Travelogue: Savannah, GA

I was in Savannah last weekend. Not my first time to visit this extraordinary area, but each time I’ve been there, I’ve always experienced something new. I was giving a Cross Mission at the parish of St. Stephen in Hinesville, part of Metropolitan Savannah, but I had time while I was there to revisit Savannah.

There are two Savannah’s.

The first Savannah is what is called the historic district( including the Victorian district ). It is the only perfectly preserved anti- bellum City (before the civil war) that has survived in the U.S. The same twenty two squares with beautiful fountains and parks and surrounding mansions still exist intact to this day. It’s been said that if the original founders of this city returned today they could make their way around easily because nothing has been changed. It has been preserved the way it was founded in the eighteenth century according to the prevailing taste in Georgian architecture and natural landscape design. It is also called the city of trees because wherever you go you see magnificent oak trees dripping with silvery Spanish moss. It is an immense natural, botanical garden. River Street is one of Savannah’s favorite places to visit. It is always full of visitors. The original, cobbled-stoned streets are there, and the old cotton warehouses, from the days when cotton was king, are now occupants to an exciting array of restaurants, Inns, shops, and tourist attractions. Savannah survives mainly on tourism. It is estimated that it receives about fifteen million tourists every year. You’ll see horse-drawn carriages for tourists, busses, bicycles for two or three, moving leisurely through the district, morning, noon and night of every day. I was able to tour the historic district simply by driving my car behind one of the many tourist busses.

The second Savannah I saw was not nearly as glamorous. This is where the vast majority of the people live. It was run down, poor, abandoned, and inhabited mostly by African Americans. It was as if two different worlds were existing side by side. I wondered why this Savannah could not benefit from the riches of the huge, tourist industry of the historic Savannah? The crime rate is very high in Savannah, and tourists are warned to be on guard.

Savannah, it appeared to me, is a tale of two cities or communities. The first is like Disney World, beautiful and historic but possessing little in common with the second Savannah that encompasses it all around.

The historic district is wonderful to visit, and spend a relaxing time. I met a couple on the plane as I was leaving Savannah. They were celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary in the historic district, and they loved it.

That’s the Savannah most people visiting there know.

— Fr. Hugh Duffy