Posts tagged ‘Downtown Savannah’

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.

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 Cotton Exchange

Some more #OMGFacts about Savannah’s cotton industry for Twitter users (and the rest of us). Facts are designed for brevity, and are 140 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 tweet/bullet point in the comments.

Cotton Commerce in Savannah

• After the Revolutionary War, Savannah farmers became wealthy with the production of cotton.
• In 1876, the Savannah Cotton Exchange was established to provide cotton factors, a place to congregate and set the market value of cotton.
• In the late 1800s, Savannah ranked as the #1 cotton seaport on the Atlantic, and second in the world. It moved two million bales a year.
• The boll weevil outbreak of the 1920s dealt a devastating blow to the cotton market of Savannah and the South in general.

Want more #OMGFacts? Click on Savannah #OMGFacts or better yet, visit Savannah. You can stay in the Heritage House, a Historic District Vacation Rental, within walking distance of SCAD buidings, all the squares and the Cotton Exchange.

Savannah Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Here are some #OMGFacts about American Revolutionary events in Savannah. They are designed for brevity, and are 140 characters or less. Feel free to tweet them, recite them to friends or use them as you please. You may also add your own 140-character facts/tweets in comments.

Pre-American Revolutionary War:

• The Liberty Boys, a group of Savannah men, met periodically at Peter Tondee’s Tavern, to promote American independence.
• George Walton, Lyman Hall & Button Gwinnett, either worked or lived in Savannah, and signed the Declaration of Independence.

American Revolutionary War

• In 1778, the British captured Savannah, fighting off the American Patriot Militia and the Continental Army.
• The Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah from the British in 1779.
• The Siege of Savannah was one of the bloodiest battles in the American Revolution. Landmark is on MLK Blvd. in Savannah.
• During the American Revolution, Polish Cmdr Casimir Pulaski saved George Washington’s life. He died in the Siege of Savannah.
• A statue of Cmdr Pulaski, the highest ranking foreign soldier to die during the American Revolution, is located in Monterey Square.

Want to learn more @OMGFacts about this beautiful city? Click on Savannah #OMGFacts, or better yet, visit Savannah, and stay in one of it’s most charming Historic District vacation rentals.

For Immediate Release

June 2, 2010 – Savannah, GA  – A new blog series, Savannah #OMGFacts, launched today to educate Twitter users, tourists and others about Savannah’s history – in as few words as possible.

The series, created by DowntownSavannahHomes.com, highlights Savannah’s history on themed blog posts, each containing 4-7 bullet points of 140 characters or less.

The blog posts are designed to provide the rapidly growing base of Twitter users, tourists and anyone who enjoys history “in a nutshell” with a few facts that they can easily digest or tweet. (Twitter counts more than 105 million users, and one of its most popular trends are tweets that include the phrase #OMGfacts and an interesting fact.)

Each blog post in the Savannah #OMGFacts series has a theme. For example, the post about the American Revolution includes the following bullet points:

• The Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah from the British in 1779.
• The Siege of Savannah was one of the bloodiest battles in the American Revolution. Landmark is on MLK Blvd. in Savannah.
• During the American Revolution, Polish Cmdr Casimir Pulaski saved George Washington’s life. He died in the Siege of Savannah.

Both the blogs posts and individual bullet points can be re-tweeted by anyone with a Twitter account (Twitter is free, just visit Twitter to sign up). Visitors to the blog can also provide their own 140-character fact/tweet for a post’s theme.

There are five posts in the history series to date, and more will be added. Additional blog posts about Savannah’s culture, nightlife, and movies are also forthcoming, each with 4-7 bullet points that are just 140 characters long.

To view the new blog series visit Savannah #OMGFacts, or follow @SavVacationHome on Twitter.

Savannah has a plethora of trolleys.  Most serve as guided tours providing insight into Savannah’s history and famous residents.  However, one trolley appears to offer a first-hand look into the past.

According to this story from WSAV,  “Mystery Letters Found Inside Trolley Car“,  some personal letter were found in a rail car in the process of restoration.

The video shows some quick footage from the RoundHouse Railrod Musuem, a great place for kids and families visiting Savannah. It also explains that the letters were postmarked in 1950, yet the trolley was phased out in the 1940s.

There’s a search underway for anyone who might be connected to the mysterious letters.

Need a place to stay while visiting Savannah, check out this 2 bedroom/2.5 townhome, or 3 bedroom/3 bath rowhouse. Both are walking distance from downtown Savannah and the RoundHouse Railroad Museum.

If you walk by 1511 Price St.  in Savannah’s Historic District, you’re probably not going to think much. The dilapidated, boarded up home gives no hint of its historic significance.

But it was the home of Mother Matilda Beasley, Georgia’s first black nun and founder of the St. Francis Home for Colored Orphans.

Near the end of her life, she sewed everything she could and gave the proceeds from her work to poor blacks.

Chatham county (where Savannah is located) is now restoring the home to its 20th century condition and using it as an education center, per the Savannah Morning News.

It will also relocate the home to the East Broad Street dog park that bears Beasley’s name.  (The park is a block away from the Gaston Street Getaway, a 3-bedroom, 3 bath vacation rental).

While it’s not clear whether the home will be a tourist attraction, hopefully it will create greater awareness for the contributions of this fine woman. Restoration is scheduled for completion in November, 2009.

If  you ever want to see the breadth and depth of Savannah’s residents, go to Picnic in the Park, held in Savannah’s beautiful Forsyth Park.

This annual fall event showcases some of the most eccentric, adorable, spooky, odd and inviting picnic displays in the Southeast. But more revealing is the people behind these displays.

You’ll find folks dressed up in evening gowns, Halloween costumes, cross-dressers, and a lot more. You’ll find CEO’s, bank tellers and all ranges of employees behind  eye-catching picnic displays that took days,  if not weeks, to create.

And, you’ll see elaborate picnic spreads, including 5-course meals with caviar, fine delicacies and rare red wines.

In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find picnickers with peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and a few chips.

This year’s event was no exception. Check out the photos in the Savannah Morning News for Picnic in the Park. And next year, head to Savannah for this very Savannah-event.

(Need a kid-friendly vacation rental while you’re there, check out Gaston Street Getaway).

Savannah Kid Friendly Restaurants

Il Pasticio, The Lady & Sons, Savannah Bistro, Vic’s on the River…all are wonderful restaurants. But I wouldn’t risk taking junior there, especially if he were in the throws of terrible twos.

Savannah visitors with young children may want to try a few of these more kid-friendly restaurants. Not only will they have a high-chair handy, but if your tike sucumbs to a crying fit, no one will turn up their nose. They are also reasonably priced.

- Juarez, 420 E.  Broughton Street – It’s a wonderful, inexpensive Mexican restaurant that serves Chicken Fingers and French Fries (pollitos y papas). It’s a nice sized place, and no one seems to mind when your kid throws a little rice on the floor. If you need a distraction, there’s some colorful murals on the wall that are a great way to point out primary colors (they are also masterful pieces of artwork, painted by SCAD students)

- Clary’s, 4430 Habersham Street - A nice feature of this breakfast/lunch restaurant is a little play area for kids. Coloring books, toys, miniature table with tea and coffee pots sit in the front of the restaurant. So, you can enjoy an incredibly delightful short stack of blueberry pancakes while the kids entertain themselves. (Clary’s on Habersham is a few miles from the famous Clary’s on Abercorn Street. To get there, you need to head out of the Historic District toward the Southside of town).

- Screamin’ Mimis, 513 E Oglethorpe Ave - A bunch of NJ folks opened this great pizza place a few years ago, and they have a lot of tolerance for kids. There’s a blackboard or two where the kids can write on, and it’s so informal, just about anything goes. Screamin’ Mimis also delivers.

- Mellow Mushroom, 11 W Liberty St - This pizza chain is pretty kid-friendly too, and a staple for SCAD students.  The pizza is good, albeit quite different than the NJ/NY-influenced  Screamin Mimis.

Coming to Savannah, GA for July 4th weekend? Here are a few free and paid events in and around Savannah that you may want to consider:

Savannah

Fourth of July on the River
July 4
Phone: 912.234.0295
Admission: Free and open to the public
Location: Historic River Street

Festivities begin at 5 p.m. on the plaza with live entertainment, ice cream eating contests and more. Bring your radios tuned into KIX 96.5 as the fabulous fireworks will be choreographed to music simulcast on KIX. Fireworks will begin around 9:20 p.m.

July 4th Fireworks Cruise
July 4
8:30pm to 10:30pm
Location: 9 East River Street
Visit the website or call 912.232.6404

Savannah Swings! at the Lucas Theatre
July 4 – 4
Phone: 912.525.5050
Admission: 25 – adults, $10 – children
Location: Lucas Theatre, 32 Abercorn Street

The Lucas Theatre continues this great annual tradition with patriotic, swingin’ music, a New Orleans-style procession and reserved seats on River Street.

First, enjoy a big-bang concert in the air-conditioned Lucas Theatre with “Jeremy Davis and the Fabulous Equinox Jazz Orchestra” with singers Clay Johnson, Adam Jones, Trae Gurley and Huxsie Scott and Special Guest Kim Polote.

Then, follow the band, New Orleans-procession style from the front of the Lucas down the Abercorn ramp down to River Street. There, you will find reserved seats for fireworks viewing right on the river.

First Saturday on the River
July 4 – 4
Phone: 912.234.0295
Admission: Free and open to the public
Location: Historic River Street

Arts and crafts, entertainment and fun for the entire family on Historic River Street.

FourthFest at Battlefield Memorial Park, the Roundhouse Railroad Museum and Savannah History Museum in downtown Savannah
10 AM-6 PM Sat. July 4

Battlefield marches, musket and cannon firing demos, archaeology games, train rides, blacksmithing demos,  children’s activities and a chance to drive a hand car.
$13 adults, $4 children 6 and younger. (this includes admission to all the museums above)
912.651.6823
Email jxamis@chsgeorgia.org

Tybee Island

Event: Fireworks at The Pier
Date: July 3rd
Location:  Tybee’s pier and pavilion
More information: http://tybeevisit.com/

Event: Celebrating America at Fort Pulaski
Date: July 4 – July 5
Time: 10am to 4pm
Location:  Fort Pulaski
More information: www.nps.gov/fopu/

Richmond Hill

Event: July 4 Celebration at Ft. McAllister
Date: July 4
Time: 10am to 4pm
Location: Fort McAllister Road
More information: Visit website

Statesboro

Event: Independence Day T.E.A. Party
Date: July 4
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Location: Mill Creek Elementary (Across from Mill Creek Park)
More information: www.bullochtea.com

Rincon

Event: 4th of July Parade and Festival
Date: July 4
Time: 10am to 2pm
Location: Rincon
More information: www.cityofrincon.com

Hilton Head Island

Event: 24th Annual Hilton Head Firecracker 5000
Date: July 4
Time: 8am to 9am
Location:  Mall at Shelter Cove
More information: http://www.bearfootsports.com

Event: HarbourFest 2009 July 4th Celebration
Date: July 4
Time: 6pm to 10pm
Location: Shelter Cove Harbour
More information: http://www.palmettodunes.com

Bluffton

Event: Annual 4th of July parade
Date: July 4

Beaufort

Event: Beaufort’s Tea Party
Date: July 4
Time: 12pm to 2pm
Location: Bay Street at Bladen Street, downtown Beaufort
More information: www.beaufortteaparty.webs.com

And, for a little trivia about July Fourth from FarmersAlmanac.com:

Old Glory
Did you know, that there have been 28 versions of the U.S flag to date, and that the most recent one, designed after Alaska and Hawaii joined the union, was the result of a school project

Robert Heft was 17 when he came up with the flag design in 1958. He originally got a B- on the project, but when his pattern won the national competition to become the next flag, his teacher raised his grade to an A.

Need a place to stay? Heritage House and Gaston Street Getaway offer special rates in July.