sources: Savannah Morning News files; New
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ghost tours ghost tours
Scaring Scaring up up Fun Fun with with aa Side Side of of History Whether you believe in them or not, ghosts and the
business ofyou talking aboutinthem become a part of Whether believe themhave or not, ghosts and just Savannah lore, about but of them Savannah thenot business of talking havehistory. become In recent years, the city has become a major desa part of not just Savannah lore, but of Savannah tination for travelers looking for history with a little history. spirit. USA Today labels Savannah as one of America’s In years, the cityThe hasTravel become a major 10 recent Most Haunted Cities; Channel likewise destination for travelers history puts Savannah on its Toplooking Hauntedfor Cities List; with and CNBC places Savannah the very top of its as 10 Most a little spirit. USA Todayatlabels Savannah Cities in10 America countdown. oneHaunted of America’s Most Haunted Cities; The “Savannah may look like a sweet Southern belle, Travel Channel likewise puts Savannah on its Top but she keeps a dark secret,” USA Today gushes in its Haunted List; and CNBC places Savannah piece onCities haunted destinations. “Over the years, bloody at the very top of its 10 Most Haunted Cities buildings, massive fires, yellow-fever epidemicsinand America countdown. hurricanes have taken hundreds of lives, leaving behind unsettled spirits.” “Savannah may look like a sweet Southern helps attract the hundreds of tourists who belle,All butthis she keeps a dark secret,” USA Today daily walk and ride, in a hearse if they choose, through gushes in its piece on haunted destinations. “Over the city on ghost tours. the years, bloody buildings, massive fires, yellowThe most popular destinations include some of fever epidemics and hurricanes have taken hundreds of lives, leaving behind unsettled spirits.” All this helps attract the hundreds of tourists who daily walk and ride, in a hearse if they choose, through the city on ghost tours.
the city’s most historic addresses—the Andrew Low House, the Isaiah Davenport House and the SorThe most popular destinations include some of rel-Weed Other can’t-miss haunted-historic the city’sHouse. most historic addresses—the Andrew destinations include Colonial Cemetery, the Kehoe Low House, the Isaiah Davenport House and the House and Moon River Brewing Co. Sorrel-Weed House. Other But Savannah’s ghostly pastcan’t-miss started longhauntedbefore this historic destinations include Colonial Cemetery, recent paranormal phenomenon. theAKehoe House and Moon Brewing Co. ghost tale has been a stapleRiver at the Juliette Gordon Low sinceghostly 1917, when Kinzie ButBirthplace Savannah’s past Nelly started longGorbefore don,recent Juliette’s mother, died. In the final moments of this paranormal phenomenon. Nelly’s life, the legend goes, she suddenly smiled like A ghost tale has been a staple at the Juliette a bride and stretched out her arms. Soon thereafter, as Gordon Birthplace since Nelly saddenedLow family members left the1917, room, when they came Kinzie Gordon, Juliette’s mother, died. In the upon an elderly butler who told them that he had just final of Nelly’s life, the legend goes, seen amoments youthful and handsome William Washington Gordon II, Nelly’s husband Juliette’s father. Gorshe suddenly smiled like aand bride and stretched don,her who died five years earlier, had come to getfamily Miss out arms. Soon thereafter, as saddened Nelly, the butler said. members left the room, they came upon an elderly Still, this, and just about any other Savannah ghost butler who told them that he had just seen a youthstories, pale in comparison to the rambunctious recol-
ful and handsome William Washington Gordon II, Nelly’s husband and Juliette’s father. Gordon, who died five years earlier, had come to get Miss Nelly, the butler said. 59 Still, this, and just about any other Savannah
lections conjured up by the circa-1796 Hampton-Lillibridge Williams, of “Midnight in rambuncthe ghost House. stories,Jim pale in comparison to the Garden of Good and Evil” fame, purchased house tious recollections conjured up by thethe circa-1796 in 1963 with plans to restore it. Hampton-Lillibridge House. Jim Williams, of First, he moved it several blocks, from 312 Bryant in theSt., Garden of Good and In Evil” fame, St.“Midnight to 507 E. Julian its present location. Decempurchased the ahouse withevents plans attothe restore ber of 1963, after seriesin of 1963 disturbing it. Williams arranged to have it exorcised by an house, Episcopal First, bishop. he moved it several blocks, from 312 That brought however. Williams, a Bryant St. tolittle 507 peace, E. Julian St., its presentinlocation. 1964 interview, recalled that several brick masons had In December of 1963, after a series of disturbing been sent running from the house after hearing strange events at the house, Williams arranged to have it footsteps, laughter and whispers. exorcised by an Episcopal A scared foreman of the crew,bishop. Williams said, told brought little however. Williams, him That “that house is full of peace, people that ain’t working for you.” in a 1964 interview, recalled that several brick Such tales have, of sent course, put thefrom Hampton-Lilmasons had been running the house after libridge House high atop current lists of haunted sights hearing strange footsteps, laughter and whispers. to see.
A scared foreman of the crew, Williams said, told him “that house is full of people that ain’t working for you.” Such tales have, of course, put the Hampton-Lillibridge House high atop current lists of haunted sights to see.
Our SAVANNAH
66 cemeteries tour
cemeteries
Silent, yet Always Present To really appreciate life in Savannah, spend some time in three of her most beautiful cemeteries
bonaventure Bonaventure Bordered by the picturesque Wilmington River, framed by majestic oak trees and graced with a gentle, quiet serenity, this 100-acre cemetery was a landmark long before “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” brought it worldwide attention in 1994. Once a plantation, it became a private cemetery in 1846, and was purchased by the city and made a public cemetery in 1907. Union soldiers, beguiled by Bonaventure’s beauty, rode out on weekends to
picnic on its avenues. Naturalist John Muir, staying at Bonaventure for several days in 1867, wrote that he heard bald eagles screaming in its trees. Prominent people who rest along Bonaventure’s sandy, narrow passageways include poet Conrad Aiken, Academy Award-winning songwriter Johnny Mercer and philanthropist Mary Telfair. But it’s often a unique piece of statuary or a poignant story that calls out to visitors. 60
The life-sized statue of Little Gracie Watson, sadly, has both. The 6-year-old daughter of the manager of a downtown hotel, she died in 1889 of pneumonia. Generations of children placed pennies and other small mementoes in her marble hand, but a fence now surrounds and protects her. Ironically, the statue of the Bird Girl, captured in haunting style by photographer Jack Leigh and placed on the cover of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” is no
longer at Bonaventure. The object of constant visitation after publication of the book, it is now on display at the Telfair Museum. If you go: Bonaventure Cemetery is located at 330 Bonaventure Road. It’s open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 912-651-6843 or go to www.bonaventurehistorical. org, the website of the Bonaventure Historical Society.
2017-2018
67 laurel grove
laurel grove Laurel Grove north North
Laurel Grove south South
Like Bonaventure, this was also a plantation. It was opened as a cemetery in 1850 as Colonial Park Cemetery in downtown Savannah approached capacity. Reflecting the time of its opening, and the fact that the internment rights to the available lots were sold out during the Victorian Era, it has a remarkable concentration of Victorian-period cemetery architecture. Prominent people buried here include seven Confederate generals – Francis Bartow, Lafayette McLaws and G. Moxley Sorrel among them – Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low and “Jingle Bells” composer James Pierpont. If you go: Laurel Grove Cemetery North is located at 802 W. Anderson St. It’s open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A satellite office of the city’s Department of Cemeteries is located inside the Laurel Grove Administration Building at 802 W. Anderson St.
This was developed at the same time as Laurel Grove North, but as a cemetery for African-Americans. During the years before the end of the Civil War, this 90-acre cemetery became the final resting place for more free African-Americans that any other cemetery in the Southeast. Prominent people buried here include the Rev. Andrew Bryan and the Rev. Andrew Cox Marshall, early African-American church leaders, and educator Jane DeVeaux, who secretly taught slave children. In the 1970s, Savannah civil rights icon W.W. Law worked tirelessly to save and restore grave sites at Laurel Grove. He is now buried there, in the family plot next to his mother. If you go: Laurel Grove Cemetery South is located at 2101 Kollock St. It’s open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sources: Savannah Morning News files; City of Savannah Web site; Bonaventure Historical Society Web site.
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Our SAVANNAH
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Our
LIVE OAKS
Our SAVANNAH
Quercus virginiana
A Tree by Any Other Name Quercus virginiana
The Southern Live Oak is our state’s official tree and, quite possibly, the most beloved natural feature of Savannah Quercus virginiana
A Tree by Any Other Name
ATheTree by Any Other Name Southern Live Oak is our state’s official tree and, quite
Quercus Virginiana is the Latin name of the majestic southern live oak trees that have served as Savannah’s moss-strewn sentinels for centuries. Recently, the Georgia Ports Authority placed several gnarled oak trees that stand near its Garden City from tip to tip). Terminal under protective governance. Two of the In the 18th and 19th centuries, live oaks of that trees date back to the mid-17th century, and three stature were highly sought by shipbuilders. In adQuercus Virginiana is thecentury. Latin name of the majestic others to the 18th dition to the strength lent by live-oak timbers, the southern Other live oaknotable, trees thatand have served as Savannah’s much more accessible, large, curving branches near the ground were ideally moss-strewn sentinels centuries. trees that werefor around when Gen. James Edward shaped for the curved sections of ships’ hulls. Recently, the Georgia Ports Authority placed several Oglethorpe settled Savannah in 1733 include the The U.S. Navy sent several expeditions to St. Signarled oak trees that stand near its Garden City Terminal Quercus Virginiana is the Latin name of the Candler Oak and the Majestic Oak. mons Island in the 1790s to fell live oaks and transunder southern protective governance. Twothat of thehave trees served date back to majestic live oak trees as Standing just across Drayton Street from Forsyth the mid-17th century, and sentinels three othersfor to the 18th century. port the timbers back to Northern shipyards. One of Savannah’s moss-strewn centuries. Park, the Candler Oak is thought to be some 300 Other notable, and much more accessible, trees that were the ships built by those yards, the USS Constitution, Recently, theGen. Georgia Ports Authority placed sevThe largest tree in the Historic aroundyears whenold. James Edward Oglethorpe settled District Sawon everlasting fame as “Old Ironsides” in the War eralvannah gnarled oak trees that near this venerable oak already hadits itsGarden place inCity the local in 1733 include the stand Candler Oak and the Majestic from tip to tip). of 1812 because its sides made of Georgia wood Terminal underwhen protective governance. Twoarrived of the in 1733. 8 inches (measured at 4 feet from the ground), and a Oak. forest Gen. James Oglethorpe In the 18thimpervious and 19th centuries, oaksballs. of that proved to British live cannon Standing across Drayton Street from and Forsyth Park, trees date back to the mid-17th century, three It’s 50just feet tall, with a 16-foot-wide trunk and 107-breadth of 165 feet, 7 inches (measured at the longest stature were highly sought by shipbuilders. In adthe to Candler Oak is thought toatbeitssome 300 Its years old. in historydistance of its branches from tip to tip). foot circumference crown. place others the 18th century. dition to18th the and strength lent by live live-oak timbers, the The largest tree in the Historic District this venerable oak In the 19th centuries, oaks of that stature did not protect it from pavement, however, and by Other notable, and much more accessible, were highly sought by shipbuilders. In ground addition to the ideally already had its place in the local forest when Gen. James large, curving branches near the were the tree was onGen. the precipice of dying. It was treesOglethorpe that1980, werearrived around when James Edward in 1733. It’s 50 feet tall, with a 16-foot- shaped strength for lent the by live-oak theof large, curving branchcurvedtimbers, sections ships’ hulls. saved by the Savannah Tree Foundation, which se-es near the Oglethorpe Savannah in 1733atinclude the ground were ideally shaped for the curved wide trunksettled and 107-foot circumference its crown. Its The U.S. Navy sent several expeditions to St. Sicured a conservation in 1984however, to protect it.sections of ships’ hulls. Candler and thenot Majestic place Oak in history did protecteasement itOak. from pavement, mons Island in the 1790s to fell live oaks and transOut on the was eastside, aptly-titled Majestic and by 1980, tree on thethe precipice of dying. It was Oak The U.S. Navy sent several expeditions to St. Simons IsStanding justthe across Drayton Street from Forsyth port to oaks Northern shipyards. One of also harkens back to Savannah’s earliest years. saved the Savannah Tree Foundation, land the in thetimbers 1790s toback fell live and transport the timbers Park, the by Candler Oak is thought to bewhich somesecured 300 a built by those yards, USSbuilt Constitution, backships to Northern shipyards. One of the the ships by those conservation easement to protect it. are also impres-the Besides its age,inits1984 measurements years old. The largest tree in the Historic District Outsive—a on the eastside, Majestic Oak also at 4 feet yards,everlasting the USS Constitution, fame “Old won fame as won “Oldeverlasting Ironsides” inasthe War girth ofthe27aptly-titled feet, 8 inches (measured this harkens venerable oak already had its place in the local Ironsides” in the War 1812 made becauseofitsGeorgia sides made of backthe to Savannah’s earliest years. Besides age,7 inches from ground), and a breadth of 165 its feet, of 1812 because itsofsides wood forest when Gen. James Oglethorpe arrived in 1733. its measurements impressive—a girth feet, Georgia wood proved impervious to British cannon balls. (measuredare at also the longest distance ofofits27branches proved impervious to British cannon balls.
possibly, the most beloved natural feature of Savannah
The Southern Live Oak is our state’s official tree and, quite possibly, the most beloved natural feature of Savannah
It’s 50 feet tall, with a 16-foot-wide trunk and 107foot circumference at its crown. Its place in history 62 did not protect it from pavement, however, and by 1980, the tree was on the precipice of dying. It was
driving tour
THE MOON RIVER DISTRICT fied tabby house at Wormsloe was part of Savannah’s outer Library, an important collection that is now held by the Our SAVANNAH University of Georgia. defense line during the 1739-48 War of Jenkins’ Ear. In the late 1920s, the DeRennes renamed the estate Once its days as a colonial fort were over, Wormsloe driving tour Wormsloe Gardens and opened it to tourists. It proved to developed into a working plantation for the Jones family. Noble ties of one family continue to bind Wormsloe to be one of the most popular stops in the area, and its many Slaves harvested its most lucrative crop, sea island cotton, the state of Georgia. and also worked its fields and waters to produce and sell visitors included Henry Ford, by then living at his own You are immediately pulled into the past when you turn Southern estate in Richmond Hill. seafood, poultry and vegetables. onto Wormsloe State Historic Site and cruise along its oak Trip paints journey a picturesque poignant picture Savannah’s During the Civil War, it was of again the site for a de-past Today, most of the old plantation is owned by the state alley, a genteel one-and-one-half-mile that passes and fensive fortification, this time Fort Wimberly, a massive and run as Wormsloe Historic Site. The main house, some 400 mossy trees and culminates at the oldest standearthwork that overlooked Moon River. which sits off to one side of the oak alley, is still owned ing structureSix in Georgia. visitor sites and a historic waterfront village, just Confederate 20 minutes south of downtown Savannah,theand linked by the enchanting the descendants of the Joneses Noble Jones, one ofMoon the colony’s original 1733 settlers, River. Rich with stories and informationAfter aboutthe thewar, Savannah Lowcountry—the people,changed the land, the and lived in by the descendants of Noble Jones, the ninth-successive generation to do so. the family name to DeRenne and livedsteeped in Europe for sev-a culture moved out here inenvironment, 1736. The first surveyor, thecolonial saltmarsh, the riverJones and the coast. Exploration reveals a landscape in history, eral years. They also helped compile the DeRenne Georgia helped lay out Savannah, Ebenezer and Augusta. His fortientwined with nature. Interpreting the past, understanding the present, engaging the future. Wormsloe State 60 Historic Site
The Moon River District
Wormsloe State Historic Site Noble ties of one family continue to bindWormsloe to the state of Georgia.
was part of Savannah’s outer defense line during the 63 1739-48 War of Jenkins’ Ear. Once its days as a colonial fort were over, Wormsloe developed into a working plantation for the Jones family. Slaves harvested its most lucrative
Europe for several years. They also helped compile the DeRenne Georgia Library, an important collection that is now held by the University of Georgia. In the late 1920s, the DeRennes renamed the estate Wormsloe Gardens and opened it to tourists.
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Bethesda Academy George Whitefield preached the glories of Bethesda to colonial America. The postcard-pretty entrance at Bethesda Academy leads to one of the oldest institutions in Georgia, a haven for unfortunate children that was founded by one of colonial America’s leading religious leaders. Though its name has changed several times – from Bethesda Orphan House and Academy, to Bethesda Home for Boys, to
Bethesda School to today’s Bethesda Academy – the institution has served Georgia for more than 270 years. The idea of famed evangelist George Whitefield (pronounced Whitfield) in 1740, the orphanage was built on the scenic coastal marsh of Savannah, on the same site where its sits today. Among Bethesda’s first youthful residents were Peter Tondee, whose Broughton Street tavern served as the meeting place
His thousands of appearances, many for Savannah’s Liberty Boys, and Lachlan McIntosh, who won fame as a Revoluoutside, drew huge crowds, and one of his sites have sewer tionary War soldier and infamy as the skidaway biggestisland fans was BenjaminRVFranklin, whohookups. Groups can enjoy privacy in their own state park printed several of Whitefield’s sermons man who fatally wounded Declaration of This park borders Skidaway narrows, pioneer campgrounds. Open-air picnic Independence signer Button Gwinnett inaapart of in their intracoastal entirety on the front pageandofanhis shelters enclosed group shelter Georgia’s waterway. Trails wind through maritime forest are popular spots for parties, reunions 1777 dual. Philadelphia newspaper. other celebrations. For cooling off and past salt marsh, leading to a boardThe effort to nurture and educate Whitefield had hoped toand build Betheswalk and observation tower. Visitors can during summer, Tybee Island’s beaches Tondee, McIntosh and the other childrenwatch forda into an institute of higher learning, are less than an ahour away. deer, fiddler crabs, raccoon, TheMary, park’s camper other wildlife. Inside similar to the William and but hecabins offer was funded by Whitefield’s high-profile egrets andcollege screened porches, air conditioning, a interpretive center, birders will ministry. Whitefield was one of the mostpark’s died in 1770 without realizing that dream. bathroom with shower, kitchen, master find binoculars, reference books and a popular preachers in America. window where they can look for migrat- bedroom and kids’ sleeping loft. Guests ing species such as Painted Buntings. Children will especially enjoy seeing the towering, 20-foot Giant Ground Sloth replica and reptile room. A scenic campground is nestled under live oaks and Spanish moss, and some
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bring their own linens, towels, dishes and cooking utensils. Outside, visitors will find a picnic table, grill and fire ring. Pets are not allowed in camper cabins but are allowed in campsites. (photo/source: gastateparks.org/SkidawayIsland)
skidaway island state park (LEFT)This park borders Skidaway narrows, a part of Georgia’s intracoastal waterway. Trails wind through maritime forest and past salt marsh, leading to a boardwalk and observation tower. Visitors can watch for deer, fiddler crabs, raccoon, egrets and other wildlife. Inside the park’s interpretive center, birders will find binoculars, reference books and a window where they can look for migrating species such as Painted Buntings. Children will especially enjoy seeing the towering, 20-foot Giant Ground Sloth replica and reptile room. A scenic campground is nestled under live oaks and Spanish moss, and some RV sites have sewer hookups. Leashed pets are allowed. Groups can enjoy privacy in their own pioneer campgrounds. Open-air picnic shelters and an enclosed group shelter are popular spots for parties, reunions and other celebrations. For cooling off during summer, Tybee Island’s beaches are less than an hour away. The park’s camper cabins offer screened porches, air conditioning, a bathroom with shower, kitchen, master bedroom and kids’ sleeping loft. Guests bring their own linens, towels, dishes and cooking utensils. Outside, visitors will find a picnic table, grill and fire ring. Pets are not allowed in camper cabins but are allowed in campsites. (photo/source: gastateparks.org/SkidawayIsland)
Pin Point Heritage Museum A once prosperous fishing plant is again the pride of Pin Point. The Pin Point Heritage Museum officially opened in 2012, but its foundation was built in 1929, and it can trace its heritage back to the 1890s. The state-of-the-art facility sits inside the old A.S. Varn & Son Seafood factory, a small, oyster-shell-lined, early-20th-century industrial oasis that looks out on the Moon River, the tidal stream made famous by Johnny Mercer. When the factory began canning and packaging oysters and crabs in 1926, it provided an immediate economic boost for Pin Point, a then-isolated community originally settled in the 1890s after a series of hurricanes drove most of the African-American population of adjacent Ossabaw Island to the mainland. The original factory was damaged by a hurricane in 1929, and Varn quickly rebuilt it. Its canned oysters were sent to restaurants as far away as New York. Generations of Pin Point residents worked there until it closed in 1985. One of the women who spent long, hard, cold days standing on the concrete floors at the old plant was Leola Williams, the mother of U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was himself born at Pin Point, and who answered to the nickname of “Boy” until he moved to Savannah while still a child to live with his grandfather. In 1991, Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush. In November of 2010, Crow Holdings in Dallas, an investment firm, announced that it planned to restore the old Varn factory and reopen it as a heritage museum. Almost two years later, when the Pin Point Heritage Museum was unveiled, Thomas was one of the speakers in a ceremony at nearby Sweetfield of Eden Baptist Church, the church founded by those weather-beaten Ossabaw Island refugees in the 1890s. “I am a son of Pin Point,” said the justice, who added that he’d “always hoped he’d bring honor” to the community.
The End of Sherman’s March to the Sea
FORT MCALLISTER STATE HISTORIC PARK
CAMPING & COTTAGES FISHING KAYAKING FORT TOURS SPECIAL EVENTS
3894 Fort McAllister Rd. Richmond Hill, Georgia
gastateparks.org/FortMcAllister 912-727-2339
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University of Georgia marine education center and Aquarium The UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium is located in Savannah on Skidaway Island. Home to Georgia’s first saltwater aquarium, it features 16 exhibit tanks that showcase a variety of Georgia’s marine life. Most species are caught by aquarium staff right off the coast. A public touch tank allows visitors to get up close and personal with some of Georgia’s marine invertebrates such as snails and crabs. In addition to the aquarium, the facility hosts educational exhibits, an auditorium, two teaching laboratories, an art lab and a computer lab. There is also a dormitory and dining room on site to house and feed out-of-town groups. A boardwalk over the salt marsh to the river supports the education program and is an ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) sponsored platform that allows handicapped students to participate in the field courses. This boardwalk is part of the ADA approved nature trail that winds through the maritime forest and along the Skidaway River salt marshes. In addition to their exhibits, they also offer public programs, summer camps and special events. (photo/source: gacoast.uga.edu/uga-aquarium)
Our SAVANNAH
72 forts on the river forts on thesavannah savannah river
Constructed of brick and concrete, placed at strategic positions along the Savannah River, and staffed by such martial heroes as Robert E. Lee and George Marshall, Forts Jackson, Pulaski and Screven offer a unique perspective on American history, a slice of military service and sacrifice that stretches from the War of 1812 through the end of World War II.
Old Fort Jackson Named for Georgia senator and Revolutionary War hero James Jackson, this fortification was built amid growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain. The project began in 1808, and the fort was completed during the War of 1812, but it saw no action during that conflict. Fort Jackson played an important role in the Civil War. It served as headquarters for the city’s river defenses, and the ironclad CSS Georgia was moored nearby. Union forces occupied Fort Jackson after the Confederate retreat from the city in late 1864. One of the units stationed there was the 55th-Massachusetts, an African-American regiment. After the war, Fort Jackson gradually disappeared from view, literally and figuratively. It was manned only by a caretaker for years and in 1905 was officially decommissioned and abandoned. By the mid-1930s, foliage from the marsh had overrun its walls and pushed through its gates. It was virtually invisible from the river. It has become a popular site for school activities, re-enactments and social occasions, including weddings and oyster roasts.
Fort Pulaski Cockspur Island, which splits the Savannah River near its mouth, was an obvious site for a fort. In 1761, during the French and Indian War, the British put up Fort George there. It was followed by Fort Greene, built in 1794-95 and leveled by the hurricane of 1804. It took from 1829 until 1847 to complete Pulaski. Among the officers stationed there during that period was a young Robert E. Lee, then a lieutenant fresh out of West Point. Some 30 years later, Lee returned. He was by then a general, wearing the gray uniform of the Confederate Army. As the commander for the coastal defenses of Georgia and South Carolina, Lee was charged with making sure Fort Pulaski was ready to repel any Union attack. Built with 25 million bricks, with walls 32 feet high, and seven to 11 feet thick, the fort seemed impenetrable. All that, however, proved to be a very thin shield when the Union Army opened up on Pulaski with rifled artillery on April 10, 1862. The fort, its walls breached and broken, surrendered just 30 hours later. Pulaski spent the rest of the war in Union hands. Pulaski became a part of the National Park Service in 1933.
Fort Screven Construction on this fortification began in 1897, as the United States prepared for war with Spain, and continued into the early 1900s. Fort Screven started out as a coastal artillery installation, and continued in that role for many years. It initially housed six separate batteries, and they were situated in different bunkers that stretched along Tybee Island. The 12-inch and 8-inch cannons and mortars that made up the batteries were fearsome weapons designed to trade shots with enemy ships. Cullen Chambers, Tybee Island Historical Society executive director, said that when soldiers fired practice rounds the resultant concussion often destroyed the plaster inside adjacent houses that were part of the island’s lighthouse complex. During World War II, the fort became a diving school, charged with training engineers to salvage and repair bomb-damaged ports. After the war, the decision was made to close the fort, and this time it stood. The fort’s land and buildings were sold to the city for $200,000. Many of the old Army buildings have been integrated into the fabric of Tybee, but many others were drastically altered or torn down.
Sources: Savannah Morning News files; Coastal Heritage Society Web site; “Savannah 1733 to 2000: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society,” by Susan E. Dick and Mandi D. Johnson; “Fortresses of Savannah Georgia,” by John Walker Guss; New Georgia Encyclopedia; “A History of Fort Screven Georgia: Tybee Island’s Military Heritage,” by James Mack Adams.
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71 fort mcallister Fort Mcallister state park
Confederate re-enactors fire a cannon as Union re-enactors storm the fort in December during the annual Winter Muster at Fort McAllister State Historic Park.
Richmond Hill and Bryan County Take I-95 South and exit at either Richmond Hill exit. Follow the signs to Fort McAllister Park. Hours: 7a.m.-10p.m. Time: 30 minute drive from downtown Savannah Check gastateparks.org/FortMcAllister for more information before your visit
Located south of Savannah on the banks of the Ogeechee River, this scenic park showcases the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads but did not fall until 1864 -- ending Gen. William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” Visitors can explore the grounds with cannons, a furnace, bombproof, barracks, palisades and more, while a Civil War museum contains artifacts, a video and gift shop. Nestled among giant live oaks, Spanish moss and salt marsh, this park is a beautiful location for
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camping, fishing, boating and picnicking. Seven cabins sit on stilts near the marsh, surrounded by palm trees and palmettos. The shaded campground is bordered by tidal Redbird Creek, a boat ramp, fishing dock and nature trail. A large picnic area offers river views and playgrounds, while another boat ramp provides access to the Ogeechee River. SOLDIER PROGRAMS: Offered Tuesdays through Saturdays beginning at 1 p.m. Learn about the American Civil War, soldier life, medicine, infantry, weapons and more from staff historians.
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Our
Our SAVANNAH
the islands
SAND SURF AND
Our
Photo from Turner Horton tybeesurflessons.com
on Island Time Living on Island Time sand & Living surf TYBEE ISLAND
The city of Savannah is surrounded by several islands, separate and distinct patches of history, culture, development and repose in a colorful intercoastal quilt. Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe quickly noticed the military value of the islands, and he sent Noble Jones out to Isle of Hope in 1736. Jones’ fortified tabby house at Wormsloe was a key element in Savannah’s outer defenses during the 1739-48 War of Jenkins’ Ear. A far grander bulwark, Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island, still watches over the Savannah River approach to the city. A massive brick fortification, it took from 1829 to 1847 to complete. Today, it’s a National Monument and a time capsule that helps tell the story of the Civil War. Among the officers stationed there during that period was a young Robert E. Lee, then a lieutenant fresh out of West Point. Some 30 years later, Lee returned. He was by then a general, wearing the gray uniform of the Confederate Army. As the commander for the coastal defenses of Georgia and South Carolina, Lee was charged with making sure Fort Pulaski was ready to repel any Union attack. Built with 25 million bricks, with walls 32 feet high, and seven to 11 feet thick, the fort
seemed impenetrable. All that, however, proved to be a very thin shield when the Union Army opened up on Pulaski with rifled artillery on April 10, 1862. The McQueen’s Island Trail, a popular six-mile walking and running path built on an old railway bed, is accessible from the entrance to Fort Pulaski. There is a strong Gullah-Geechee cultural connection between Ossabaw Island and Pin Point. Ossabaw, which now is state-owned and reachable only by boat, was home to several plantations during the antebellum era. (continued next page) After the Civil War, many former slaves stayed on the island. During the 1880s and 1890s, however, most of the African-American population left the island for the mainland. The Hinder Me Not Church congregation moved to Pin Point and established the Sweet Field of Eden Church. Many of them and their descendants worked at the A.S. Varn & Son Oyster Seafood factory, which was in business from 1926 to 1985. Now, the factory building is the Pin Point Heritage Museum, a carefully staged state-of-the-art window into this era in AfricanAmerican history. Nearby, a new bridge takes motorists to Skidaway Island and The Landings, a large, gated community. Skidaway Island State Park, which is easily 68
accessible, is one of the most popular destinations in the state park system. Other islands in this area include Modena, Dutch and Burnside. Just across the Wilmington River from Skidaway and Dutch, Wilmington and Whitemarsh form part of the island-hopping chain from Savannah to Tybee Island. Once a narrow strip of concrete, U.S. Highway 80, bound Wilmington, Whitemarsh and Tybee. Now, with the Islands Expressway providing additional access, Wilmington and Whitemarsh residents can get into the city quickly, yet have their own schools, churches and shopping centers close at hand. At the end of Highway 80, Tybee remains Savannah’s link to the Atlantic Ocean. Named after a Native American word for “salt,” Tybee Island, has been a popular vacation spot for more than a century, offering miles of public beaches, a popular fishing pier and abundant wildlife. This quirky oceanfront community, located just 15 miles east of Savannah’s National Landmark Historic District, has a rich and fascinating history all its own. Over the years, a number of different flags have flown over Tybee Island, claiming this coastal paradise for Spain, England, France, the Confederacy and even bands of pirates.
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79 TYBEE ISLAND
Tybee Island Boasts a Deep, Rich History “Tybee Island has a fascinating past,” said Sarah Jones, executive director of the Tybee Island Historical Society. “There’s so much more to Tybee’s history than meets the eye, from Native American history to 19th and early 20th century military influence to unique barrier island architecture, especially what is known as the historic Tybee ‘Raised Cottages.’” Fort Pulaski National Monument, a historic 1847 fort located just west of Tybee Island, played a key role during the Civil War, when Union troops bombarded this Confederate fortification with rifled canons. Tour this brick fort for insight into our nation’s history. History buffs will want to check out the Tybee Island Lighthouse, which has the distinction of being one of the nation’s oldest and tallest lighthouses, originally built in 1773. Climb its 178 steps to enjoy one of the most breathtaking views in Georgia. Don’t miss the Tybee Island Museum, located in an 1898 coastal Georgia artillery battery at Fort Screven, for impressive artifacts and enlightening exhibits about the island’s rich history. Also near the lighthouse and museum is a fully restored 1920’s Tybee Raised Cottage, which represents the island’s defining historic
architectural style. Raised cottages are thought by many local historians to be unique to Tybee Island. Known as “Savannah’s Beach,” Tybee Island first became a popular vacation destination in the 1800’s, when ocean breezes were recommended as all-natural remedies for a host of ailments. Early visitors arrived on Tybee Island via steamship in the years following the Civil War. However, the Central of Georgia Railroad built a train line from Savannah to Tybee Island in 1887, making the beach more accessible. By the 1920’s, the road now known as Hwy. 80 connected Tybee Island with the mainland, making auto transportation the preferred method of travel for daytrippers and vacationers. With its spacious dance floor, the popular Tybrisa Pavilion on the strand served as a frequent stop for decades for popular musicians ranging from Duke Ellington to Cab Calloway. Although the original Tybrisa Pavilion burned in a fire in 1967, the Tybee Pier and Pavilion opened to the public in 1996. Today, Tybee Island welcomes visitors from near and far to enjoy the laid-back charm of this coastal haven. Source: visittybee.com
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Our SAVANNAH
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17 Tybee Beach Rules to Know Spending time on the beach on Tybee Island always should be a good time. Follow these rules to make sure your fun doesn’t turn foul.
7 Fires It shall be unlawful for any person to build or maintain any type of open fire on the beach, including any type of charcoal fire, whether or not in a grill or similar container.
1 Swimming It shall be unlawful for any person to swim outside of the area extending 50 yards from the water’s edge.
8 Disturbing Dune Vegetation It shall be unlawful for any person to pick, gather, remove, walk in the dunes, or otherwise disturb the vegetation present on sand dunes, including sea oats.
2 Litter It shall be unlawful to throw, place, deposit, sweep or scatter, or cause to be thrown, placed, deposited, swept, or scattered, any paper, food, cigarette butts, bottles, cans, trash, fruit peelings or other refuse upon the beaches or structures erected thereon. Beach goers must contain their trash at all times. 3 Glass It shall be unlawful for any person to take or carry upon the beaches or structures erected thereon any glass or breakable containers. 4 Pets It shall be unlawful for any person who owns, is in control of, or is in charge of, any dog or other pet, to allow or take that dog or other pet upon the beaches or structures erected thereon. This does not include properly certified guide dogs, or similar animals assisting the blind, deaf, or other physically handicapped persons. 5 Motorized Vehicles It shall be unlawful for any person to take any motorized vehicle on to the beaches or structures erected thereon. This includes automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, all- terrain-vehicles and similar motor driven vehicles and craft. 6 Motorized Watercraft It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any motorized watercraft, such as a jet ski, motorboat, and similar craft, within 1,000 feet of the waterline on any part of the beach between the north and south rock jetties.
9 Surfboard/Fishing No person shall operate a surfboard or fish except in areas designated for such purposes. 10 Listen to Lifeguards It shall be unlawful for any person to deliberately disobey any reasonable command of a duly appointed and identified lifeguard while in the legitimate performance of his duty, such commands being intended to ensure the safety of persons using the beach and any structures erected thereon. 11 Disorderly Conduct It shall be unlawful for any person to come upon the beaches or structures erected thereon, and individually or in concert with others, do any act or create any condition which does or is calculated to encourage, aid, abet, or start a riot, public disorder or disturbance of the peace. 12 Nudity No nudity on beaches is allowed. 13 Sleeping in Public Areas It shall be unlawful for any person to camp or sleep on the streets, beaches, parks, parking lots or other public areas, whether in automobiles, trucks, campers, recreational vehicles or other vehicle, or in equipment designed and intended for the purpose of camping. 14 Shark Fishing It shall be unlawful for anyone to fish for sharks of any species on or from any of the public beaches, docks or piers of the city. 70
Tybee Island Ocean Rescue
15 Beer kegs The presence of beer kegs on the beach is often associated with underage drinking, littering, public intoxication and disorderly conduct and because such activities are in direct conflict with family recreation, such containers and similar devices for dispensing of large quantities of alcoholic beverages are expressly prohibited. 16 PIER JUMPING It shall be unlawful for any person to jump or dive from any pier or public structure except those that might be specifically built for that purpose and as may be specifically authorized in connection with a properly authorized special event. 17 WALkING OR CLIMBING ON PUBLIC STRUCTURES It shall be unlawful to walk or climb upon the rocks, jetties, or other man-made structures which are marked with appropriate signage.
(Previously published in Savannah Morning News/savannahnow.com)
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The Top Five Historic Sites on Tybee Island Fort Pulaski National Monument This fortification sits at Tybee’s doorstep. Union soldiers, in April of 1862, painstakingly placed the rifled artillery that sealed the fort’s doom on Tybee west side, about a mile from the fortification. A historical marker on the Tybee side of Lazaretto Creek marks this episode. Fort Pulaski is located on U.S. Hwy. 80, some 15 miles east of Savannah. Fort Screven It’s often difficult these days to determine where Fort Screven ends, and the City of Tybee begins, and vice versa. A premier American Army coastal stronghold until it was shut down after the end of World War II, the fort has been integrated into the city so well that former artillery bunkers are now residential residences. Battery Garland, once the site of a powerful 12-inch cannon, now houses the Tybee Museum. The Tybee Island Light Station and Museum, which also handles tickets for the Tybee Museum, is located at 30 Meddin Drive. Tybee Island Light Station and Museum Now maintained by the Tybee Island Historical Society, this landmark dates back to the earliest days of the state of Georgia. The lower portion of the current lighthouse was built in 1773, the upper portion in 1866. The Tybee station also has its full complement of historic support buildings, a unique window into this way of life. The Tybee Island Light Station and Museum is located at 30 Meddin Drive.
of them have been torn down to make room for larger, more profitable rental units. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation placed the remaining raised cottages on its 2007 list of 10 “Places in Peril.” Tybee Bomb In 1958, an Air Force B-47, flying out of a base in Florida, collided with another Air Force plane over South Carolina, an unforeseen accident in a Cold War-era exercise. The pilot of the heavily damaged bomber decided to make an emergency landing at Hunter Air Force Base (now Hunter Army Airfield). And he also decided, because of its weight, to drop the hydrogen bomb aboard the plane into Wassaw Sound – where it still sits, somewhere. The subject of several intensive searches, the bomb has never been found, but it’s become part of Tybee lore and legend. You can purchase “Tybee Island Bomb Squad” hats and T-shirts at several places on the island.
Tybee raised cottages A direct link to 1923, when the Tybee road was completed, these were simple, yet strong structures, raised so people could park their cars beneath them. They once lined the streets of Tybee, providing summer getaways for Savannah residents and tourists on vacation, but there are only a few left as most 71
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In this special advertising section,
we introduce you to the local companies, restaurants and attractions that help make Savannah
OUR Savannah. Here are their stories. index of advertisers 17Hundred90 – 7 Berkshire Hathaway – 57 Capital Bee Company – 29 Cathedral of St. John the Baptist – 79 Chef Darin’s Kitchen Table – 50 City Market – 41 Cohen’s Retreat – 49 Davenport House Museum – 34 Designers Consignment – 28 E. Shaver Bookseller – 29 Engel & Volkers – 69 Ex Libris – 47 Fish Tales – 67 Fort McAllister State Park – 65 Georgia Ports Authority – 42-43 Georgia State Parks – 64 Ghost Coast Distillery – 51 Good Times Jazz Bar – 55 Jalapenos – 83
Landmark 24 Homes – 84 Levy Jewelers – 9 Massie Heritage Center – 28 Old Savannah Tours – 30 Pooler Chamber of Commerce – 80 Salacia Salts – 35 Savannah Morning News – 82 Savannah Music Festival – 25 Savannah Philharmonic – 6 Savannah Quarters – 3 Savannah Riverboat – 34 SCAD – 19 Telfair Museums – 52 The Club at Savannah Harbor – 36 The Crab Shack – 2 The Savannah Theatre – 29 Tim DeLoach | Engel & Volkers – 40 Waterways – 20
The Cathedral Cathedral of of The The Cathedral of The Cathedral of St. Johnthe the Baptist St. John Baptist St. John the Baptist
St. John the Baptist
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 1870, the cornerstone was laid in 1873, andCathedral its spectacular Gothic 1870, and the was dedicated 1876. The of St. twin JohnFrench the Baptist thebuilding cornerstone was laid inin1873, spires have gracefully stretched toward The finishing touches, the iconic and its spectacular twin French Gothic and the building was dedicated in The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 1870, the cornerstone was laid in 1876. 1873, heaven since 1896. 207-foot-high steeples that inrise spires gracefully stretched Thethe finishing touches, the iconic and itshave spectacular twin Frenchtoward Gothic and building was dedicated 1876. Generations Catholics 207-foot-high far above Lafayette Square, were heaven since 1896.of Savannah steeples that riseiconic spires have gracefully stretched toward The finishing touches, the The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 1870, the cornerstone was have sat and inCatholics its spacious far completed in 1896.Square, But, almost before laid in 1873, Generations of kneeled Savannah above Lafayette were heaven since 1896. 207-foot-high steeples that rise nave to take communion, witness the city and the congregation could and its spectacular twin French Gothic and the building was dedicated in 187 have sat and kneeled in its spacious completed in 1896. But, almost before Generations of Savannah Catholics far above Lafayette Square, were weddings, say goodbye to loved ones celebrate this accomplishment, spires have gracefully stretched toward The finishing touches, the iconic nave sat to take witness the city and the congregation could have andcommunion, kneeled its spacious completed in 1896. But, fire almost before and celebrate Mass in onto St. Patrick’s Day. celebrate disaster struck: an 1898 destroyed weddings, say goodbye loved ones this accomplishment, heaven since 1896. spiritual steeples that rise nave to take witness the city 207-foot-high and the congregation could Its manycommunion, dramatic, features everything except the outside walls, the andGenerations celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. disaster struck: an 1898 fire destroyed ofon Savannah Catholics farthis above Lafayette Square, were weddings, say Mass goodbye to lovedwindows, ones celebrate accomplishment, — including 81 stained-glass spires and the steeples. Its many dramatic, spiritual features everything except the outside walls, the and celebrate on Patrick’s Day. disaster struck: destroyed pipe organ with 34 St. ranks and 2,308 Dazedcompleted but an 1898 undaunted, the have sat andMass kneeled in its spacious in fire 1896. But, almost before — including 81 stained-glass windows, spires and the steeples. Its many dramatic, spiritual features everything except the outside walls, pipes and contemplative century-old congregation immediately set tothe naveorgan to take witness city and the pipe withcommunion, 34 ranks and 2,308 Dazedthe but undaunted, thecongregation could murals —81have made it a must-stop reestablish this steeples. tangible connection to — including stained-glass windows, spires and the weddings, say goodbye to loved ones celebrate this accomplishment, pipes and contemplative century-old congregation immediately set to destination for its Dazed faith. but undaunted, the pipe organ with 34local rankstour andcompanies, 2,308 murals —put have made itatop aon must-stop reestablish this tangible connection to and celebrate Mass St. Patrick’s Day. disaster struck: an 1898 fire destroyed and it high national and On Dec. 24, 1899, the first Mass was pipes and contemplative century-old congregation immediately set to destination for local tour companies, its faith. On Dec. 24, 1899, the first Mass international rankings of landmarks. held in the rebuilt cathedral. Its many dramatic, spiritual features everything except the outside walls, th murals — have made it a must-stop reestablish this tangible connection to and put high atop nationalArchitecture and wasItheld in the rebuilt cathedral. Theitonline magazine tookspires several more years to finish the — including 81 stained-glass windows, and the steeples. destination for local tour companies, its faith. On Dec. 24, 1899, the first Mass international rankings of landmarks. It took aseveral more the and Design placed the Cathedral interior, process thatyears cametotofinish an end and put it high atop34 national and was held inDazed the rebuilt cathedral. pipe organ with ranks and 2,308 in but undaunted, The online magazine Architecture a process came to an end the at number 11 on a lineup of the 25 interior, 1912 when the that expansive, expressive international rankings of landmarks. It took several more years to finish theset to pipes and contemplative century-old congregation immediately and Design placed the Cathedral in 1912 when the expansive, expressive Most Popular Tourist Attractions, murals, which were planned and The online magazine Architecture interior,which a process that came to an end at number 11 on a lineup of the 25 murals, were planned and and TripAdvisor listed the Cathedral directed by Savannah artist Christopher murals — have made it a must-stop reestablish this tangible connection to and placed the Cathedral in 1912 when the expansive, expressive Most Popular Tourist Attractions, by Savannah artist Christopher atDesign number 9 onlocal its list of the Top 25 directed P.H. Murphy, were carefully put in1899, place. the first Mas destination for tour companies, its faith. On Dec. 24, at number 11 on a lineup the 25 murals, which were planned and TripAdvisor theof Cathedral P.H. Murphy, were carefully putand in place. Landmarks in listed the United States. Over the next several decades, as andThe puthistory it9high atop national and wasSavannah held in the rebuilt cathedral. Most Popular Tourist Attractions, directed of list this the congregation grew,artist majorChristopher updates at number on its ofamazing the Top building 25 Over thebynext several decades, as international rankings of landmarks.the It took several more and listed theStates. Cathedral P.H.congregation Murphy, were carefully put in years place. to finish th isTripAdvisor impressive. have been made to the Cathedral. Landmarks in the United grew, major updates at number 9 on its list of the Architecture Top 25 Over the next to several decades, Inhistory 1850, Pope Completed in November of The online magazine interior, a the process that as came to an end The ofwhen this amazing building have been made Cathedral. Pius IX established the 2000, an $11 million project Landmarks in the United States. the congregation grew, major updates is impressive. Completed in November of 2000, and Design placed the Cathedral in 1912 when the expansive, expressive 222 E Harris Street Diocese of of Savannah, St. building stacked scaffolding up 14 decks history this amazing have been made to the Cathedral. In 1850, when Pope an $11 million project stacked (912)25 233-4709 atThe number 11 on aChurch lineup of the murals, which were and John the Baptist to theinroof line14and 31 planned decks is impressive. Completed November of 2000, savannahcathedral.org Pius IX established the scaffolding up decks to 222 E Harris Street Most Popular Tourist Attractions, directed by Savannah artist Christoph was enlarged and called to the steeple tops. Inside, as ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Diocese ofwhen Savannah, the line and 31 decks In 1850, PopeSt. an roof $11 million project stacked (912) 233-4709 ATTRACTION/ the Cathedral. part ofsteeple a redecoration crusade, and listed the savannahcathedral.org Cathedral P.H. Murphy, were carefully put in plac John the Baptist Church to the tops. Inside, Pius IXTripAdvisor established the scaffolding up 14 decks to PLACE OF WORSHIP 222 E Harris Street Later, the9 diocese tookof the the 24 circa-1912 murals were at number oncalled itsSt. list Top 25 Over the next several decades, as was enlarged and as part of a redecoration Diocese of Savannah, the roof line and 31 decks –––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– (912) 233-4709 a dramatic step forward restored to their original glory ATTRACTION/ the Cathedral. crusade, the 24 circa-1912 John the Baptist Church to congregation the steeple tops.grew, Inside,major update Landmarks in the United States. the PRICE LEVEL: savannahcathedral.org with the construction of a PLACE OF WORSHIP and the Stations of the Cross Later, the diocese tookamazing murals were restored tothe Cathedral. Donations Accepted have was enlarged and as part of amade redecoration –––––––––––––––––––––––––– The history ofcalled this building been bold, new cathedral. The –––––––––––––––––––––––––– were returned to theirto original a dramatic step forward their original glory and the ATTRACTION/ the Cathedral. crusade, the 24 circa-1912 land was purchased in polychromatic tones. is impressive. Completed in November of 2000, PRICE LEVEL: with thethe construction of a Stations therestored Cross were PLACE OF WORSHIP Later, diocese took murals of were to FREE In 1850, when Pope an $11 million project stacke –––––––––––––––––––––––––– bold, new cathedral. The returned to their original a dramatic step forward their original glory and the PRICE LEVEL: Pius IX established the scaffolding up land was purchased in polychromatic tones. 72 with the construction of a Stations of the Cross were 14 decks to 222 FREEE Harris Street Diocese Savannah, rooforiginal line and 31 decks bold, new of cathedral. The St. returned the to their (912) 233-4709 land was purchased in polychromatic tones. John the Baptist Church to the steeple tops. Inside, savannahcathedral.org
17Hundred90
Landmark 24 Homes
which is located across the street on Following the American Revolution and independence from England, York was built in 1875. A Norwegian the first free election of a mayor, city shipbuilder who was living there in the 1890’s is believed to have hand-painted council and the formation of a Savannah the parlor ceilings to help cover the cost city government occurred in 1790. Savannah was a small village with a few of rent. But the best part of 17hundred90 is hundred frame buildings, sandy streets, horses and wagons, and a simple, the long tradition for fine dining and yet prosperous life. Celebrating that tasty drink. Fresh seafood, carefully heritage, the 17hundred90 Restaurant prepared steaks, lamb and chicken and and Inn is one of Savannah’s oldest southern vegetables combine with fine restaurants and Inns offering fine dining wines and carefully mixed cocktails to make a delightful dining experience. and comfortable lodging. A great neighborhood pub in The restaurant and Inn are housed in what were originally three separate the finest tradition, the Lounge at residences. The western part of the 17Hundred90 is a favorite haunt for locals building was built as a duplex between and our guests. With our unique wine selection and experienced bartenders, 1821 and 1823 by Steel White; the smaller eastern section was built by the all tastes are satisfied and all thirsts are Powers family in 1888. The ground level quenched. Georgia Trend magazine with its slate floor and soft brick walls singled out our restaurant and lounge are thought to date from a previous as a favorite spot for “financiers, business people, and professionals.” The Lounge structure possibly destroyed in the great Savannah fire of 1820. Original wood at 17Hundred90 has been an oasis from shingles are visible in the attic and the hustle and bustle of this ancient port town for friends new and wooden pegs and wedges old for decades. holding beams in place can Recently mentioned on be found throughout the 307 E. President St. CNN as a “favorite haunted building. (912) 236-7122 17hundred90.com spot in Savannah,” don’t be The Inn also has 14 ––––––––––––––––––––––––– shy when asking about the Comfortable rooms, each LODGING/FOOD/ ghost stories that surround with king or queen sized DRINKS this historic spot. bed, private bath, a growing ––––––––––––––––––––––––– The inn’s most famous collection of antiques and PRICE LEVEL: spirit is Anne Powell, who ghosts waiting to tuck you in $$ - $$$ reportedly fell from a at night. window to her death! The 3-story Guest House
Landmark 24 Homes of Georgia, and feel of their homes. in business since 2009, builds new Customers choose Landmark 24 construction homes in communities Homes not only for the level of quality throughout the greater Savannah area, we put into homebuilding, but also including Pooler, Richmond Hill, and because we build in the popular areas Bluffton and Charleston, SC. where people want to live. Many of the amenities in our Six of our communities are in the communities include a pool, Pooler area right off I-95 and I-16 near clubhouse, play grounds & fitness the airport, JCB, Gulfstrean and Tanger centers, as wells as areas for walking, Outlets. biking or even playing tennis. We also offer a variety of plans and Additionally, our new homes are designs, from townhomes, and single energy efficient, having an average story to larger homes with up to five HERS energy performance rating of 75, bedrooms that include loft spaces, amounting to an overall cost savings ground floor guest rooms or master for our homeowners. suites. We are Savannah’s largest local If you decide to build your new production homebuilder. This is home from the ground up, you have because our owners were raised in the ability to choose the combinations Savannah and have over 60 years of of colors and style for the interior combined experience. features of your home during your Jack Wardlaw, Jerry Wardlaw, and design consultation. Steve Hall make up the leadership The variety of choices we have team of Landmark 24 Homes. This available in our home and design partnership brings over 60 years of selections can truly make a client feel knowledge and experience over several like they are building their own custom generations of building new home. 2702 Whatley Ave.Ste B-1 homes and communities What really makes Thunderbolt, GA throughout Georgia and Landmark 24 Homes (912) 925-3440 South Carolina. unique is being the largest landmark24.com Our builders know locally owned home ––––––––––––––––––––––––– what it takes to build a builder. Our company was NEW HOME BUILDER good home, taking pride born in Savannah, which REAL ESTATE ––––––––––––––––––––––––– in their product and the allows us to give our buyers PRICE LEVEL: area. This influence helps a one-on-one customer Varies them maintain a southernexperience. coastal charm in the design
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Photo by Dream Weaver Photos Photo by Dream Weaver Photos
Photo by Dream Weaver Photos
Old Savannah Tours
Old Savannah Tours
Experience Savannah’s Rich History
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Old Old Savannah Savannah
Old Savannah Tours
Experience Savannah’s Rich History
or over 35 years Old Savannah figures to life during trolley tours. Characters an all day experience. The shorter Savannah Tours has been providing visitors to include Johnny Mercer, Florence Martus who Experience (3 hours) and Historic Overview Savannah an intriguing and fascinating is also known as the “Waving Girl”, Jim Tour (90 minutes) bring Savannah’s history of Midnight In The Garden of Good to life within a more compact time frame. experience of Savannah’s rich history. Williams figures life during tours. anOld all day experience. shorter Savannah and Evil fame,toCaty Green trolley who tells talesCharacters At night, the Savannah Ghost The Trolley over years Old Savannah The toursorhave been 35 created by Savannahians Johnny Mercer, Florence Martus whoSavannah’s Experience Historic Overview revolutionary war husband, General brings history(3tohours) life in and a most hastime been providing visitors ofto her include and refiTours ned over by personal research isgures also known as the “Waving Jim way, Tour with (90 minutes) bringatSavannah’s memorable dinner included the Green, and even Forrest Gump. Girl”, and local experience makesand eachfascinating tour Nathaniel Savannah anwhich intriguing an all day experience. The history shorter Savannah fi to life during trolley tours. Characters or over and 35descriptive years asOld Savannah historic Throw Williams in a strikingly real visit In from pirate of to House. life within a more compact time frame. of Midnight TheaGarden GoodPirate’s as different each rich guide’s experience of Savannah’s history. include Experience (3 hours) Ghost and Historic Overview Mercer, Florence Martus who or two,and and Evil youJohnny have a Caty “something to who write tells Tours has been providing visitors to At night, the Old Savannah Trolley fame, Green tales love for Savannah. Being Savannah’s oldest The tours have been created by Savannahians is also known as theSavannah “WavingGeneral Jim Tour (90offers minutes) history understanding of Old OldGirl”, Savannah Tours also private brings Savannah’s history tobring life inSavannah’s a most of her revolutionary war husband, locally owned tourintriguing company a matter of home about” Savannah fascinating and refi nedan over time by isand personal research Tours’ theme, “We bring Savannah’s history group tours, transportation services for to life within a more compact Williams of Midnight In TheForrest Garden of Good pride at Old Savannah Tours, (Established in memorable way, with dinner included at thetime frame. Green, and even Gump. experience of Savannah’s rich each history. and local experience which makes tour Nathaniel Often, tour guides dress in historical weddings, reunions, and any other event. 1979) and visitors are often reminded that it’s to life”.and night, the Old Savannah Ghost Trolley Caty who tells tales historicAt Pirate’s House. ThrowEvil in afame, strikingly realGreen visit from a pirate as accident different and descriptive as each guide’s The tours have been created byis Savannahians apparel. Your tour might be led by a cotton For more information visit our website no that “Savannah” their middle or two, and you Exchange, have a war “something to write her revolutionary husband, General brings Savannah’s baron of from the old Cotton Georgia at www.oldsavannahtours.com or call history to life in a most love forover Savannah. Being Savannah’s oldest and refi ned time by personal research name. Oldor Savannah Tours also private home about” understanding ofor OldaForrest Savannah 800-517-9007 912-234-8128. founder General James Oglethorpe, memorable way, withoffers dinner included at the Nathaniel Green, and even Gump. locally owned tour company is a matter of and local experience which makes each tour Tours’ theme, “We bring Savannah’s history group tours, transportation Confederate soldier. at Old Old Savannah SavannahTours Tours, (Established in Throw in a strikingly real visit from a pirate Inpride 2012, a historic Pirate’s House.services for as different and descriptive asunderwent each guide’s tour choices tours dress tailoredin historical Front Coverweddings, Photo byreunions, Dream and Weaver to of life”. Often, provide tour guides any other event. “rebranding” effort toare further itself apart 1979) and visitors oftensetreminded that A it’svariety or two, and you have “something to write to fit the schedules of virtually any a visitor love for apparel. Your tour might be led toby aPhotography cotton For more information visit our website from its competition. A Savannah’s cast ofis real-life noSavannah. accident that Being “Savannah” their oldest middle home about” understanding Savannah Old Savannah Tours also offers private Savannah. Historic On/Off Tour can of be Old at www.oldsavannahtours.com or call baronThe from the old Cotton Exchange, Georgia and is other locallycharacters owned brings tour historical company a storied matter of
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Experience Savannah’s Rich History
Tours Tours
The Original Crab Shack’s
LoCo To Go
For For over over 35 35 years years Old Old Savannah Savannah and and you you have have aa “something “something to to write write Jack and Belinda Flanigan were living decided to start offering The Crab Tours in Atlanta, Georgia in 1983 when they Shack’s famous seafood in ready-toTours has has been been providing providing visitors visitors to to home home about” about” understanding understanding of of Old Old Savannah read a “fish camp for sale” ad in the cook kits, shipped anywhere in the Savannahan anintriguing intriguingand andfascinating fascinating Savannah Savannah Tours’ Tours’ theme, theme, “We “We bring bring name. experience of Savannah’s rich history. Savannah’s history to life”. They both knew the area continental U.S. experience of Savannah’s rich history. Savannah’s history to life”. Tours’ theme, “We bring Savannah’s history group tours, transportation services newspaper. for pride at Old Savannah Tours, (Established in founder General James Oglethorpe, or a 800-517-9007 or 912-234-8128. Confederate soldier. weddings, reunions, and any other event. life”.by Often, tourOften, guides dress in historical The tours have been created tour guides dress in historical well and longed for a kinder, gentler With that, LoCo To Go was born. In 2012, Old are Savannah Tours underwent The tours have been created by Often, tour guides dress in historical 1979) and visitors often reminded that it’sa to Front For Covermore Photo information by Dream visit Weaverour website A variety of Your tour choices provide apparel. tour might betours ledtailored by a cotton “rebranding” effort to further set itself apart time no accident that “Savannah” is their middle lifestyle. So, they made an offer, bought “So many people have told me ‘I just Savannahians and refined over by apparel. Your tour might be led by Savannahians and refined over time by apparel. Your tour might be led by to fi t the schedules of virtually any visitor to Photography from the old Cotton Exchange, Georgia at www.oldsavannahtours.com or call name. from its competition. A cast of real-life baron Savannah. The Historic On/Off Tour can be from the old Cotton the place, and moved to Tybee. can’t cook seafood so it tastes as good as personal research and experience aa cotton baron characters brings historical andlocal other storied 912-234-8128. founder General James Oglethorpe, or from a 800-517-9007 personal research and local experience cotton baron the old orCotton Confederate soldier. The location was great, the sunsets it does at The Crab Shack’. So, we’ve put which each Exchange, In 2012, makes Old Savannah Tours tour underwent which makes each tour as asa different different Exchange, Georgia Georgia founder founder General General A variety of tour choices provide tours tailored Front Cover Photo by Dream Weaver “rebranding” effort to as further set itself apart love were beautiful, and the weather was together all the fixings and provided and descriptive each guide’s and descriptive as each guide’s love for for James James Oglethorpe, Oglethorpe, or or aa Confederate Confederate from its competition. A cast of real-life to fit the schedules of virtually any visitor to Photography right. There were plenty of delectably fat step-by-step instructions for everything Historic On/Off Tour can be Savannah. Savannah. soldier. characters brings historical and other storied Savannah. Thesoldier. blue crabs to be had by just throwing a you need to prepare meals exactly as Being Savannah’s oldest locally A variety of tour choices provide Being Savannah’s oldest locally A variety of tour choices provide trap in the creek. A shrimp net tossed off we do here at The Crab Shack.” owned owned tour tour company company is is aa matter matter tours tours tailored tailored to to fifi tt the the schedules schedules of of the back of either charter boat brought Each meal comes with not only your of pride at Old Savannah Tours, virtually any visitor to Savannah. The of pride at Old Savannah Tours, virtually any visitor to Savannah. The enough tasty crustaceans for a good favorite seafood, but also all the spice (Established (Established in in 1979) 1979) and and visitors visitors are are Historic Historic On/Off On/Off Tour Tour can can be be an an all all day day Low Country boil. Everyone wanted and sauces you need to cook and serve often often reminded reminded that that it’s it’s no no accident accident experience. experience. The The shorter shorter Savannah Savannah a place to gather and cook these gifts the food just like we do at The Original that Experience that “Savannah” “Savannah” is is their their middle middle name. name. Experience (3 (3 hours) hours) and and Historic Historic from the sea. No one knows at which of Crab Shack. Orders can be placed In 2012, Old Savannah Tours Overview Tour (90 minutes) bring In 2012, Old Savannah Tours Overview Tour (90 minutes) bring these “gatherings” the Crab Shack was online or by phone. Contact us today to underwent underwent aa “rebranding” “rebranding” effort effort Savannah’s Savannah’shistory historyto tolife lifewithin withinaamore more born. But it happened. enjoy our taste of the LOw COuntry at to further set itself apart from its compact time frame. to further set itself apart from its compact time frame. A table here, a table there. More home! competition. At competition. At night, night, the the Old Old Savannah Savannah Ghost Ghost people – locals at first, then friends With LoCo To Go from The Original A A cast cast of of real-life real-life characters characters brings brings Trolley Trolley brings brings Savannah’s Savannah’s history history to to life life of locals, then friends of friends, then Crab Shack, you can enjoy the Crab historical historical and and other other storied storied figures figures to to in in aa most most memorable memorable way, way, with with dinner dinner strangers - and then a business license. Shack experience at home. life included life during during trolley trolley tours. tours. included at at the the historic historic Pirate’s Pirate’s House. House. The Crab Shack wasn’t a plan. It was LoCo To Go offers seafood and BBQ Characters Old Characters include include Johnny Johnny Mercer, Mercer, Old Savannah Savannah Tours Tours also also offers offers a serendipitous happening. It has been meals, in ready-to-cook kits, shipped Florence carefully managed as it morphs and anywhere in the continental United Florence Martus Martus who who is is also also known known private private group group tours, tours, transportation transportation as services grows so that the ambiance States. as the the “Waving “Waving Girl”, Girl”, Jim Jim services for for weddings, weddings, Williams reunions, of its waterfront location Each meal comes with Williams of of Midnight Midnight In In The The reunions, and and any any other other 250 MLK Jr. Blvd Order online 250 MLK Jr. Blvd Garden event. and the taste of seafood so not only your favorite (912) Garden of of Good Good and and Evil Evil event. or by phone (912)234-8128 234-8128 fame, For fresh you want to slap it, will seafood, but also all the fame, Caty Caty Green Green who who tells tells For more more information information 912.414.4122 oldsavannahtours.com oldsavannahtours.com never be lost. spice and sauces you need tales visit the Old Savannah locotogo.net tales of of her her revolutionary revolutionary visit the Old Savannah ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Having heard patrons to cook and serve the war Tours website at TOUR/ATTRACTION war husband, husband, General General Tours website at TOUR/ATTRACTION DINING ––––––––––––––––––––––––– lamenting over the years food just like we do at The Nathaniel oldsavannahtours.com Nathaniel Green, Green, and and even even oldsavannahtours.com or or ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– PRICE that they just couldn’t Original Crab Shack. Forrest call 800-517-9007 or PRICELEVEL: LEVEL: Forrest Gump. Gump. call 800-517-9007 or PRICE LEVEL: $$--$$ duplicate the Low Country Orders can be placed $$ Throw 912-234-8128. Throw in in aa strikingly strikingly real real 912-234-8128. $$ - $$$ boil they enjoyed at The online or by phone. visit from a pirate or two, Photos by Dream Weaver Photos Photos by Dream Weaver Photos visit from a pirate or two, Crab Shack, Jack Flanigan 74
Georgia Ports
Good Times Jazz Bar & Restaurant
Good Times Jazz Good Times Jazz Bar & Restaurant
Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant was born out of a Good Times is where the cultured and sophisticated desire to bring Great Southern fare, fine wines and the mingle, wine and dine. Feel free to relax, sit back and sip best in Jazz into one sophisticated relaxing atmosphere. on a cocktail or enjoy a glass of fine wine. Bring your Good Bar and wasappetite, born outthe of tasty a Good Times is where cultured a From Tuesday thruTimes SundayJazz we feature theRestaurant best live Jazz, southern delights on our the menu are desire to bring Great Southern fare, fine wines and the mingle, wine and dine. Feel free to relax the Low Country has to offer. The owners Stephen T. sure to satisfy. Let us entertain you with the very best At the Georgia Ports Authority, U.S. terminal. 2028 and calls Danielle Moore’s love of born Good Food~Good live nightly Jazz music that Savannah has to offer. best inGood Jazz into one sophisticated relaxing atmosphere. on a cocktail enjoy a glass of fine upisburgers inspired by or Ben Tucker, times Jazz Restaurant GoodGPA’s Times JazzPlan Bar and Restaurant was outBar ofand a Wine~ Good Times where the cultured and sophisticated deepwater terminals in Savannah and for 42 ship-to-shore cranes, 200 yard Good Music, was the driving force behind the creation of Teddy Adams, and James Moody! You was born out of a desire to bring great From Tuesday thru Sunday we feature the wine best live tasty southern delights desire to bring Southern fare, fine fare, wines and the mingle, andJazz, dine. appetite, Feel freethe to relax, sit back and sip o Brunswick ensure the continuous flow cranes, new RTG lanes and Great significant can alsoT.findsure wingstoand threeLet varieties of Southern fineto wines, best Stephen their dream, the GoodLow Times. Country has offer.and Thethe owners satisfy. us entertain you w of goods. intermodalbest expansion. in Jazz into one a cocktail orSt.enjoy ahalf glass ofRockefiller, fine wine. Bring oysters (on the shell, and in relaxing Jazz into atmosphere. one relaxing Wesophisticated pride ourselves on bringing yousophisticated, the 107on West Broughton We offer a full dinner menu in our yourha and atmosphere. Danielle Moore’s love of Good Food~Good Wine~ live nightly Jazz music that Savannah These vital gateways move Featuring on-terminal rail yards Char Broiled). 31401 From Tuesday thrumost Sunday we feature live Jazz, Savannah, appetite,GAthe tasty southern delights on our menu are talented musiciansthe andbest vocalists Good Music, was the driving force behind the creation of upstairs dining room only. everything from retail shipments and served by Norfolk Southern and CSX, Phone: 912-236-2226 in the southeast and beyond. In the upstairs dining room, you will From Tuesday through Sunday, Good Reservations for the dining room are Low to Country has to offer. The owners to satisfy. Let us entertain you with the very best refrigerated cargo, to cars, machinery Savannah the is poised rapidly increase their dream, Good Stephen Times. T. ofsure find a full dinner menu. Come hungry! for Times Jazz features some goodtimesjazzbar.com the best recommended andhas reservations and breakbulk cargo. service to and an arc of inland markets, Danielle Moore’s love of Good Food~Good Wine~ live nightly music that Savannah to offer offer.a full dinne In our music We venue the firstLow floor, we pride ourselves on bringing you theThe Jazz 107the West Broughton St.find We On full menu, you will liveonjazz the County has to offer. Sunday Brunch areappetizers highly Growing volumes have made the from Atlanta to Memphis, St.offer Louis, CUISINE: a full menu of drinks, appetizers, Good Music, was the driving force behind the creation of Oysters recommended. on 31401 the Half Shell, main dining room Stephen T. andand Danielle Moore, like Savannah, GA mostowners, talented musicians vocalists upstairs Port of Savannah the fourth-busiest Chicago and the Ohio Valley. burgers and desserts. dishes like Southern Fried Yard Reservations Bird or have a love ofand good food, goodSouthern/Bar wine, and Food Phone: 912-236-2226 their dream, rail Good Times. in the southeast beyond. container terminal in the U.S., and The key to expanding service is a for the Creole Seafood Gumbo, and music. This was the driving force If you’re looking fordesserts a great night of goodtimesjazzbar.com forgood private functions, Brunswick the second busiest U.S. $127 million expansion project. Set for recommended We pride ourselves onAvailable bringing you the 107 West Broughton St. We entertainment offer a full Peach dinner menu in our and r PRICE LEVEL: Georgia Cobbler. behind the creation of first Goodfloor, Times and good food, look In our music venue on the weJazz like homemade hub for Ro/Ro traffic. Georgia’s ports completion in 2020, the Mason Mega depending upon availability. $$$-$$$$ Sunday Brunch Savannah, GA 31401 Reservations recommended forJazz Bar are h and is what can expect from the most musicians vocalists upstairs dining only. noare further thanroom Good Times CUISINE: provide greater scheduling flexibility Rail Terminal willtalented double terminal rail and offer a full menuyou of drinks, appetizers, dinner, and are highly recommended moment you walk in the doors. recommended. Gift Cards Available and market reach with direct lift capacity to 1southeast million containers in the and beyond. and Restaurant! Food for the dining room are Reservations burgers and desserts.Phone: 912-236-2226 Southern/Bar for Sunday Brunch. interstate connections, on-terminal per year. Greater unit train capacity Good Times Jazz is where the cultured goodtimesjazzbar.com recommended and reservations for fo If you’re looking Available for privatemingle, functions, rail, and 37 weekly container services. on terminal will music build venue densityoninto Speaking of Brunch, Good TImes Jazz and sophisticated wine and In our the first floor, we PRICE LEVEL: Sunday Brunch are highly entertainment and Size, scope and location make the system, and enable faster, more offers a Gospel Sunday Brunch with dine. The owners you to sit back, depending uponinvite availability. CUISINE: offer a full menu of drinks, appetizers, $$$-$$$$ the Port of Savannah’s Garden City frequent rail service to markets along deliciousrecommended. classics like fried chicken and relax to the smooth tunes of acts such no further than Goo Southern/Bar Food burgersArc. and desserts. Available container terminal an important the Mid-American jumbo as The Gift KenCards Foberg Jazz Quartet, The Phil waffles, brioche French toast, and Restaurant! link in customer supply chains. As Immediate interstate access means cakes with poached eggs, Morrison Trio, or The Ken Foberg Quintet. lump crab If you’re looking for a great night of Available for private functions, the nation’s largest single-terminal Savannah is within a four-hour drive smothered Sea Island shrimp and grits, PRICE LEVEL: Enjoy a cocktail such as the Good entertainment and the goodlivefood, look operation, Garden City’s 1,200-acre to major markets includingupon Atlanta, and much more! As always, depending availability. $$$-$$$$ Times Mojito, the Half Note, a Sidecar, footprint eliminates the need to move Orlando and Charlotte. music is sure to entertain! no further than Good Times Jazz Bar or any of the signature cocktails created between leased terminals, delivers The ongoing Savannah Gift CardsHarbor Available by Good Times Jazz. Also and Restaurant! Good Times is proud greater flexibility in staging Expansion Project will of bringing you the most featuring an extensive wine cargo, and provides nine deepen the harbor to 47 talented musicians and list and great beers both 107 West Broughton St Learn more container ship berths. feet (54 feet at high tide) (912) 236-2226 about the vocalists from the Southeast craft and import, there The terminal is equipped by late 2020, allowing Georgia Ports goodtimesjazzbar.com and beyond. If you’re is something to quench for the influxes of cargo New Panamax vessels to Authority: ––––––––––––––––––––––––– looking for a great night or everyones thirst! gaports.com from New Panamax transit the channel with DINING lovely day of entertainment ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Bring an appetite! With vessels, with 30 shipheavier loads and greater SHIPPING/LOGISTICS and great food, Good Times PRICE LEVEL: the tasty Southern delights to-shore cranes and 146 scheduling flexibility. ––––––––––––––––––––––––– $$$ - $$$$ Jazz Bar and Restaurant is a on the menu, you are sure to rubber-tired gantry cranes sure bet! leave satisfied. In their music – more than any other venue, the bar menu serves
& Restaurant Good Times JazzBar Bar & Restaurant
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Waterways
The Westin
Community
Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa
the community and is stocked with Located just south of Savannah, trophy largemouth bass. However, the Waterways is a 2,300-acre master planned community with a heartbeat of Waterways will be found at Marina Village, which is already development philosophy centered around interconnectivity by water and under initial stages of development. In fact, with its Marina and Marina Village nature. Its streets, meandering past coming soon, Waterways is quickly ancient oak hammocks and winding becoming one of the most desirable beneath majestic tree canopies, communities on the east coast. Once developed, Marina Village will lead to navigable lagoons perfect for kayaking and fishing. With charming, feature a drystack storage facility with up to 200 dryslips for boats up to 35 low country cottage style homes and larger estate homes with lakefront feet, and an impressive collection of amenities built to complement the access, it’s a vibrant community full of spontaneous get-togethers and natural landscape of marsh frontage. With 15,000 square feet of community thoughtfully planned activities. Whether it’s biking to the pool space for fitness and retail, four pools spanning 9,000 square feet, and a bar with the kids on a sunny afternoon or meeting neighbors for a picnic at the and delectable dining options, Marina Village will be the perfect place to Events Lawn, there’s something for everyone in this coastal community. A enjoy the unique soul of Waterways. Recently named the Best community that was green long before Community of the Coastal Empire by the term became popular, Waterways Savannah Morning News, Waterways offers residents a rich and active lifestyle where health and wellness are is centrally located and residents valued along with days of adventure enjoy the best schools in the area, quality healthcare options, and exploration. and convenient access to Waterways is also 51 Waterways Parkway (912) 445-0299 shopping and dining. At the one of the only gated livewaterways.com same time, Waterways is its communities with ––––––––––––––––––––––––– own haven; an escape from both lakefront living REAL ESTATE the world where simple and future Intracoastal ––––––––––––––––––––––––– living just comes naturally. access. The Grand Contact the Waterways Homesites at Waterways Sales Cottage for info Lagoon, designed by bass fishing legend, Bill Dance, about an immersive 3 day, start in the 50s and homes 2 night Discover Waterstart in the low-300s. winds for more than ways Weekend. five miles throughout
A gem of Southern hospitality, The beach club on secluded Daufuskie Island, award winning Heavenly Spa, Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort the finest culinary, spa and luxury & Spa has invited its visitors to create amenities while providing easy access memories that last a lifetime since 1999. to downtown historic sites, shopping In addition to being the preeminent and nightlife. lodging facility in the region, we create In Addition, The Westin Savannah lasting experiences for our valued guests. Harbor is known for its unique offerings Whether attending our renowned including, deep water docks, premiere special events, hosting a landmark celebration or seeking an experiential meeting spaces and special events including the annual Gourmet Seafood retreat we welcome you to explore The & Spirits Festival, Boat Parade of Lights, South’s Downtown Resort. Our newly renovated public areas Holiday Series and more. The Westin Savannah Harbor offers an and ballrooms provide over 35,000 square feet of meeting space for escape when you want it and accessibility gala celebrations, corporate training when you need it with Westin Heavenly Beds giving you a revitalizing night’s rest, seminars, spectacular wedding ceremonies or a myriad of other unique free ferry access to experience beautiful, historic downtown Savannah, secluded gatherings. beach offerings to Daufuskie Island, and Our PGA Championship golf course and Heavenly Spa provide leisure the only poolside riverfront views in the guest ample opportunity for renewal city. While the location is convenient and and relaxation. World-class dining and the property is gorgeous, our service renowned entertainment options make any sojourn to the lowcountry one to levels and commitment to our values consistently provide guests remember. the highest level of service. Distinctive characteristics Moreover, the Westin 1 Resort Dr. like our PGA Championship (912) 201-2000 Savannah Harbor features golf course, which once westinsavannah.com all Savannah has to offer, hosted the Legends of Golf ––––––––––––––––––––––––– with Southern Hospitality Tournament, represent the LODGING/FOOD/ to match. caliber of diverse features GOLF/EVENTS The Westin Savannah at The Westin Savannah ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Harbor Golf Resort & Spa Harbor. PRICE LEVEL: $$$ - $$$$ invites its visitors to create Our convenient location charming memories that allows guests, visitors last a lifetime. and locals to enjoy our 76
Savannah Quarters
Cohen’s Retreat
Discover Savannah Quarters® bring people closer together. Savannah’s friendliest community. What really sets the community This beautiful 2,600-acre master- apart is the vibrant social and relaxed planned community located just 12 club environment, where neighbors minutes from downtown Savannah become lifelong friends. boasts fantastic amenities, a beautiful This begins at The Club at Savannah Lowcountry setting and exceptional Quarters - a gorgeous 27,000 square homes. foot facility where residents and Enjoy all the culture and history members gather for casual southern and the eclectic vibe of downtown dining, regular social activities and Savannah and still enjoy the special events. convenience of a community built With several new home options with a modern, active lifestyle in mind. from low-maintenance townhomes Graceful, well-groomed landscaping to gorgeous custom homes and in a beautiful Lowcountry setting beautiful homesites, there is literally creates the perfect sanctuary to build something for everyone in this your dream home. stunning community. Well-known Whether you spend your time regional and national builders exploring the area, getting social with showcase the latest in home design exciting planned activities, enjoying with the relaxed southern charm active time with the family or simply Savannah is known for. relaxing –— it’s easy to see why so It’s no wonder the community is many people call Savannah Quarters winning awards. It was named 2018 “home.” Best New Home Community by the The resort-style amenities readers of Connect Savannah and the contribute to the active 2017 Community of the lifestyle residents Year by the Homebuilders 200 Blue Moon X-ING, enjoy. From the 18Association of Greater Suite 100 hole Greg Norman Savannah. These top (877) 728-4636 signature golf course, two honors highlight the savannahquarters.com interconnected pools and allure of this remarkable ––––––––––––––––––––––––– tennis complex to the place. Discover where REAL ESTATE ––––––––––––––––––––––––– award-winning fitness Modern Living meets INTERESTED? and wellness center, each Historic Charm at Schedule a tour today! amenity is designed to Savannah Quarters.
Something special is happening decorated to create an atmosphere in the quiet and serene setting at perfect for any important celebrations Cohen’s Retreat, just 20 minutes from or occassions. downtown. An iconic landmark of Cohen’s Retreat also hosts Music + Savannah’s history has transformed Munchies, a weekly Happy Hour event itself into an eclectic destination every Thursday featuring rotating drink for fabulous food, custom designed specials, scrumptious bar bites and live textiles and unique shopping. music. Conveniently located in Savannah’s Don’t forget to browse Cohen’s midtown, the energy and excitement Brown Dog Market which includes at Cohen’s Retreat will not remain a an exquisite collection of wares secret much longer. Nestled under handmade by some of the South’s Savannah’s moss-draped, majestic Live most talented artisans and retailers. Oaks on a five-acre tract of land in the Here you will find custom designed city’s famed Moon River District, you’ll textiles, home decor, specialty gifts, find Cohen’s Retreat. jewelry and more. Whether you are This under-the-radar gem is a local visiting town and want to take a bit favorite. With a mission to bring forth a of the Low Country home with you, place of art, community and food, you or whether the Low County is home, won’t find anywhere else like Cohen’s there is something for everyone in the Retreat in Savannah. Brown Dog Market. Whether you’re looking for a warm Coffee connoisseurs can pop on over and intimate table or a private dining to the Coffee Bar, open 9am.-2pm., and room for your entire extended family, enjoy a selection of specialty coffee our award-winning restaurant and chef from Savannah-based PERC Coffee will delight your tastebuds Roasters and a delicious with seasonally-curated variety of baked goods 5715 Skidaway Rd. menus and regionally from Auspicious Baking (912) 355-3336 sourced ingredients. Company. cohensretreat.com ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Reserve the Chef’s Table Looking for a place to SHOPPING/DINING/ and get the royal treatment stay on your visit? Cohen’s LODGING/EVENTS with five, eight or ten course is also home to its own ––––––––––––––––––––––––– meals curated by the private cottages which PRICE LEVEL: Executive Chef, just for you! are available through the Varies The Chef’s Table is opulently VRBO website.
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OUR SAVANNAH 2019-2020
CONTRIBUTORS Chuck Mobley is a native of Charleston, S.C., a Vietnam War veteran and a 1977 graduate of the University of South Carolina. He worked for the Aiken, S.C., Standard and the Warner Robins Daily Sun before moving to Savannah in 1980 to work for the Savannah Morning News. He’s married to Shelly Mobley, an English teacher at Groves High School, and the father of two children, Hallie and Cooper. Stan Deaton is senior historian for Georgia Historical Society. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s degree in history from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in history from the University of Florida. Dr. Deaton is also the Emmy-winning host ofToday in Georgia History, a joint collaboration of the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Jalapenos
Vaughnette Goode-Walker is a historian who walks the talk as the proprietor of Footprints of Savannah, A Complete Story of Slavery in Savannah. After a 25-year career as a network and cable television news writer, Ms. Goode-Walker now works in historic preservation.
Mexican Restaurant What started as a family-owned, because, just like the people we serve, single-location business in 1997 has our owners, bartenders, and wait evolved to a Savannah icon. In 1996, staff live, work, and eat in the greater Arnold Castellanos married the boss’s Savannah community. daughter. “The boss” owned Sombrero, Seven locations means that we are a Statesboro Mexican restaurant. always close by, and a menu stocked Impressed with how hard Arnold with endless choices means that we’re worked, he gave the couple his blessing ready to accommodate our services to – and, as a wedding gift, helped his new your taste. son-in-law start his own restaurant in Stop by to enjoy table-side Savannah. guacamole made from garden-fresh Arnold loved the restaurant business ingredients or a handcrafted margarita almost as much as he did Magda, his made by creative bartenders who are bride. Fortunately, she was supportive eager to serve. In the 21 years since our of the long hours Arnold spent there, founding, we have made an effort to managing, hosting and even waving a cultivate a uniquely authentic taste sombrero at cars on busy Abercorn. crafted from wholesome ingredients Four successful years later, Arnold and in a family-friendly, pristine opened the second Jalapeño’s, at 7405 environment. Skidaway, and a year later, another in Jalapenos is rooted in the Savannah Sylvania, at 503 West Ogeechee Road. community, and we are committed to Now, with seven Savannah area maintaining the relationships we have locations, Jalapenos Mexican Grill formed with our loyal customers. prides itself on fresh, locally-sourced At the end of the day, we are ingredients to create the handmade members of this community, working salsa, guacamole, and to serve this community other delicious food in pure, healthy, and tasty Visit us online for locations and contact and beverages that our ways. We look forward to information! customers have come to expanding our business jalepenosinc.com crave. to better serve the greater ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Our ability to provide our Georgia community, and DINING community with authentic we thank our customers ––––––––––––––––––––––––– food acquired from for their continued support PRICE LEVEL: reliable, clean sources is a of our craft. $ - $$ cornerstone of our business
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Chef Darin Sehnert is the Chef and Owner of “Chef Darin’s Kitchen Table” Hands-On Cooking School. Robert Morris is senior director of corporate communications for Georgia Ports Authority. His stories and paintings have appeared or been exhibited in newspapers, literary journals, museums and galleries around the country. Robin B. Williams chairs the architectural history department at Savannah College of Art & Design and specializes in the history of the built environment of the modern period in Europe and North America. Clinton Edminster is the Executive Director of Art Rise Savannah and owner of Starlandia Creative Supply on Bull St. melissa king, The “Savannah Savvy Shopper,” is a professional savings blogger who calls Savannah home. Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman is the Watershed Outreach Coordinator for the Ogeechee Riverkeeper. Julia Muller, a Savannah native, is archivist and online producer at the Savannah Morning News. Steve Bisson, a Savannah native and second generation photojournalist, has been a photographer for the Savannah Morning News for more than 35 years. He serves as photo chief for the Savannah Morning News/savannahnow.com. He attended the University of Georgia.
cathedral
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WE PROUDLY CALL OURSELVES THE LIGHT OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE AND LOWCOUNTRY.
FOR OVER 165 YEARS
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Visit our 8 Area Locations Savannah | Sandfly | Whitemarsh | Richmond Hill | Broughton | Pooler | Godley Station | Rincon www.jalapenosinc.com 83
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