Savannah Historic District and Squares

I had the girl stop so I could photograph this beautiful section of street along Monterey square, on the left.
At the time I hadn't realized this was the street in front of the Mercer-Williams House, featured in the book.
I believe Mercer-Williams is the red house you see through trees on the right.

Another shot, which emphasizes the beautiful Spanish moss hanging from the trees.
(It's called Spanish moss because it reminded the natives of the bearded Spaniards who invaded their land.)

The pretty girl and Mary pass as I get ready to climb back into the cab.

One block later we arrive at Forsyth Park. The graduate student was a pleasure to have as our temporary companion.

Tunnel of trees leading to Forsyth Fountain.
The shrubs on each side are azaleas, but spring came early and we missed them.  See below.

This is a crude photograph of a professional photograph I bought in a Savannah gallery, to show you what we missed.

Crop zoom of my photograph above.

More fountain details.  It was created in 1858 and extensively restored in 1988.

Zoom from same spot to see details of swan and man-serpent spouts.

Side view.

Crop zoom of above photo.

The lady on top is hard to reach for upkeep.

Mickve Israel Synagogue on opposite side of Monterey Square, third oldest in America.

The historic sanctuary was designed by New York architect Henry G. Harrison and built in 1876 in pure neo-Gothic style, reflecting the fashionable architecture of the Victorian era. It is the only Gothic-style architecture synagogue in America. 

Volunteer Guards Armory, 340 Bull St., the first building restored by the Savannah College of Art and Design.

This is where Forest Gump (Tom Hanks) sat on a bench in the movie.

There is a story to the paving stones in this ramp and other streets along the Savannah River.  Most trans-ocean sea traffic was to bring cotton and other products from Savannah back to London, so the ships had little cargo during the trip to Savannah. To compensate and keep the ships in balance, ballast rocks were put into their holds. These were unloaded in Savannah before reloading with cotton bales and other products. Rather than hauling them away, Savannahs used them to pave nearby roads. The shippers then decided they wanted to be paid for the rock but, rather than pay, Savannahs tossed them into the river which increased dredging cost for the shippers. It wasn't long before paving stones were once more free to take.

View west on River Street from the bottom of the L-shaped ramp.
The candy kitchen on the left was the biggest I've seen, with a huge variety of candies made right there. 

We wandered through the shops as we bought a few gifts, then ate at, what else, another great Southern restaurant.
I had shrimp and grits to compare with the same meal at two restaurants in Charleston.  All three were scrumptious.

Then we walked back up the ramp but this time continued up the stairs you see in the background. Very steep for a couple tired old folks.
The good news is that our hotel is just across Bay Street from the top of the stairs.