Traveler: Evan Markley
Destination: Savannah, Georgia

Ahead of his wedding in Savannah, Evan decided it was time to take a closer look at one of the city’s most iconic features: its twenty-two historic squares. After visiting each one, he created a personal ranking based on his discoveries.

The beloved squares of Savannah were first laid out by General James Oglethorpe when he founded the city, along with the colony of Georgia, in 1733. Originally, Oglethorpe laid out four “wards” (eight distinct blocks with a square at the middle), and as the city grew over time, subsequent wards were added. By 1851, twenty-four wards existed, each with their own square, and today, twenty-two of these squares remain. After visiting Savannah several times over the past few years and experiencing a handful of its squares, I decided to use a free afternoon in the Hostess City to visit every one of these twenty-two squares to find out what made each one special and what qualities stood out from one square to the next.

After snaking my way through the city and developing my own hand-drawn map as I went, I decided to organize my observations in the form of a power-ranking, from greatest square to worst. The criteria I considered for this ranking included each square’s internal features, surrounding buildings and context, shade and vegetation, level of pedestrian activity, and general loveliness. Without further ado, the squares of Savannah, ranked:

#1: Chippewa

The Basics: large size, center occupied by monument, fully shaded, fairly busy

A quintessential Savannah square. The wonderful statue of Oglethorpe at the center was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and designed by Henry Bacon (of Lincoln Memorial fame). Oglethorpe is absolutely rocking his tricorne hat, 10/10 outfit. The U-shaped stone benches facing the statue are a lovely compliment as well. There is not a bad building surrounding Chippewa, with highlights including the First Baptist Church of Savannah, the Philbrick-Eastman House, which sports a pair of stacked half-circle porches, and the Independent Presbyterian Church Administration Building with its unapologetic open corners.

 

#2: Madison

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by monument; mostly shaded; fairly busy

Featuring a powerful statuary monument of William Jasper in the act of recovering his company’s banner during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, giving the square an air of patriotism. The square is surrounded by some excellent buildings on all sides: The old Savannah Volunteer Guards building (now a gallery and shop by SCAD), the Savannah Masonic Center, the residential-Gothic Green-Meldrim House with its wonderfully detailed porches and adjacent fountain courtyard, and the Old Sorrel-Weed House.

 

#3: Wright

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by monument; fully shaded; fairly busy

The dense tree canopy, flowering shrubs, and bushes of various heights give a sense of rest from the surrounding city. There is a great mix of different building types, scales, and architectural languages on all sides of the square including the Chatham County Court House, Lutheran Church of the Ascension, and Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Court House, as well as several handsome commercial buildings. The monument to William Washington Gordon is perhaps the most exquisite of the monuments in Savannah’s squares, and this square also features a second monument dedicated to Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation who assisted in the founding of Savannah.

 

#4: Monterey

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by monument; fairly shaded; moderately busy

Boasts some of the greatest residences encircling the square, plus the Gothic Congregation Mickve Israel. The surrounding homes feature some of the best iron porches in Savannah, especially the Revd. Charles W. Rogers House. The monument to Casimir Pulaski features a tapered square pier with Composite capital, unlike any columnar monument I have seen. Being one block directly north of Forsyth Park boosts Monterey as well, with Forsyth’s iconic fountain visible from within the square.

 

#5: Johnson

The Basics: large size; center occupied by monument; fully shaded; bustling

This square is divided into three ‘rooms’ with the Nathanael Greene obelisk monument in the middle, and a fountain occupying a space on either side of the monument. Excellent tree canopy over the large square, with tall bushes enclosing the space and low flowering bushes bringing pops of color. Perfect view of the gold-domed City Hall that is one block north, on axis with the square. Don’t miss the Bank of America building (previously The Citizens and Southern Bank) and Christ Church Episcopal church to the east, a pair of superb classical buildings of the Ionic order.

 

#6: Chatham

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by lawn and shrubs; fully shaded; fairly quiet

A great mix of foliage, stands as the best square without an architectural feature at its center. Surrounded by mostly residential buildings including some beautiful rowhouses, as well as SCAD’s wonderful Pepe Hall to the northwest. Jones Street to the north is a masterclass in creating the perfect urban residential street (this is, as Georgia legend tells, the origin of the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses”).

 

#7: Oglethorpe

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by grassy lawn; fairly shaded; moderately busy

Mostly surrounded by three- and four-story buildings, giving this square a more urban feel, but generally serene and relaxing. The Owens-Thomas House on the east side is a real treat, as well as SCAD’s Bradley Hall.

 

#8: Washington

The Basics: small size; center occupied by grassy lawn; somewhat shaded, sunny at center; quiet

The highest-ranked of the small squares, Washington stands out for its flowering crepe myrtles and lovely mix of foliage, as well as being surrounded on all sides by charming, mostly residential buildings. The blocks of E Saint Julian Street between Warren and Washington Squares provide one of the most pleasant places to stroll in the city.

 

#9: Troup

The Basics: small size; center occupied by sculpture; fully shaded; quiet

A very tranquil square: the Gothic revival Unitarian Universalist Church to the west is quite idyllic, along with the other smaller-scale residential buildings. The Fox and Fig Café to the north brings a welcome touch of commercial activity with people eating outside under umbrellas on the sidewalk. The only detracting factor is the large metallic armillary sphere (celestial globe sculpture) in the center that feels somewhat out of place or out of scale with this residential square.

 

#10: Lafayette

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by fountain; fully shaded; fairly quiet

Very relaxed feeling, and very open to the surrounding buildings, which include some excellent pieces of architecture, the crown jewel of which is The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist to the north. Other architectural highlights include the Hamilton-Turner Inn and the Andrew Low House.

 

#11: Crawford

The Basics: small size; center occupied by gazebo; somewhat shaded; quiet

Remnants of a cistern for firefighting, a gazebo in the middle, and a basketball court on the end, what is not to love? This is possibly the most serene basketball court in America. I saw a man here shooting around and listening to “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae. I can’t imagine a better afternoon. There are some well-designed townhouses to the southeast built in 1999 that blend very well into the quaint historic fabric of the square. Kudos to the designer and developer.

 

#12: Telfair

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by grassy lawn; fairly shaded; moderately busy

Great mix of vegetation around the outside and nicely laid out crossing paths and trees within. Features some wonderful bench seating arrangements in the corners. Surrounded by a few bland buildings to the east and southeast, but the lovely Telfair Academy and Trinity United Methodist Church to the west. With the Jepson Center and Telfair Children’s Art Museum to the southwest, this is the de facto Square of the Arts.

 

#13: Franklin

The Basics: small size; center occupied by monument; fully shaded; moderately busy

A more urban feel with mostly paved ground surface and exposure to the buildings and city around, but the live oaks and plants that are there are still lovely. A solid terminus of the City Market corridor, featuring a great multi-figure statuary monument honoring the volunteers of Saint-Domingue, Haiti, who fought with Pulaski at the Siege of Savannah.

 

#14: Columbia

The Basics: small size; center occupied by fountain; fairly shaded; quiet

Some great live oaks and foliage, but overall feels open and exposed to the surrounding streets. The small fountain adds gentle noise to the ambiance. Surrounding buildings to highlight include the Kehoe House and Davenport House.

 

#15: Pulaski

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by lawn and shrubs; mostly shaded; quiet

The only square, along with Chatham, with its center occupied by a planting bed of shrubbery. It is also the only square west of Bull Street that is surrounded by only residential buildings, giving it a laid-back, neighborhood feel. Very little vegetation besides trees and central shrubs, making the outside of the square very open to the surrounding streets.

 

#16: Orleans

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by fountain; somewhat shaded; quiet

Maybe the quietest of the mid-sized squares with a wonderfully designed fountain and surrounding benches. Very open to the surroundings, which includes multiple parking lots, but it does feature the fun Harper Fowlkes House of Greek Revival design. A great square to stop in before catching a show at the nearby Johnny Mercer Theatre.

 

#17: Greene

The Basics: small size; center occupied by lawn and a tree; somewhat shaded; quiet

A few lovely cottages and small commercial buildings surround this square and some great trees stand within, but the buildings and greenery feel a bit more spread out, giving it less of a cozy hugged-in feeling like the other small squares.

 

#18: Whitefield

The Basics: small size; center occupied by gazebo; fairly shaded; quiet

Some wonderful small residential buildings surround, many with wonderful wood-carved details in their porches. The lone gazebo occupying the center is lovely, but perhaps not enough to distract from the two unsightly buildings to the north.

 

#19: Reynolds

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by monument; fairly shaded; quiet

Low flowering bushes are lovely, but the seating in the middle of the square is a little clunky and awkward. Surrounding highlights include the Lucas Theatre for the Arts, The Olde Pink House restaurant, and Christ Church parish house (previously Leroy Myers Cigar Company).

 

#20: Warren

The Basics: small size; center occupied by grassy lawn; fairly shaded; quiet

Surrounded by lovely residential buildings to the north, south, and east, but the entire west side is occupied by a parking garage that detracts heavily from the otherwise tranquil ambiance.

 

#21: Taylor

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by lawn and shrubs; somewhat shaded; fairly quiet

This is not the only square with powerlines running through the middle overhead, but it is certainly the one where the powerlines and poles are highly conspicuous. There are some great surrounding buildings and solid trees within, but it feels as though some trees or foliage are missing from the open north end of the square.

 

#22: Ellis

The Basics: medium size; center occupied by splash pad; shaded at perimeter; somewhat busy

With smaller trees at the perimeter only, it feels rather empty and barren versus other squares. These trees are still young compared to the hundred-year-old live oaks elsewhere, so they have potential to continue growing and becoming more lovely, but the other landscaping and planting beds here are mainly mulch with a very limited amount of small ground cover. I hear that kids enjoy the triangular splash pad in the middle of the square, though it seems to be rarely operational, and there are some lovely old two- and three-story buildings to the west and south, but otherwise this seems to be a square mainly used for cutting-through as opposed to being a destination itself. But don’t let that stop you from swinging into the wonderful Wexford pub, just west of Ellis, where you can grab a pint and decompress from your busy day contemplating the highs and lows of Savannah’s twenty-two squares.

I would like to note some overarching themes that I observed: I found myself especially enjoying the squares with larger bushes at the perimeter, making the interior a quiet respite from the city. Even the busy squares with this condition felt more tranquil because of their visual separation from the square’s surroundings.

If you didn’t catch it, the top five squares on this list ended up being the five squares that run down Bull Street in a straight line from City Hall to Forsyth Park. This was not done intentionally but rather came as a surprise to me once I finished toiling through these rankings and stepped back from my desk. These squares are all somewhat busy, well-sized, feature an impressive monument, and are generally more urban in feeling, often surrounded by taller buildings that serve as visual landmarks across the squares. They form the five quintessential squares of Savannah – when you think “I want to be in a Savannah Square,” these are what likely come to mind.

But “quintessential” does not always mean “best” or “preferred,” and with so many other excellent squares that are smaller or off the beaten path, you may enjoy others even more for all the reason they are not “the quintessential five.” Each and every square has so much good to offer, whether in the lush vegetation, shade from the hot Georgia sun, or incredible surrounding buildings, I have found myself enjoying each of these squares in their own right, and even one of the lower-ranked squares on this list might prove to be your favorite!

If Savannah is the Hostess City, the squares may be likened to the Hostess’s children. Of course, she would deny that she has a favorite (though she probably does), but rather she loves them all individually, with their unique differences. Yet she knows that what makes them truly special is how they exist as one family, reaching across the city in a continuous network, where the whole of Savannah’s Historic District is most certainly greater than merely the sum of these twenty-two squares.