United StatesSavannah
Savannah: Oglethorpe Plan (1733 founded 12th and last original colony, 22 of 24 original squares surviving, most intact 18th-century urban planning US, Forsyth Park 1858 fountain, SCAD 15,000 students revitalized historic buildings), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Berendt book 1994 216 weeks NYT bestseller longest nonfiction, Mercer House Jim Williams shooting, Chablis Lady drag performer, Johnny Mercer 1,500 songs Moon River Oscar 1961 Breakfast at Tiffany's), Bonaventure Cemetery (live oak allees Spanish moss, Little Gracie Watson 1889 most visited grave, Bird Girl statue moved to Telfair Museums, Telfair Museums oldest Southern public art museum, Owens-Thomas House 1816 finest US Regency architecture), Savannah food (Olde Pink House 1771 James Habersham Georgian mansion, Pirate's House 1734 oldest building Georgia shanghaied sailors tunnel Treasure Island, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room 1943 communal soul food), Film history (Forrest Gump 1994 Chippewa Square bench now Savannah History Museum, Midnight movie Clint Eastwood 1997, Savannah Film Festival SCAD October), Practical (Historic District 2.5 sqkm National Historic Landmark walkable, Tybee Island 30km lighthouse 1736 second oldest US site, Jekyll Island Rockefellers Morgans, Cumberland Island wild horses Carnegie ruins)
Savannah highlights: Oglethorpe Plan (February 12 1733 founded, 12th and last original colony, 22 of 24 squares surviving the most intact 18th-century urban plan in the US, Forsyth Park 1858 fountain, SCAD 15,000 students revitalized dozens historic buildings), Midnight in the Garden (John Berendt 1994 216 weeks NYT bestseller longest nonfiction ever, Jim Williams shooting Mercer House 1981, Chablis Lady memorable character, Johnny Mercer born Savannah 1909 1,500 songs Moon River Oscar 1961 Days of Wine Roses), Bonaventure Cemetery (live oak allees Spanish moss Victorian statuary, Little Gracie Watson 1889 most visited, Bird Girl statue moved to Telfair, Telfair Museums oldest Southern public art museum Owens-Thomas House 1816 best US Regency), food (Olde Pink House 1771 Habersham signer Georgian mansion dining, Pirate's House 1734 oldest Georgia building shanghaied sailors Treasure Island connection, Mrs. Wilkes 1943 communal soul food fried chicken biscuits), film (Forrest Gump 1994 Chippewa Square bench Savannah History Museum, Midnight Clint Eastwood 1997 Kevin Spacey Jude Law, Savannah Film Festival SCAD Oscar precursor), practical (2.5 sqkm walkable National Historic Landmark, SAV airport, Tybee Island 30km 1736 second oldest US lighthouse site, Jekyll Island Rockefellers Morgans Vanderbilts, Cumberland Island wild horses ferry access).
Savannah R4: Spanish moss (bromeliad not parasite absorbs moisture from air, nesting habitat for 3 bird species, Ford Model T 12,000 tons annually for seat cushions, City of Savannah manages growth in squares), Savannah squares in detail (Chippewa Square Forrest Gump bench now History Museum, Oglethorpe statue Daniel Chester French sculptor Lincoln Memorial, Monterey Square Pulaski monument Mercer House, Johnson Square 1733 first square Nathanael Greene monument), Factors Walk waterfront (cotton factor system 2.5% commission, cobblestones New England granite ballast, River Street cotton warehouses now bars restaurants, Talmadge Bridge 56m clearance container ships), Craft beer bar culture (open container law Historic District plastic cups, Moon River Brewing 1821 City Hotel most haunted bar US ghost James Stark, American Prohibition Museum only US museum Prohibition, Service Brewing veteran-founded), Georgia nature (Okefenokee 440,000ha 11,000 alligators blackwater amber tea tannic acids, Little St. Simons 30 guests bald eagles loggerhead, Georgia Bight 2,200 loggerhead nests per year), SCAD galleries (SCAD Museum of Art 1853 Gothic Revival depot, Telfair Museums oldest Southern public art 1886 Bird Girl bronze, Savannah Fashion Week student collections)
Savannah R4: Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides bromeliad absorbs from air not parasite, nesting yellow warblers Baltimore orioles parula, Ford 12,000 tons annually for Model T seats 1910s-1930s, City of Savannah manages growth in squares), squares detail (Chippewa Forrest Gump bench moved to History Museum, Oglethorpe statue Daniel Chester French Lincoln Memorial sculptor, Monterey Pulaski monument Polish cavalry hero died October 9 1779, Johnson 1733 first square Nathanael Greene, Madison Green-Meldrim Sherman HQ Jasper monument), Factors Walk (cotton factor 2.5% commission credit intermediary, River Street cobblestones New England granite ship ballast, warehouses now bars, Talmadge Bridge 56m clearance), craft beer (open container law unique Historic District, Moon River Brewing 1821 City Hotel most haunted ghost James Stark, American Prohibition Museum only US Prohibition museum, Service Brewing veteran-founded 2014), Georgia nature (Okefenokee 440,000ha 11,000 alligators amber blackwater tannic acids, Little St. Simons 30 guests bald eagles, Georgia Bight 2,200 loggerhead nests most active East Coast north Florida), SCAD galleries (Museum of Art 1853 Gothic Revival Central Georgia Railway depot, Telfair 1886 oldest Southern public art Bird Girl bronze, Savannah Fashion Week student collections).
Savannah R2-R4: African American heritage (Sherman Savannah December 21 1864 Christmas gift, Special Field Order 15 January 1865 40 acres and a mule revoked Johnson October 1865, First African Baptist 1773 oldest North American Black Baptist congregation, Underground Railroad West African breathing holes), Tybee Island (lighthouse 1736 second oldest US station, 1958 nuclear B-47 Mark 15 bomb never recovered, Jekyll Island Club 1886-1942 Rockefellers Morgans, 1910 Jekyll Island secret meeting drafted Federal Reserve Act), SCAD (15,000 students largest US art university, 70+ historic buildings restored, Museum of Art 1853 Gothic Revival railway depot, First Fridays Gallery Crawl), Antebellum architecture (Green-Meldrim House Sherman HQ 1864, Isaiah Davenport House 1820 saved 1955 by Historic Savannah Foundation, Owens-Thomas House 1816 finest US Regency, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 1873 French Gothic), Nightlife ghost tours (open container law Historic District, River Street cotton warehouses, Kehoe House most haunted Savannah, top 3 most haunted US, Savannah Stopover music festival SXSW stop), Practical (St. Patrick's Day 400,000 participants second US, spring azaleas best season, Starland District Back in the Day Bakery, SAV airport direct Atlanta Charlotte)
Savannah R2-R4: African American (Sherman December 21 1864 Savannah Christmas gift, Special Field Order 15 January 16 1865 40 acres and a mule revoked October 1865 fatal Reconstruction failure, First African Baptist 1773 oldest North American Black Baptist, Underground Railroad West African breathing hole patterns), Tybee Island (lighthouse 1736 second oldest US station 47m tower 1867, 1958 Mark 15 nuclear bomb jettisoned never recovered 100x Hiroshima, Jekyll Island Club 1886-1942 Rockefellers Morgans Pulitzers Vanderbilts, November 1910 secret meeting drafted Federal Reserve Act 1913), SCAD (15,000 students largest US art university, 70+ historic Savannah buildings restored, SCAD Museum of Art 1853 Gothic Revival depot, First Fridays Gallery Crawl Broughton Street), antebellum squares (Green-Meldrim House Sherman HQ 1864 Gothic Revival, Isaiah Davenport House 1820 Historic Savannah Foundation first US preservation effort 1955, Owens-Thomas 1816 finest US Regency, Cathedral St. John Baptist 1873 French Gothic finest Georgia stained glass), nightlife and ghosts (open container legal Historic District, River Street cotton warehouses, Kehoe House haunted twins, top 3 most haunted US city, Savannah Stopover March SXSW music), practical (St. Patrick's Day 400,000 second US largest, spring azaleas best, Starland District Back in Day Bakery, SAV airport).
Savannah R3-R4: Port of Savannah (largest single-terminal container port US 5.5M TEUs, cotton warehouse Row Factors Walk 1850s-1880s, Eli Whitney cotton gin 1793 Mulberry Grove plantation expanded slave economy), Savannah River and Wormsloe (2.4km live oak avenue cathedral of moss most photographed Georgia, Noble Jones 1733 original settler, Isle of Hope antebellum cottages, Savannah River Site nuclear weapons 1953-1988), Port city culture (Savannah Bee Company 2002 artisan honey 14 stores, Leopold's Ice Cream 1919 Greek brothers unchanged recipes), Literary heritage (Flannery O'Connor born Savannah 1925 Southern Gothic, O'Connor Childhood Home Lafayette Square, Conrad Aiken Pulitzer Prize father murdered mother 11 years old, Savannah Book Festival February free squares), Cumberland Island (largest undeveloped East Coast barrier island, 200 feral horses Carnegie ruins Dungeness burned 1959 Greyfield Inn, JFK Jr Carolyn Bessette secret wedding September 21 1996 40 guests, Jekyll Island Club Resort), Sherman March to the Sea (November-December 1864 60,000 troops 480km, USD 100M destruction total war doctrine, Mayor Arnold surrender December 21 1864 saved antebellum architecture, 10,000 enslaved freed, Georgia Historical Society 1839 oldest Georgia institution)
Savannah R3-R4: port and cotton (Garden City Terminal largest single-terminal US 5.5M TEUs, cotton factors Factors Walk River Street warehouses, Eli Whitney cotton gin 1793 Mulberry Grove Nathanael Greene widow 10hrs per pound to mechanized expanded slave economy to Deep South), Savannah River and Wormsloe (Wormsloe 2.4km live oak avenue Spanish moss cathedral most photographed Georgia, Noble Jones 1733 tabby ruins, Isle of Hope antebellum Victorian bluff cottages, Savannah River Site nuclear weapons 1953-1988 most contaminated federal site), port city culture (Savannah Bee Company 2002 Ted Dennard 14 national stores, Leopold's Ice Cream 1919 Greek brothers unchanged recipes most visited food destination), literary (Flannery O'Connor born March 25 1925 Savannah Southern Gothic A Good Man Hard Find, O'Connor Childhood Home 207 E Charlton, Conrad Aiken Pulitzer Prize father murdered mother shot himself 11 years old 228 Oglethorpe, Savannah Book Festival February free), Cumberland Island (36km largest undeveloped East Coast, 200 feral horses, Carnegie Dungeness burned 1959 ruins Greyfield Inn, JFK Jr Carolyn Bessette secret wedding September 21 1996 reported 2 days later), Sherman March (60,000 troops November-December 1864 480km USD 100M destruction total war doctrine, Arnold surrender December 21 1864 saved antebellum buildings, 10,000 freed, Georgia Historical Society 1839).