Guide to the Savannah Historic District Squares: All 22 Squares Explained (2026)
Oglethorpe's Plan — How the Squares Were Designed to Work
James Oglethorpe arrived at the Georgia coast in February 1733 with a city plan already drawn — a remarkable fact given that Savannah was a wilderness when he landed. What he had designed in England was not just a street grid but an entire system for how a city should grow, how community should organize itself, and what the relationship between public and private space should look like.
The ward system — Savannah's urban DNA
Oglethorpe's plan was built around a repeatable unit called a ward. Each ward consisted of a central public square surrounded by four trust lots (positioned on the square's northern and southern sides, reserved for civic and public buildings including churches, government buildings, and schools) and four tything lots (positioned on the eastern and western sides, for private residential development), with streets running through on all four sides.
The genius of this system was twofold. First, it guaranteed every Savannah neighborhood its own green space — the square — as a non-negotiable element of the urban fabric, not an afterthought or a luxury that some neighborhoods got and others didn't. Second, it was infinitely scalable: when Savannah needed to grow, it simply added another ward to the grid using the same template, maintaining the character of the existing city while expanding outward.
Savannah grew from its original four wards to 24 over the course of about 130 years, each addition replicating the same ward structure. The result is a city where the pedestrian scale, the relationship between buildings and green space, and the rhythm of movement through the grid feels consistent throughout the Historic District — because it actually is consistent, built from the same module repeated 24 times.
Urban planners, architects, and city designers have studied Oglethorpe's plan for generations as a model for human-scale urban design that actually works at the street level. What they find consistently is that the squares aren't decorative — they're functional. They create destinations within the walking neighborhood that organize movement, provide orientation, moderate climate (trees and green space reduce urban heat), and generate the social encounters that build community. Modern new urbanism and urban design movements have borrowed extensively from the principles Oglethorpe embedded in Savannah's original plan.
The Bull Street Corridor — Savannah's Most Celebrated Squares
Bull Street runs north to south through the center of Savannah's Historic District, and the squares along its length represent the city's most famous and most architecturally significant sequence of public spaces. Walking Bull Street from the riverfront south to Forsyth Park passes through five squares — Johnson, Wright, Chippewa, Madison, and Monterey — each with distinct character but collectively forming the urban spine of the district.
Johnson Square is the oldest and largest surviving square in Savannah — the one Oglethorpe laid out first in 1733, establishing the template that all 23 subsequent squares would follow. Named for Robert Johnson, royal governor of South Carolina who assisted the Georgia colony's founding, the square sits at the intersection of Bull and Bryan Streets, surrounded by some of Savannah's most significant architecture. Christ Church on the eastern trust lot is the oldest congregation in Georgia. The Savannah Bank of Commerce building and other significant commercial and financial structures frame the square's northern and southern approaches.
A monument to Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene occupies the square's center, honoring the Rhode Island-born general who spent his final years in Georgia. Johnson Square is a heavy tourist corridor — positioned along the main approach from the riverfront, it sees constant visitor foot traffic throughout the day. For residents and daily users, this means a square that's always animated but rarely quiet. The surrounding trust lot positions host significant institutions rather than residential properties, making Johnson Square's immediate surroundings more civic than residential in character.
Real estate note: Direct residential frontage on Johnson Square is limited given the civic trust lot positioning. The nearby streets offer Historic District character without the highest tourist-corridor premiums.
Wright Square is one of the larger central squares and the only Savannah square with two memorial monuments — one to William Washington Gordon, founder of the Central of Georgia Railway, and a large boulder marking the grave of Tomochichi, the Yamacraw chief who befriended Oglethorpe and made the Georgia colony's founding possible. The presence of Tomochichi's memorial gives Wright Square a historical weight that distinguishes it from the more conventional Revolutionary War commemoration of neighboring squares.
The surrounding architecture includes the Chatham County Courthouse complex on the square's western trust lot — a significant civic presence that shapes the square's character toward government and public use rather than residential. Federal and commercial buildings frame the northern approaches. The square experiences substantial tourist traffic given its Bull Street position and its proximity to the main Historic District corridor.
Chippewa Square has the most unusual claim to fame of any Savannah square — it's where the bus bench scenes from the 1994 film Forrest Gump were filmed, creating a scene so iconic that the square is now permanently associated with that fictional moment in millions of people's minds. The bench itself was a film prop and is not permanently in the square; a reproduction is displayed at the Savannah History Museum. The monument at Chippewa's center is to James Oglethorpe himself — the only bronze monument to the founder in the city he designed — which gives the square's actual historical significance a different and somewhat ironic profile given what most visitors are looking for.
Chippewa is framed by some of the Historic District's finest residential and civic architecture. The First Baptist Church of Savannah occupies the northern trust lot. Residential properties on the eastern and western tything positions include examples of Savannah's signature row house typology. The square sees significant tourist traffic from Gump enthusiasts but also from visitors generally, given its central Bull Street location. Real estate facing Chippewa Square is among the most sought-after in the district precisely because of the square's visual beauty and famous status.
Madison Square sits between the heaviest tourist-activity squares to the north and the more residential character of Monterey to the south — a transitional position that gives it a mixed character of both. The square's monument is to Sergeant William Jasper, who died at the Siege of Savannah (1779) recovering the regimental colors. The Green-Meldrim House on the western trust lot is one of Savannah's most significant antebellum residences — now the parish house of St. John's Episcopal Church — where Union General William T. Sherman headquartered when Savannah fell in December 1864, famously offering the city as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln rather than burning it as he had Georgia's interior.
The mix of institutional, commercial, and residential frontage around Madison Square creates one of the district's most interesting architectural compositions. The Hamilton-Turner Inn on the eastern side of the square is a notable Second Empire-style mansion. Madison Square's character is somewhat more residential than the northern Bull Street squares, though still a major pedestrian tourist corridor.
Monterey Square is widely considered the most beautiful square in Savannah — an assessment made by people who know all 22 and have thought carefully about the question. The combination of architectural elements framing it is exceptional: Temple Mickve Israel on the southern trust lot is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in America (est. 1733, the same year Savannah was founded) and occupies a remarkable Gothic Revival synagogue built in 1878. The Mercer Williams House on the western tything — central to John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — is one of the district's finest Italianate mansions. The northern approaches feature residential architecture of consistent quality and variety.
The monument at the square's center commemorates the Siege of Savannah (1779). Despite its prestige, Monterey Square sees less tourist traffic than the northern Bull Street squares — its position at the southern end of the primary corridor means some visitors turn back before reaching it, and its character is more residential than Johnson or Chippewa. For buyers, this combination — architectural prestige, quieter daily experience, and southern Historic District position — makes Monterey Square one of the most compelling residential addresses in the city.
The Abercorn Street Corridor Squares
Abercorn Street runs parallel to Bull Street one block east, with its own sequence of squares that see progressively less tourist traffic but contain some of the most architecturally significant residential surroundings in the district.
Reynolds Square sits one block east of Johnson Square, with a monument to John Wesley — the English clergyman who briefly served as a minister in Savannah in the 1730s before founding the Methodist movement — at its center. The Planters' Inn on the square's western side occupies a historic building with a courtyard that is one of the Historic District's most-referenced hospitality addresses. Reynolds Square sees meaningful tourist activity given its proximity to the riverfront and City Market area, but somewhat less than the primary Bull Street corridor. The surrounding residential and commercial architecture frames the square on three sides with a pleasantly human-scale composition.
Columbia Square is one of the eastern Historic District squares with a quieter, more residential character than the Bull Street corridor. The centerpiece of the square is a decorative wellhead from Wormsloe Plantation — the colonial estate on the Isle of Hope peninsula that represents one of Georgia's most significant colonial-era properties. The Isaiah Davenport House Museum, facing the square from the southeastern corner, is one of Savannah's most important preserved Federal-style residences and the property whose threatened demolition in 1955 galvanized the founding of the Historic Savannah Foundation. Columbia Square sees far less tourist traffic than the central squares, giving adjacent residential properties a more genuinely neighborhood character.
Greene Square is located on Houston Street in the eastern portion of the Historic District, with residential character that reflects its position away from the primary tourist corridors. The square is named for General Nathanael Greene (who also has a monument in Johnson Square) and maintains the oak-canopied, shaded character that all the squares share, with less of the commercial and institutional adjacency that defines the central squares. Residential properties facing Greene Square represent some of the more accessible price points for direct square frontage in the Historic District, given its more residential and less tourist-frequented position.
Lafayette Square has one of the most dramatic architectural framings of any square in Savannah — the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist rises on its eastern trust lot in full French Gothic Revival glory, a structure that would be remarkable in any American city and is breathtaking in the context of Savannah's generally lower-scaled residential architecture. The Andrew Low House on the northern tything — where William Makepeace Thackeray once stayed as a guest and where Juliette Gordon Low (founder of Girl Scouts of the USA) lived as a young married woman — is among the district's most significant historic residences. Lafayette Square has a genuine residential character despite its architectural prestige, seeing less tourist volume than the central Bull Street squares.
Calhoun Square is one of the southernmost squares in the Historic District and among the quietest and most purely residential in character. Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church — a Gothic Revival structure honoring the founder of Methodism — anchors the southern approach. The residential architecture surrounding Calhoun Square is excellent, and the square's position at the edge of the main tourist area means significantly less visitor traffic than northern squares. For buyers who want direct square frontage with genuine neighborhood quiet and proximity to Forsyth Park, Calhoun Square represents one of the most compelling residential positions in the district. Properties facing Calhoun Square command premiums that reflect both the square frontage and the architectural quality of the surrounding built environment.
The Barnard Street Corridor Squares
Barnard Street runs one block west of Bull Street and contains its own sequence of squares — less trafficked than the Bull Street axis but containing several of the district's most beautifully positioned residential addresses.
Ellis Square has the most remarkable restoration story of any American city square. The original square was paved over in 1954 when a parking garage was constructed on its footprint — a decision that became emblematic of the mid-century urban renewal mindset that sacrificed civic character for automobile accommodation. For 56 years, one of Savannah's original squares simply didn't exist. In 2010, after the parking garage was demolished, Ellis Square was restored and reopened with a central fountain, underground parking that replaced the surface structure, and landscaping consistent with the other squares' character. Today it's one of the most active squares in the district, adjacent to City Market's dining and entertainment corridor. The restoration's success reinforced Savannah's preservation ethic.
Telfair Square anchors Savannah's museum corridor — the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (Georgia's oldest public art museum) faces the square directly, along with the architecturally stunning Jepson Center for the Arts (a Moshe Safdie-designed contemporary addition to the Telfair system). Trinity United Methodist Church, the oldest Methodist congregation in Georgia, occupies another position around the square. Telfair Square sees meaningful tourist and cultural visitor traffic given the museum presences, but the cultural rather than commercial activity creates a different visitor experience than the more heavily foot-trafficked Bull Street squares.
Orleans Square sits in the western portion of the Historic District along the Barnard Street corridor, with a quieter character than the central axis squares. A fountain and monument to the German immigrants who contributed to Savannah's colonial settlement anchors the square's center. The surrounding residential architecture is well-maintained, and the square's less touristic position gives it a neighborhood feel that more centrally located squares can't provide. Orleans Square is one of the Historic District addresses where buyers find competitive pricing relative to comparable architecture on the more famous squares.
Chatham Square is among the quieter and more residential of the Historic District's squares, with less architecturally prominent framing than Monterey or Lafayette but a genuine neighborhood character that suits daily residential life well. The square's relative anonymity within the district's tourism ecosystem means it sees far less foot traffic than the headline squares, making adjacent residential properties genuinely quiet while still being within the Historic District's walkable grid. For buyers who want the square experience without the tourist-corridor energy, Chatham Square offers a compelling position.
Pulaski Square is one of the western Historic District's most beautifully framed residential squares — substantial residential architecture on all sides, good tree canopy, and a character that's genuinely residential rather than civic or commercial. Named for Polish-American Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, who died at the 1779 Siege of Savannah, the square occupies a position in the western half of the district where tourists rarely venture but Savannah residents specifically seek out for its quality. Properties facing Pulaski Square represent some of the Historic District's most sought-after residential positions among buyers who have done their research.
Whitefield Square, named for the evangelist George Whitefield who founded Bethesda Orphanage in colonial-era Georgia, is distinguished by a Victorian-era white wooden gazebo at its center — one of the few squares with this type of central structure rather than a monument or fountain. The gazebo is frequently used for outdoor weddings, giving Whitefield Square a reputation as one of Savannah's most romantic ceremony locations. The surrounding residential architecture maintains the district's characteristic quality, and the square's southern position and western corridor location mean relatively quiet daily character for adjacent residents.
The Lincoln and Houston Street Corridor Squares
The eastern squares along Lincoln, Houston, and Habersham Streets tend to be among the quietest in the Historic District — residential in character, lower in tourist traffic, and often underappreciated by buyers who focus their search on the central corridor squares.
Crawford Square is enclosed with a decorative iron fence and accessed through gates — giving it a slightly more private character than the open squares of the central corridor. The fence-enclosed layout makes Crawford one of the more intimately scaled squares, with a neighborhood feel that's genuinely distinct from the tourist-facing squares of Bull Street. Residents use it as a neighborhood gathering point, dog walking destination, and quiet outdoor room. For buyers who want to live immediately adjacent to a square while maintaining residential quiet, Crawford Square's eastern position and enclosed character make it an excellent option.
Troup Square has perhaps the strongest current community-gathering character of any Historic District square — a functioning dog park within the square makes it a daily destination for the neighborhood's considerable dog-owning population, and the armillary sphere monument at its center gives it a distinctive visual identity. This is one of the squares where you encounter more actual Savannah residents than tourists on any given afternoon, a dynamic that feels genuinely different from the Bull Street experience. The Victorian-era residential architecture surrounding Troup Square is excellent. For buyers who specifically want a square that's a neighborhood park first and a tourist destination a distant second, Troup Square is the clearest example in the district.
Elbert Square is one of the less architecturally prominent squares, positioned along the western edges of the Historic District. Its character is primarily residential and quieter than the central squares, and it sees minimal tourist activity. For buyers focused on price and proximity, properties near Elbert Square can offer Historic District access at somewhat more accessible price points than the headline square addresses.
Several squares sit along Gordon Street at the southern edge of the Historic District, creating a transition zone between the Historic District proper and the Victorian District to the south. These include positions around Whitefield and Chatham Squares already described. This southern edge of the district has a more residential and less tourist-trafficked character throughout, making it a consistently appealing zone for buyers who want Historic District character in a quieter daily environment.
Forsyth Park — The Grand Civic Green
Forsyth Park isn't one of the 22 ward squares — it's something larger and different. Established in 1851 by the expansion of the Oglethorpe plan's southernmost ward boundary into a 30-acre public park, Forsyth is Savannah's primary civic green space and the most photographed landscape in the city.
Forsyth Park — the anchor of the southern Historic District
The iconic white cast-iron fountain at Forsyth Park's northern end was installed in 1858 and is the singular image most associated with Savannah globally — appearing on more postcards, travel features, and social media posts than any other single Savannah image. The park extends 30 acres south of Gaston Street, with walking paths, tennis courts, a playground, a bandshell, and the Park Café at its southern end. The Saturday Farmers Market (year-round, 9am–1pm) is Savannah's most consistent community event. Forsyth Park hosts the Jazz Festival each September and numerous other events throughout the year. Properties directly facing Forsyth Park on Park Avenue or Gaston Street command the highest per-square-foot premiums in the entire Historic District — a reflection of the park's size, beauty, and the immediate access to the city's most beloved outdoor space.
The Two Lost Squares — Ellis and Liberty
Savannah's original plan called for 24 squares. Only 22 survive. Understanding the fate of the two that were lost explains something important about Savannah's relationship to its architectural heritage — and how that relationship has changed.
- Ellis Square (lost 1954, restored 2010). The parking garage built over Ellis Square in 1954 became a symbol of mid-century priorities that sacrificed urban character for automobile accommodation. When the garage was demolished and the square restored in 2010, the reopening was celebrated as one of Savannah's landmark preservation achievements. The restored Ellis Square, with its central fountain, active plaza character, and underground parking, now functions as one of the district's more dynamic squares — adjacent to City Market's dining corridor, it's a genuinely active public space rather than a quiet residential green.
- Liberty Square (lost, not restored). Liberty Square was eliminated during urban development and has not been restored. Its loss is less visible to most visitors and residents than Ellis Square's 56-year absence was, but it represents the permanent reduction of Oglethorpe's original urban plan from the complete system he envisioned. The area where Liberty Square stood has been absorbed into the surrounding development.
The Ellis Square restoration story shaped how Savannah approaches preservation decisions that followed — the city learned from the parking garage episode that short-term convenience decisions can have 50-year consequences, and that even lost squares can be brought back with sufficient community will and investment.
Tourist Squares vs. Residential Squares — What This Means for Buyers
One of the most important distinctions for Historic District home buyers — and one that doesn't appear in any listing description — is the difference between tourist-facing and residential squares. These are the same type of space, laid out by the same plan, within walking distance of each other. But the daily experience of living next to them is dramatically different.
Tourist-facing squares (high activity)
- Johnson Square (riverfront approach)
- Reynolds Square (City Market adjacent)
- Ellis Square (City Market, restaurant corridor)
- Chippewa Square (Forrest Gump, central Bull St.)
- Wright Square (central Bull St., Courthouse)
- Telfair Square (museums, cultural corridor)
- Madison Square (central, Sherman history)
Primarily residential squares (quieter)
- Monterey Square (prestigious but quieter)
- Lafayette Square (Cathedral adjacent, calmer)
- Troup Square (dog park, community)
- Crawford Square (fenced, neighborhood scale)
- Columbia Square (eastern, residential)
- Calhoun Square (southernmost, quiet)
- Pulaski Square (western, residential)
- Whitefield Square (gazebo, residential)
- Chatham Square (western, low tourist traffic)
The practical difference for daily life
A home facing Johnson Square or Chippewa Square is in a constant stream of visitors on trolley tours, walking tours, and ghost tours — including evening ghost tours that run year-round with groups of 10–20 people, audio guides, and commentary audible from adjacent properties. A home facing Troup Square, Crawford Square, or Columbia Square might see more local dog walkers than visitors on any given afternoon. Both are Historic District properties with square frontage. The experience of daily life is genuinely different. Neither is wrong — but buyers should understand which they're choosing.
How the Squares Affect Historic District Real Estate Values
The relationship between the squares and property values in Savannah's Historic District is measurable, significant, and more nuanced than simply "square facing = higher price."
- Direct square frontage commands premiums. Properties with addresses directly on a square — where the home's front door faces the square across one of the tything position streets — consistently command premiums over comparable properties on non-square streets within the same neighborhood. The premium reflects immediate access, the park-substitute nature of the square (no private yard needed), and the architectural context that square-facing positions typically enjoy.
- Premium varies by specific square. Not all square frontage is equally valued. Homes facing Monterey, Calhoun, Lafayette, or Pulaski — architecturally prestigious but quieter squares — often command higher premiums than homes on the same number of square feet facing more tourist-trafficked squares. The market prices residential quiet as a premium feature in a tourist-adjacent city.
- Trust lot positions carry their own character. The northern and southern sides of each square are the historic trust lots — where civic buildings (churches, government buildings, museums) typically sit rather than residential properties. The residential tything positions (east and west) are the primary private residential frontage, and these positions are most sought after by buyers.
- Forsyth Park frontage is the apex. Properties directly facing Forsyth Park on Gaston Street or Park Avenue consistently achieve the highest per-square-foot prices in the entire Historic District. The combination of the park's size, its status as Savannah's most beloved public space, and the visual drama of its fountain and oak canopy makes this the most coveted frontage in the city.
- Non-square streets still command the Historic District premium. Even properties that don't face a square directly participate in the Historic District's premium market — the square system creates value throughout the district by making every block walkable to at least one square within a short distance. The square proximity premium radiates outward rather than stopping at the square's edge.
Getting a current valuation for Historic District property
Historic District property values are highly specific to the individual property — the specific square, the position on the square (north/south trust lot vs. east/west tything), the architectural condition, interior renovation quality, and historic designation status all interact to produce values that aggregated neighborhood data can't accurately represent. A free, specific home valuation from our team provides the neighborhood-specific analysis that generic online estimates can't for Historic District properties. Browse current Historic District inventory through our interactive map search.
What Living Next to a Square Actually Looks Like
The romantic idea of living next to a Savannah square and the practical reality of it are both genuinely real — they're just different from each other in ways worth understanding before committing to a Historic District purchase.
The romance is accurate. You open your front door to a canopy of live oaks draped in Spanish moss over a manicured green space with wrought iron benches and a centerpiece monument or fountain. Your front "yard" is a park you don't have to maintain. On any given morning you can walk across the square for coffee without getting in a car. The scale of the Historic District, organized around the squares, makes the city genuinely walkable in a way that translates into daily quality of life — not just walk score numbers on a listing.
The practical realities that matter:
- Ghost tours. Savannah has an active ghost tour industry — multiple operators run evening walking tours through the Historic District year-round. If you live facing a square that's on a popular ghost tour route, evening audio and group commentary is a regular occurrence. Some residents find this charming; others find it a genuine nuisance, particularly on weeknights. Research specific tour routes for any square you're considering.
- Parking. The Historic District has limited on-street parking, and square-facing properties typically do not include private garage parking. Managing where to park daily is a genuine logistical reality of Historic District life that buyers from suburban environments consistently underestimate.
- Short-term rental neighbors. The Historic District's STVR ecosystem means that adjacent properties may be full-time short-term rentals rather than owner-occupied residences. The resulting neighbor profile is more variable than a residential neighborhood would produce. STVR regulations have been evolving and the landscape changes with each ordinance update — verify the current regulatory environment before purchasing.
- The maintenance reality of old homes. Many Historic District properties predate modern mechanical systems by a century or more. The beauty of these buildings comes with real maintenance commitments — particularly for properties facing the squares, which are more likely to be the district's oldest and most architecturally significant housing stock.
- The community is real. Despite the tourist activity, the Historic District has genuine year-round community — neighbors who walk the same squares daily, attend neighborhood association meetings, watch each other's homes, and create the social fabric that makes a neighborhood feel like home rather than a hotel lobby. This community is more present in the quieter residential squares but exists throughout the district for residents who seek it out.
For buyers who want to explore Historic District listings across all square positions, our interactive map search lets you explore current inventory visually and identify which properties sit adjacent to which squares. Our free neighborhood market reports provide current sales data for specific Historic District sub-markets. When you're ready to evaluate specific properties, contact our team for the block-level knowledge that listing data alone can't provide.
Frequently Asked Questions: Savannah Historic District Squares
How many squares are in Savannah, GA?
Savannah originally had 24 squares in James Oglethorpe's 1733 city plan. Of these, 22 survive today. Ellis Square was paved over in 1954 for a parking garage and was restored in 2010; Liberty Square was also lost. The 22 surviving squares are distributed across the Historic District's 2.2-square-mile National Historic Landmark area. Each square covers roughly one to two acres, maintained by the City of Savannah's parks department as public green spaces accessible to all.
What is the Oglethorpe Plan for Savannah?
The Oglethorpe Plan is James Oglethorpe's 1733 urban design system for Savannah — one of the earliest sophisticated city plans in North American history. The plan organized the city into repeatable "ward" units, each centered on a public square surrounded by four trust lots (reserved for civic buildings) and four tything lots (private residential). As Savannah grew, additional wards were added using the same template. The plan's genius was its scalability and its guarantee that every neighborhood would have its own green space. Urban planners continue to study it as a model for human-scale urban design. The 22 surviving squares are its most visible legacy.
What is the difference between tourist squares and residential squares in Savannah?
Tourist-facing squares — primarily along Bull Street (Johnson, Wright, Chippewa, Madison) and near City Market (Ellis, Reynolds) — see heavy pedestrian visitor traffic throughout the day and evening, including walking tours, trolley tours, and ghost tours at night. Residential squares — Troup, Crawford, Columbia, Calhoun, Pulaski, Whitefield, and others in the eastern and western portions of the district — see primarily local residents and see far less visitor activity. For home buyers, this distinction dramatically affects daily life: a home facing Chippewa Square is in a constant visitor zone; a home facing Troup Square or Crawford Square is in a genuine residential neighborhood despite the same Historic District address.
What square is in the middle of Savannah?
Johnson Square, on Bull Street between Bryan and Congress Streets, is generally considered the geographic and historical heart of Savannah — it was the first square established when Oglethorpe founded the city in 1733 and remains the largest surviving square. It's surrounded by significant architecture including Christ Church (Georgia's oldest congregation) and contains a monument to Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. Johnson Square sees the highest visitor volume of any square given its position at the main approach from the riverfront.
Is the Forrest Gump bench in Savannah real?
The Forrest Gump bus bench scenes were filmed in Chippewa Square on Bull Street in Savannah, but the bench itself was a film prop and is not permanently installed there. A reproduction bench is on display at the Savannah History Museum at 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Chippewa Square itself is a real, beautiful historic square with a monument to James Oglethorpe at its center. The film was shot on location throughout Savannah's Historic District in 1993.
Which Savannah square is most famous?
It depends on the type of fame. Johnson Square is historically most significant — the first and largest square. Chippewa Square is internationally recognized due to Forrest Gump. Monterey Square is widely considered architecturally the finest, with Temple Mickve Israel (one of America's oldest synagogues) and the Mercer Williams House from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on its sides. Forsyth Park, though technically a park rather than one of the 22 ward squares, is the most photographed and most visited green space in the district. For real estate value, Forsyth Park frontage commands the highest premiums; among the actual squares, Monterey and Lafayette tend to command the strongest residential premiums.
Do homes facing Savannah's squares cost more?
Yes — homes directly facing a Savannah historic square consistently command premiums over comparable properties on non-square streets. The premium varies by specific square: architecturally prestigious but quieter squares (Monterey, Calhoun, Pulaski, Lafayette) often command higher premiums than more tourist-trafficked squares, because the market prices residential quiet. Forsyth Park frontage commands the highest premiums in the entire Historic District. Even properties not directly facing a square participate in the district's value premium — the square system creates walkability and character value throughout the neighborhood, not just at square-facing positions.
What square is in the movie 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'?
The Mercer Williams House, central to John Berendt's 1994 book and Clint Eastwood's 1997 film, faces Monterey Square on Bull Street. Monterey Square is one of the Historic District's most architecturally distinguished squares, also anchored by Temple Mickve Israel (one of America's oldest Jewish congregations) on its southern side. The book and film significantly increased national awareness of Savannah's Historic District and contributed to the preservation and tourism boom of the late 1990s.
Can you walk to all 22 squares in Savannah?
Yes — all 22 squares are contained within the roughly 2.2-square-mile Historic District footprint, all accessible on foot. A self-guided walking tour of all 22 typically takes 2–4 hours depending on pace and time spent in each square. The squares are organized along the primary north-south corridors of Bull, Abercorn, Barnard, Habersham, and Lincoln Streets, connected by east-west cross streets. Maps are available from the Savannah Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and through multiple Historic District app and walking tour resources.
What happened to the 2 lost Savannah squares?
Ellis Square was paved over in 1954 when a parking garage was built on its footprint — a mid-century urban renewal decision that became emblematic of short-term thinking over long-term civic character. The garage was demolished and Ellis Square was restored and reopened in 2010, now one of the most active squares in the district. Liberty Square was also lost and has not been restored. The Ellis Square parking garage episode became a cautionary preservation tale that strengthened Savannah's commitment to historic character in subsequent development decisions.
Interested in living in Savannah's Historic District?
Understanding the squares is the foundation of understanding the Historic District — which ones are quiet, which are active, which commands the architectural prestige you're looking for, and which specific position on which specific square makes sense for how you want to live. That's the kind of guidance local knowledge provides. Let's talk.
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