SAVANNAH – THE COLONY’S FIRST SETTLEMENT
In Savannah everything is a bit cuddly and cuddly, more urban in the sense of the typical Old South and less focused on self-expression. The proportion of colored people in the population is high. Henry Miller’s description is still justified today: ” Savannah is like a living monument, around which a sensual aura hovers like around ancient Corinth .”
According to ask4beauty, Charleston and Savannah are considered the cities of the Old South, New Orleans occupies a special position as an entertainment metropolis. Charleston in South Carolina is dressed up and has a European feel. The “competitor” Savannah in Georgia is very different. In 1733 General James Oglethorpe arrived here with other English settlers and laid the foundation stone for the city. Its aim was to provide settlement opportunities for emigrants from the Old World in this – 13th and last – English colony. Morality and order should prevail here. alcohol and slavery were prohibited and the systematic development of the city. Wards were so-called applied rectangular municipalities with public and private buildings, grouped around central squares (Squares). These places with large trees, flowers, monuments, benches and fountains were oases of calm and social meeting places. These places still exist today (22 of the former 24) and they make Savannah so special from a tourist point of view, even if they are not spectacular.
Some of them should be seen, even if they are no longer the social gathering point of the superiors, but rather the residence of the underprivileged (from the onset of dusk, the places are no longer considered “safe”!).
Savannah does not have any 4-star sights, half a day’s sightseeing is sufficient for a first impression (ideally an afternoon to visit the riverfront in the evening). The best way to surrender to the charm of the “Grand Old South” on foot and thank General Sherman for leaving it undamaged to “give” the city to President Lincoln for Christmas in 1864. The city’s Visitor Center (The Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 101 East Bay Street, Savannah, GA 31402) is located in the historic Central of Georgia Railroad Stataion at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The story of Georgia and Savannah are represented with documents, dioramas and films, from the encounter between General Oglethorpe and Chief Tomochecchee to the emergence of the modern port metropolis.
Climate and Weather
Average temperatures in the months:
- January: 11 degrees Celsius
- February: 12 degrees Celsius
- March: 15 degrees Celsius
- April: 19 degrees Celsius
- May: 23 degrees Celsius
- June: 26 degrees Celsius
- July: 27 degrees Celsius
- August: 27 degrees Celsius
- September: 25 degrees Celsius
- October: 20 degrees Celsius
- November: 15 degrees Celsius
- December: 11 degrees Celsius
- Annual average: 19 degrees Celsius
Landmarks
- Fort Pulaski National Monument
- (US 80, about 15 miles east of Savannah)
- Open daily from 8.30 a.m. to 5.15 p.m., except Christmas.
Intact example of military architecture from the 19th century.
- City Market
Here is the old center of the city, today a square with “open-air” restaurants and shops as well as life entertainment (music) on weekends. The price level is below that of River Street.
- River Street
is literally the road that runs along the Savannah River. From Bay Street, which runs fairly parallel at “city height”, you have to descend via so-called “street ramps” or unevenly shaped and steep stairs. There is also a public elevator between City Hall and the east side of the Hyatt Regency Hotel (there is also a public toilet at river level). The buildings on River Street date back to the cotton boom. Today, however, they serve restaurants, shops and nightlife. It is the tourist center of Savannah with a corresponding price level. The price-performance ratio seemed clearly overpriced to us. In the east, River Street ends with the
- Statue of the Waving Girl,
a landmark of the city.
- FactorsWalk
is an alley that has also been preserved in its original state, which is about halfway between Bay Street and River Street and in turn houses restaurants and shops.
- Maritime Museum “Ships of the Sea”
- East River Street
- open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The museum particularly commemorates the busy years of the Port of Savannah before the Civil War. After the liquidation period of the Oglethorpe Society had expired in 1753 and Georgia was given the status of a crown colony, the moral restrictions well-intentioned by the city founder broke. The Indians had their land taken away and cotton plantations blossomed. The port of Savannah and the Cotton Exchange (East Bay St., today the seat of a Masonic lodge) were among the most important trading centers for cotton worldwide. In 1860, half of the state’s population were slaves.
Squares and streets
- Wright Square
This place is well known to visitors of the movie Forest Gump. Here the film hero sat on a bench and told his story. In the middle of the square there is a monument to the founder of the railway, WP Gorden.
Corner of Bull and Öglethorpe Ave. is the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the US Girl Scouts. This organization is headquartered here today.
- Chippewah Square
Here you will find the Baptist Church and a bronze statue of the city’s founder James Öglethorpe.
- Madison Square
Next to St. John’s Church is the Green-Meldrin-House, which General Sherman used as quarters on his march of destruction through the rebellious south in 1864/65.
- Forsyth Park
is the public city park for leisure activities of all kinds. The beautiful fountain was built in 1858.
- East Gaston Street
The Victorian part of Savannah begins south of Forsyth Park. Here you will find the typical gingerbread style houses. This street also has the advantage that the well-tended front gardens are not behind the houses as usual, but in front of them.
- Whitefield Square
has a central gazebo.
- Troup Square
is known as the Mecca of dog lovers, not least because of the animal-friendly fountain. The Christmas carol “Jingle Beils” is said to have been invented in the Baptist Church on the northeast corner.
- Colonial Park Cemetery
The early colonists found their final resting place here between 1750 and 1853.
- Oglethorpe Square
This is where the well-known Owen Thomas House is located (124 Abercorn Street). It is considered the best example of English Regency architecture (built 1816-1919) and can be viewed on guided tours. However, the facade is in poor condition.
- Reynolds Square
On the west side of the square is the oldest restored building in town, the Old Pink House from 1790, now a renowned restaurant.
- Johnson Square
- Telfair Square
The city’s premier art museum, the Telfair Museum of Art (121 Barnard Street), is located here. The museum holdings include paintings, drawings, and sculptures with a focus on American Impressionism. The best-known paintings include George Bellow’s winter landscape “Snow Capped River” (1911), Julian Story’s battle painting “Black Prince of Crecy” (1888) and Sylvia Shaw Judson’s “Bird Girl” (1938).
