Another Walk in the Park: Savannah

Savannah, Georgia is our favorite city. We prefer to visit in October when the weather is especially pleasant and in early spring when the camellias, azaleas, dogwoods, and rhododendrons are in bloom. Ancient live oaks laden with Spanish moss line the streets. The gardens, public and private, are spectacular.
Savannah was founded as the capital of the thirteenth American colony in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe. His city plan, the first in America, was based on a series of grids with two dozen shady squares or small parks surrounded by homes. Each square has a monument, fountain, or other special feature. Every home in the historic district thus has a park right out the front door. Today, most of them also have elegant side or back gardens with plantings ranging from formal boxwood parterres and fountains to informal beds of shade-loving annuals.
Shirley and I find that walking is the most enjoyable way to see Savannah because we can travel at our own pace, peak through wrought iron fences, and occasionally chat with residents about their restoration projects.
Many visitors prefer to take a bus tour or horse-drawn carriage with a guide to share some history and point out especially noteworthy homes and mansions. Chief among these is the Mercer House, the setting for the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. An entire subculture and mini-industry has grown up around the story of "The Book."
Tours of the Mercer house and several other homes of architectural and historic interest are available to the public. You might begin at the Davenport House where the historic preservation and restoration movement in Savannah got its start. Some of the historic homes have original furnishing. All are furnished and decorated with period pieces appropriate to their history.
Savannah was, and remains, a major international port. Take a walk along River Street, cobbled with ballast from sailing ships in the early days, to visit the shops and restaurants. Fans of Paula Deen might want to check out the Lady & Sons Restaurant just a couple blocks from River Street in downtown Savannah.
Another chief attraction for us is Bonaventure Cemetery. It is a monumental garden (so to speak) shaded by live oaks. It is said that Bonaventure is so beautiful that people are just dying to get in. Other nearby places you might consider visiting include Tybee Island and light house, Fort McAllister captured by General Sherman at the conclusion of his March to the Sea, Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island to the south, and Hilton Head just to the north.

The focal point of Forsyth Park is its fountain.

Monuments and stately live oaks at Bonaventure Cemetery make it

a "must visit" destination in Savannah.

Gen. James Oglethorpe founded Savannah in 1733.

Each square contains a monument, fountain or

other feature.

You might begin your historic homes tour at the Davenport House

where the Savannah preservation movement got its start.

And you should not miss the Mercer House, built by Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer, grandfather of song writer Johnny Mercer, and setting for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Or the Owens-Thomas House.

LaFayette addressed the citizens of Savannah from the side balcony.

The Meldrum-Green House where Gen. Sherman made his headquarters after capturing Savannah at the end of the March to the Sea.

The yellow ochre paint of the Sorrel-Weed House was rejected by the Historical Society as inauthentic. Microscopic studies of paint chips showed that it was, indeed, the original color.

It is worth a tour just to hear the Faulkneresque story of marital intrigue, suicide, and ghosts.

If you have time constraints, give priority to

a stroll along Jones Street.

After the great fire of 1796, Savannahians began to rebuild with fire resistant materials. Structural iron became the basis for construction and decorative wrought iron and cast iron added aesthetic appeal.