Savannah, Georgia 2024

We made a quick day trip from Hilton Head, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia. We parked in a lot and walked around to see a bunch of places in the middle of the city. Our first stop was Pulaski Square, named after General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born hero from the American Revolution who died in a battle in Savannah. The square is just a lawn with many trees, surrounded by some impressive houses. 

Pulaski Square

Homes on the square

Maybe an apartment building? Love the porches!

Nearby is Madison Square, named after the fourth president of the United States. The monument in this square is of Sergeant William Jasper (a lot of the squares have memorials or statues that don't match the name of the square), who heroically recovered his regiment's colors during the Siege of Savannah in 1779. 

Madison Square

Jasper Monument

The following house is at Taylor Square, though I am not sure why I took the picture.

Too many trees? Lovely multi-level porches?

Nearby is a house related to the haunted history of Savannah. At least, that's what an Adventure Lab told us. We did some of the haunted Savannah Lab and the movie location Lab, so I will be talking about some of those sites.

Abercorn house

Lafayette Square is named after the Marquis de Lafayette who fought in the American Revolution and visited Savannah in 1825. The park has a nice fountain.

Lafayette Square

One of the nearby houses had an old guy lounging outside. We decided to get some pictures with him since he seemed like he wouldn't object, even though he was a bit intimidating-looking.

Hanging with a local whose been around for a while

My brave child

Monterey Square is named after the Battle of Monterrey in 1849 won by General Zachary Taylor. The memorial in the square is to Pulaski who was mentioned as having a square named after him up above. The top of the monument is a statue of Liberty (made in 1855, so not like the more famous Statue of Liberty). 

Pulaski monument

The base of the monument

Just before we got to Forsyth Park, we saw The Armstrong Kessler Mansion. It has Il Porcellino, a boar-shaped fountain from Florence, Italy. It is based on a commission by Cosimo de'Medici in the 1600s. Now it is a wedding venue.

The Armstrong Kessler Mansion

Wild Boar statue

Another view of the mansion

Forsyth Park is a large park in the middle of the city. The fountain is a popular photography spot for wedding shoots.

Entering Forsyth Park

Beautiful fountain

The park has a playground. The rain kept our kids from playing there.

Playground

Next to the playground is Collins Quarter at Forsyth, a restaurant that seems casual but is very popular. I had a chai to drink and chicken and waffles for lunch. They serve a variety of brunch items. My kids had french toast and shrimp and grits.

Collins Quarter at Forsyth

Inside

My chai

French toast and shrimp and grits bowl

Chicken and waffles

After lunch, we walked over to Mercer-Williams House. The house qualifies as a haunted location and a film location. Jim Williams killed his assistant there, which became the subject of the novel and the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 

Mercer-Williams House

The Andrew Low House is famous as the birthplace of the Girl Scouts. It also has a ghostly butler named Tom that has been sighted in the house. Items in the house seem to have moved around as if the butler was putting things back where he thought they should be. 

Andrew Low House

We walked down toward the river and I saw a fun restaurant sign.

Good pun!

Down by the river is the Marshall House which has the local, old time look. The faded bricks and the wrought-iron second-level walkway give it a classic feel.

Marshall House

We had been mocking the artsy look of a lot of the Savannah College of Art and Design (called "SCAD" in the area). This building must have been taken over from previous use because it is far too classical compared to the more modern buildings which were not interesting enough to be photographed.

SCAD building

This fun fountain is just above the river. 

Red lion fountain

We walked downstairs to get to the riverfront, which included some historic steps that were very steep.

The stairs are like a foot or more for each step

Cobblestone street

Down on the water, we saw a riverboat that was neat.

Georgia Queen

The view across the river was not very impressive. There's the convention center and a Westin hotel.

They have a better view

The riverfront has a lot of candy shops and food joints. There's a fountain with an anchor, though the water barely dribbles out.

Anchor fountain

Also nearby is Rousakis Plaza Echo Square, a spot where if you stand in the middle, you get a nice echo when you shout or make a loud noise. I tried clapping.

X marks the spot

One last view of the riverfront

We headed back up the cobblestones to meet with Mom, who had gone to get the car with our oldest son. He's been driving this vacation, which has been thrilling and satisfying.

Luckily, he didn't have to drive on this

Another interesting house

View of the river from the bridge as we headed out of town