Savannah: Recreation
Sightseeing
Visitors are attracted to Savannah for many reasons, the primary one being the opportunity to tour the city's beautiful Historic District, the country's largest historic urban landmark district. The Savannah Visitors Center, located at the
Tours of the Historic Landmark District include six different neighborhoods and views of garden-like public squares and hundreds of restored eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings with ornate ironwork, gingerbread trim, and picturesque fountains (about seven houses are open as museums). Highlights of the district include the Owens-Thomas House, circa 1816–1819, which was designed by John Jay and considered to be the finest example of Regency architecture in America; the Davenport House Museum, built between 1815–1820, a fine example of Federal architecture and period decorative arts; and Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts, which is restored and furnished to depict the 1870s.
Interesting churches in the district are the First African Baptist Church (1861), the oldest African American congregation in the United States; the 1890 Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church; Temple Mickve Israel, the third oldest synagogue in the United States; Lutheran Church of the Ascension (1878-89), which has an exquisite Ascension window; Christ Episcopal Church (1838), which was the first church established in the colony; and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the oldest Roman Catholic congregation in the state.
The Cotton and Naval Stores Exchange (1886) was the center of commerce when Savannah was the world's foremost cotton port. Other interesting civic sites include the U.S. Customs House (1852); the 1905 City Hall; Colonial Park Cemetery, the second oldest burial ground (1750–1853) for colonists; and Bonaventure Cemetery, resting place of many local residents, made famous by the publication of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The recently restored City Market features City Market Art Center, shops, restaurants, and taverns. Particularly scenic streets include Factor's Walk, known for iron bridges and cobblestones; Riverfront Plaza/River Street, with restaurants, pubs, and shops housed in old cotton warehouses; Gaston Street, distinguished by its stately old homes; and Oglethorpe Avenue, a fashionable residential street. Beauty abounds at Emmett Park, with its Harbor Light and fountain, and at Forsyth Park, with its beautiful azalea blooms, Confederate monument, and recently restored fountain. The district's museums are detailed in the Arts and Culture section.
The city of Savannah has many other interesting attractions outside the Historic District. The Bethesda Home for Boys on Isle of Hope is the oldest continuously operated home for boys in America. Its Cunningham Museum houses items connected with Bethesda's history dating back to the 1700s. The Massie Heritage Interpretation Center is the only remaining original building of Georgia's oldest chartered school system. The University of Georgia Marine Education Center & Aquarium, ten miles southeast of the city on Skidaway Island, features an aquarium exhibit of marine life found in Georgia's waters. Old Fort Jackson, the oldest remaining brickwork fort in Georgia, and the Savannah History Museum at the Visitors Center offers artifacts and exhibits from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Fort Pulaski National Monument, fifteen miles east of Savannah, Fort McAllister State Historic Park, 22 miles south, and the Tybee Island Museum provide exhibits concerning the Civil War period. Also on Tybee Island, the Tybee Island Lighthouse, guardian of the Savannah River since 1736, offers tours, a museum, and gift shop. The Ships of the Sea Museum presents a large collection of models and maritime memorabilia representing man's 2,000-year quest to conquer the seas. Hands-on exhibits in natural history, astronomy, the sciences, prehistoric animals of the Georgia Coast, and a discovery room dealing with natural and physical sciences are offered at the Savannah Science Museum. Trustees Garden Village was the site of the first public agricultural experimental garden in America. It is now a residential area and home of the famous Pirates' House (1759) frequented by seamen and pirates alike. The Roundhouse Railroad Museum offers a glimpse of the oldest and most complete pre-Civil War railroad repair facility in the country.
The city's newest museums are the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Pooler and the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum. The Mighty Eighth honors the sacrifices made during and after World War II by the largest air strike force in history, which was formed in Savannah in 1942. The Civil Rights Museum tells the story of Savannah's role in the movement.
Arts and Culture
With its splendid squares and parks, elegant architecture, and lush vegetation, Savannah creates a studio and stage artscape for its performing and visual arts. The City Lights Theater Company, permanently housed in the newly renovated Avon Theater, moves to historic Telfair Square each spring to produce "Shakespeare on the Square." The Savannah Theatre, the oldest continuously operating theater site in the country, is home to the Savannah Theatre Company which performs a season of live drama plus a summer musical. The Savannah Concert Association offers a five-concert season at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts. Various entertainments are offered at the Savannah Civic Center throughout the year.
Opened in 1885 as the first public art museum in the southeast, the Telfair Museum of Art in the historic district is Savannah's premier art museum. The handsome William Jay-designed mansion features American painting and art of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the 1818 Octagon Room, dining room, and the restored 1886 rotunda gallery. The Jepson Center for the Arts, the Museum's third building in downtown Savannah, is scheduled to open in fall 2005. It features gallery spaces, expanded educational resources, sculpture gardens, auditorium, storage facilities, cafe and museum store. The King-Tisdell Cottage museum in the historic district is dedicated to preserving aspects of African American culture and heritage and displays documents, furniture, and art objects of the 1890s. The Negro Heritage Trail Tours embark from the site. The Spirit of the South Museum offers a special retrospective exhibit of the song writing career of Savannahian Johnny Mercer.
Arts and Culture Information: telephone (912)233-ARTS
Festivals and Holidays
Savannah is host to more than 200 festivals and events annually. During the first two weeks in February, the Georgia Heritage Celebration's Colonial Faire and Muster, sponsored by the Historic Savannah Foundation, celebrates the state's colonial history. The Black Heritage Festival, held the second week in February, is a series of events featuring the cultural and artistic contributions of African Americans. The Savannah Irish Festival is held in February at the Civic Center Area in the Historic District. Sheep to Shawl Festival at Oatland Island in early March provides the opportunity to watch the annual shearing of the sheep and the processing and handweaving of the wool. The St. Patrick's Day Parade is Savannah's biggest event, and the second largest St. Pat's celebration in the country. More than one-quarter of a million people participate in this event, which began in the early 1800s. Savannah Music Festival is a 15-day fest featuring concerts in downtown venues and includes international talent in blues, jazz, and classical music. The Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens offers self-guided walking tours of private homes in six historic neighborhoods over four days in late March. An ecumenical Easter Sunrise service is a Tybee Island tradition. April is the month for four Savannah festivals including the International Festival, Sidewalk Art Festival, Blues and BBQ Festival and the Spring Fling Art and Music Festival.
The Savannah Seafood Festival, Savannah Shakespeare Festival, Scottish Games Festival, Tybee Island Beach Bum Parade, and the SCAD Sands Art Festival round out the list of activities in May. The Tybee Island Summer Concert Series during the summer months hosts concerts for beach music lovers. Picnics, music, arts, food, and fireworks at sites around the city help residents and visitors hail the Fourth of July holiday.
City Market and Forsyth Park are the sites for the week-long Savannah Jazz Festival in September. National, regional, and local jazz stars assist in the workshops, jazz seminars, and other events. Oktoberfest is held early in the month of October and features German food, imported beer, arts, and entertainment. Greek music and food aromas fill the air three days in mid-October at the Savannah Greek Festival. The Savannah Film Festival features films and videos from around the world. The Savannah Harbor Boat Parade of Lights in November with its fireworks extravaganza and tree lighting kicks off the Savannah Harbor Holiday Series. Christmas in Savannah offers a Christmas parade, tours of historic homes, Civil War reenactments and other events.
Sports for the Spectator
Historic Grayson Stadium is the site of the home games of the Class A South Atlantic League Savannah Sand Gnats, a farm team of baseball's Washington Nationals. Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah State University, and Savannah College of Art and Design field teams in such sports as football, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball.
Sports for the Participant
Savannah's warm weather allows participation in outdoor activities year round. Savannah offers excellent facilities for jogging, tennis, golf, swimming, boating, and other water sports. The city has more than 100 public recreational neighborhood parks, 13 swimming pools, more than 70 athletic fields (including 4 fully equipped complexes,) more than 75 basketball courts, 50 tennis courts, and 2 public golf courses. For boating, fishing and swimming enthusiasts, Savannah offers marinas throughout the 420 miles of navigable waters and 87,000 acres of tidal marshland, as well as the intercoastal waterway.
Shopping and Dining
Savannah offers numerous choices for enthusiastic shoppers, including two traditional enclosed malls, 41 large shopping centers, boutiques, antique shops, flea markets, and restored warehouse complexes. Oglethorpe Mall in midtown offers 5 major department shops and more than 100 other stores. Savannah Mall on the south side has four major department stores and an indoor carousel. Savannah Festival Factory Outlet Center offers brand name merchandise at substantial savings. Magnolia Bluff Factory Outlet is located about 45 minutes away in Darien. River Street's nineteenth-century warehouses have been converted into shops, restaurants, and nightclubs. "First Saturday" festivals (every month but January) present a grand display of arts and crafts in Rousakis Plaza.
Savannah is a city renowned for its hospitality. While the city offers a wide choice of dining establishments, visitors are particularly delighted by the "down-home southern cookin' " for which the area is famous. The diverse land and water of the region produces catfish and chicken for frying, hush puppies, grits, sweet potatoes for pie, collards and turnip greens, okra, scallions, dried peas, ham and turkey for smoking, meat for barbecuing, peanuts for boiling, white butter beans, white and yellow turnips, cornmeal for bread, tomatoes, oysters, crab for crabcakes, and shrimp. In addition to this sort of delectable fare, the city's many restaurants offer the cuisines of China, Japan, Italy, and Greece, as well as continental dishes.
Visitor Information: The Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 101 East Bay Street, Savannah, GA 31402; telephone (877)-SAVANNAH; email info@savannahvisit.com Visitors may wish to request a copy of the "Savannah Travel Planner," "Tybee Island Brochure," or the "Calendar of Events."