Forsyth Park Fountain

Here are some #OMGFacts about Forsyth Park. All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

• The park was originally created in the 1840s on 10 acres of land. In 1851, the park was expanded &  named for Ga. Governor John Forsyth.
• Standing in the middle of Forsyth Park lies the Confederate Memorial Statue, commemorating those volunteers who fought for the Confederacy.
• The park hosts a fort, built in 1912 for the Georgia National Guard. The fort was converted into a cafe/rest area/band shell this year.
• The Forsyth Park fort/band shell renovations cost $6.5 Million. They started in 2004, and were completed in Dec. 2009.
• The Forsyth Park fountain was added in 1858, and is similar to Place de la Concorde in Paris. It is Savannah’s most photographed monuments.

Forsyth Park is located in the heart of Savannah’s Historic District. You can learn more about Savannah’s history by reading Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visiting Savannah. Make sure you stay at Heritage House, a Historic District Savannah vacation rental, when you come.

Here are some #OMGFacts about the Savannah College of Art and Design. All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

• The Savannah College of Art and Design, or SCAD, is a private university in Savannah w/ campuses in Atlanta, Hong Kong & France.
• SCAD was founded in 1978 by Paula S. Wallace, Richard Rowan, May Poetter and Paul Poetter.
• In 1979, SCAD opened w/ 7 faculty members & 71 students. It offered 8 majors. SCAD now enrolls more than 9,000 students from 100 countries.
• In 1979, SCAD bought & renovated the Savannah Volunteer Guard Armory, built in 1892, for its 1st academic building.
• SCAD has restored many historic buildings for its facilities & has been recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
• SCAD is divided into 8 colleges: Building Arts, Communication Arts, Design, Fashion, Film, Fine Arts, Foundation Studies & Liberal Arts.

Here are some #OMGFacts about Tybee Island’s famous lighthouse. All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

Tybee Lighthouse

• After James Oglethorpe founded Savannah in 1733, he ordered a lighthouse constructed to mark the entrance to the Savannah river.
• The 1736 lighthouse was made of brick and wood, and stood 90 feet (27 m) tall, making it the highest structure in America at that time.
• The original lighthouse has been replaced several times. The second lighthouse was built in 1742 when beach erosion threated the first.
• The top 94 feet (29 m) of the current lighthouse were added in 1867.
• Today, the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination, having all of its support buildings on the 5-acre site historically preserved.
• The Tybee Island Light Station is one of just a handful of 18th century lighthouses still in operation in North America.

Tybee Island is just 20 minutes by car from Savannah’s downtown Historic District.  You can learn more Tybee facts by reading Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visiting Savannah and making a day-trip to Tybee. Make sure you stay at Heritage House, a Historic District Savannah vacation rental, when you come.

Here are some #OMGFacts about Tybee Island’s role in the Revolutionary, Civil and other wars. All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

Tybee Island’s Role in Multiple Wars

• Tybee served as the staging area for French Admiral D’Estaing’s ill-fated 1779 “Siege of Savannah” attempt take back Savannah from the British.
• During the War of 1812, the Tybee Island Lighthouse was used to warn Savannah of possible attack by the British. No attack took place.
• In the Civil War, Confederates occupied the Island until 1861, when Rebel forces withdrew to Fort Pulaski to defend Savannah.
• In 1855, Fort Screven was ordered built on the North end of Tybee to provide a more modern system of seacoast defenses.
• From 1897 to 1947, troops guarded Tybee’s Fort Screvin through the Spanish American War of 1898, World War I, and World War II.
• In 1947, the Fort was closed and sold to the Town of Tybee.

Tybee Island is just 20 minutes by car from Savannah’s downtown Historic District.  You can learn more Tybee facts by reading Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visiting Savannah and making a day-trip to Tybee (and exploring its beautiful beaches). Make sure you stay at Heritage House, a Historic District Savannah vacation rental, when you come.

Here are some #OMGFacts about Tybee Island’s early history. All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

Tybee Island Early History

• The Euchee Indians likely inhabited the island in the years preceding the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the 1500s.
• In 1605, the French were drawn to Tybee in search of Sassafras roots which was considered a miracle cure.
• The Spanish fought the French in a naval battle just off shore Tybee to regain control over the area.
• For many decades pirates visited the Island in search of a safe haven and hiding place for treasure.

Tybee Island is just 20 minutes by car from Savannah’s downtown Historic District.  You can learn more Tybee facts by reading Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visiting Savannah and making a day-trip to Tybee. Make sure you stay at Heritage House, a Historic District Savannah vacation rental, when you come.

Savannah has plenty of wonderful restaurants. It also has some wonderful ice-cream, too. Here are our two favorites:

Historic District, Savannah:

Leopold’s – By far, this is our favorite ice-cream stop. The chocolate milk shakes are incredible (I would walk an extra hour each day, just so I could afford the calories). And the restaurant has unequaled charm.

Stratton Leopold, who produced the movies Sum of All Fears, Paycheck, Mission Impossible III and many others, is a Savannah native. He grew up in Savannah, and decided to continue the family’s ice cream legacy (in between movie shoots). The first Leopold’s was located on Gwinnett and Habersham, and opened in 1919. Stratton opened his ice-cream/restaurant on 212 E. Broughton Street in 2004, and it’s a favorite of both locals and tourists.

Even if you don’t like ice cream, it’s a must-see for both historical and movie reasons. The store is adorned with posters from Stratton’s movies, as well some movie equipment. What a treat!

Tybee Beach

Tradewinds Ice Cream & Coffee – While the decor isn’t much of a treat, the ice cream is homemade and fresh. It’s the perfect way to cap off a day at Tybee Beach.  Located on Tybee’s main shopping drag (during the summer),  it features homemade ice cream, shaved ice, real fruit smoothies, frozen lemonade, and frozen coffee. Our favorite is the Mango Sherbet.  Tradewinds also has a location on Whitmarsh Island

Visiting Savannah? Check out Heritage House, an historic district vacation rental that’s walking distance to Leopold’s ice cream (among all the other great restaurants, historic sites and landmarks in Savannah).

For Immediate Release

Savannah, GA – June 8, 2010: Looking for a family vacation everyone will enjoy? Bring them to Savannah, GA for a Beach/History getaway, where you can stay in the city’s famed Historic District for an exceptional price, and make daytrips to beautiful Tybee Beach.

Heritage House, a 134-year-old, 2 bedroom/2.5 bath townhome, is renting for just $149 a night, plus taxes and cleaning fees. Accommodates up to six. (Discounted from $199 a night).

The Historic District vacation rental is fully furnished, and walking distance to all of Savannah’s tourist attractions, restaurants, walking tours, shopping and historical monuments. The house is also just a 20-minute car ride to Tybee Beach, which features lovely, public beaches.
It also features:

# High Speed Internet
# A Fully Equipped Kitchen – refrigerator, pots, pans, dishware, silverware, glassware, stove, coffee maker, blender, microwave and more
# 2 Bedrooms with their own private bathrooms
# 1/2 bath downstairs
# Sleeper Sofa (for added accommodations)
# A Private Patio
# Cable television with DVD player
# Linens, towels included
# Dog and child friendly
# Private Walkway

To take advantage of this special summer offer, vacationers must stay in Heritage House a minimum of three nights before August 31. Taxes & cleaning fees are extra. View this adorable historic vacation rental, and get booking information.

Savannah Discount

Rose Bedroom in the Heritage House, a charming Savannah Vacation Rental

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Press Release) – Jun 03, 2010 – Want a last-minute getaway for the family, that won’t break the bank? Come to Savannah, Georgia this month and stay in one of the city’s most historic and charming vacation rentals.

Heritage House, a 2 bedroom/2.5 bath brick townhome, has a special June rate of $149/night (it ordinarily rents for $180/night). The 134-year-old home accommodates 6, and is located in the heart of the Historic District. All of Savannah’s tourist attractions, restaurants, shopping and historical monuments are within an easy – and beautiful – walk.

Heritage House features:

# Private Walkway

# High Speed Internet

# A Fully Equipped Kitchen – refrigerator w/icemaker, pots, pans, dishware, silverware, glassware, stove, coffee maker, blender, microwave and more

# 2 bedrooms upstairs with their own private full bathrooms

# 1/2 bath & sleeper sofa downstairs

# A private patio, enclosed by a walled garden

# Cable television with DVD player

# Linens, towels included

# Dog friendly (extra charges apply)

To take advantage of this special last-minute June rate, vacationers must stay a minimum of two nights before June 30.  Taxes and cleaning fee are extra. View this Historic District Vacation Rental and booking information.

Celtic Cross in Emmet Park

Tour guides pay a lot of attention to historic River Street, paved with ballast cobblestones, and now full of art galleries, restaurants and shops. But there are a lot of historical landmarks and monuments located near the street that was a major conduit for slaves, cotton and other goods.

Here is a list of some landmarks – very close to River Street – that are definitely worth seeing.

• Emmet Park is a beautiful, tree-shaded park located on the bluff next to Bay Street. It was once known as the “Strand” and later as “Irish Green” because of its proximity to the Irish residents of Savannah’s Old Fort neighborhood. This park was renamed in 1902 for the Irish patriot Robert Emmet (1778-1803) to commemorate the centennial of his death.
• Factors Walk is literally a stone’s throw from River Street. In 1817, it was the original site for the Cotton Exchange. The first two floors of Factors Walk were for the cotton coming into port. It was named this because the men who worked with the cotton exchange were called factors. They factored how much cotton was brought in to be sold. Thus, they were given this name. Factors Walk was the center for most commercial activities. A network of iron and concrete walkways connected the buildings to the bluff.
• The Liberty Monument is dedicated to the armed schooner, “Liberty” the first American Naval vessel. She sailed from the Savannah port in 1775.
• The Salzburger Monument of Reconciliation is a stone monument cut from the Austrian mountains and presented by the City of Salzburg to honor the Salzburgers who landed in Savannah in 1734.
• The Vietnam Memorial is dedicated to the men and women of Savannah and Chatham County who served in the Vietnam War.
• The Washington Guns is the famous Chatham Artillery Washington Guns which were captured at Yorktown and given to Savannah in 1791 by George Washington.
• The U.S. Custom House, completed in 1848, is the site where Georgia founder, James Oglethorpe lived for a time, and in 1736, where John Wesley preached his first sermon in Savannah.

All of these monuments are walking distance from Heritage House, a Historic District Savannah vacation rental.

Savannah's original plan, mostly intact today

Here are some #OMGFacts about Savannah’s renovation for Twitter users (and the rest of us). All facts are designed for brevity, and are 14o characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends, or use them as you please. You may add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

Savannah’s Renovation

• In the 1930s-1950s, many of the Historic District’s buildings were demolished to make way for new development.
• In 1955, seven Georgia women created the Historic Savannah Foundation to halt the destruction of historic buildings.
• In 1966, Savannah’s Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark for retaining much of city’s original plan from 1733.
• In 1979 the Savannah College of Art and Design began renovating downtown buildings. This effort helped fuel Savannah’s now-famous rebirth.
• Savannah’s tourism industry was modest in the 70’s, grew in the 80 and 90s. It now attracts more than 7 million visitors a year.

Want to learn more Savannah #OMGFacts? Then click Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visit Savannah. Stay in a lovely Savannah Vacation Rental, and walk everywhere.