SCENIC AND SOUTHERN SAVANNAH

CITY BECKONS WITH CUISINE, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Written by: Dave Kelly

Just a short day’s drive from Florida lies the historic city of Savannah. Established by James Oglethorpe in 1733, Savannah was the first city in the new British colony of Georgia and was intended to serve as a military bu er between South Carolina and the Spanish colonists in Florida.

e area’s downtown, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the City Market and 22 park-like squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the U.S. Add in a robust nightlife and a famous Colonial estate to explore, and we knew it would be our kind of area to visit.

We chose the boutique accommodations of e Present as our home base for our Savannah trip, and we couldn’t have been more pleased with what we experienced. e Present is the perfect blend of hotel and Airbnb, with contactless automated check-in and a director of guest experience who you can always reach. It is situated in the heart of Savannah on Crawford Square—walkable distance from the iconic

River Street area, Forsyth Park and the City Market. Before becoming e Present, the building was once a brothel, then an artist’s studio. Its 15 unique rooms focus on comfort and harken back to the studio days, with no two alike in design, layout or décor. ere are options from small hotel rooms to apartments that sleep up to eight. Yet all rooms serve e Present’s goal of “relaxation, comfort and cozy peace of mind.” e huge fountain at the north end of the park was added in 1858, and legend has it that, while seemingly beautifully unique, it was actually ordered out of a mail- order catalogue that was popular in the day. Every St. Patrick's Day, the fountain is ceremoniously dyed green in celebration of Savannah's deep Irish heritage. e stones were originally used as ballast material on the ships that sailed into Savannah's harbor. ey were then replaced with goods from America headed back to Europe and thus discarded onto the shore, where they were utilized to build the streets. Look around and you will see that the stones o en cause the locally famous “cobble wobble” walk that visitors can be seen doing on River Street.

For our stay, we chose the 101 Studio Apartment, a six-person suite with a full kitchen and a private entrance overlooking Crawford Square. It is a mix of historic and edgy design that comes from the mind of HGTV designer Elizabeth Demos. ere are also numerous nods to safety and cleanliness important in today’s environment, such as electrostatic cleaning by sta members and the use of high-tech products. We packed away our belongings in the bounty of space provided, changed into our walking shoes and headed out to discover the city.

Opposite page is downtown's Savannah's skyline. is page, clockwise from top le , world-renowned fried chicken at the Olde Pink House; the restaurant entrance; Bonaventure Cemetery; tasty French onion soup and sausages at Churchill's; mansions lining Forsyth Park; and Live Oak Avenue at Wormsloe State Historic Site.

Located across the street from e Present, Crawford Square is one of Savannah's famous squares, which are spread out across a square-mile area of downtown. Each square is typically a 40,000-square-foot rectangle and the focal point of the homes and inns that line its edges. Most are park-like, with fountains, gazebos and benches. All are shaded by huge live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

In the South Historic District area lies Forsyth Park. is breathtaking 30-acre city park features walking paths, a children's play area, a large fountain and a Garden of Fragrance for visually impaired visitors. Built in the 1840s, the park is surrounded by million-dollar Victorian-era homes.

Turning back to the north, we headed to the River Street area. While Bay Street runs atop the long blu that looks out over the Savannah River, River Street itself runs below the blu and is lined with boutiques, hotels, restaurants, bars—and even a world-famous candy shop. Access to the River Street area comes via a dozen steep stone staircases on Bay Street that descend to Savannah’s famous cobblestone streets below.

We wanted to get the true feel of Southern fine dining, so we headed to the Olde Pink House on Reynolds Square to try out its world-renowned fried chicken. Built in 1771 as the Habersham House, the native brick used to build it slowly began to bleed through the plaster walls, changing the exterior color to a pale pink—and the name “Olde Pink House” soon stuck.

Over the years, it fell into neglect. But in 1992, it was purchased by the Balish family, who researched its past and restored it to its original grandeur. In addition to its Country Fried Chicken plate, the restaurant features traditional Lowcountry dishes such as shrimp and grits, pan-seared crab cakes, and fried honey quail.

Full of home cooking, we hopped in the car and headed to Bonaventure Cemetery. With more than 100 acres of history dating back to 1846, its curving pathways, shade trees and greenspace made it common practice for families to meet and picnic while visiting friends and family buried there. In addition to being the final resting place of many notable Georgians, the cemetery received fame when the cover photograph for the best-selling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil featured the so-called Bird Girl statue that had quietly graced the cemetery for years.

A visit to the Savannah area would be incomplete without a trip to the Wormsloe State Historic Site. Finished in 1745 by noted physician Noble Jones, it features the 200-year-old ruins of Jones’ Tabby Estate, one of the first homes built in Georgia.

But the centerpiece of the Wormsloe State Historic Site is the Live Oak Avenue and Entrance Gate. is breathtaking mile-long dirt roadway is lined by more than 400 live oak trees planted in the 1890s, forming a canopy of joining branches that allows only limited dappled sunlight onto the shaded lane. is was the location for many of the rural scenes in the movie Forrest Gump. (So if you listen closely, you just may hear Jenny shouting, “Run, Forrest! Run!”) Fortunately, Savannah itself is only a quick run from Florida—and well worth the trip. FCM

Roundup

e Present 224 Houston St. 912-421-9517, visitthepresent.com e Olde Pink House 23 Abercorn St. 912-232-4286, theoldepinkhouserestaurant.com

Bonaventure Cemetery 330 Bonaventure Road

912-412-4687, bonaventurehistorical.org

Wormsloe State Historic Site 7601 Skidaway Road 912-353-3023, gastateparks.org/Wormsloe