Savannah, Georgia For other uses of Savannah, see Savannah .
Savannah, Georgia City of Savannah Downtown Savannah viewed from Bay Street Savannah Historic District Forsyth Park Student Center at Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah Victorian Historic District downtown Savannah viewed from Bay Street, Forsyth Park, River Street, Talmadge Memorial Bridge with the Port of Savannah on the Savannah River, home in Savannah Victorian Historic District, Savannah College of Art and Design, Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist, Congregation Mickve Israel, homes in Savannah's Historic District Flag of Savannah, Georgia Flag Official seal of Savannah, Georgia Savannah, Georgia is positioned in Georgia (U.S.
State) Savannah, Georgia - Savannah, Georgia With its distinct ive dome in tissue-paper-thin, 23-karat gold leaf, Savannah's City Hall (1906) is the first building constructed for exclusive use by the municipal government.
Savannah (/s v n /) is the earliest town/city in the U.S.
Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the town/city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port town/city in the American Revolution and amid the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrialized center and an meaningful Atlantic seaport.
Each year Savannah attracts millions of visitors to its cobblestone streets, parks, and notable historic buildings: the place of birth of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA), the Georgia Historical Society (the earliest continually operating historical society in the South), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first enhance exhibitions), the First African Baptist Church (one of the earliest black Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third earliest Jewish house of worship in America), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the earliest standing antebellum rail facility in America). Savannah's downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District, and 22 parklike squares, is one of the biggest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the U.S.
Government in 1966). Downtown Savannah largely retains the initial town plan prescribed by founder James Oglethorpe (a design now known as the Oglethorpe Plan).
Savannah was the host town/city for the sailing competitions amid the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.
Main articles: History of Savannah, Georgia and Timeline of Savannah, Georgia General James Edward Oglethorpe, a philanthropist and a representative of King George II to the American colonies, was sent to problematic a buffer south of the Savannah River to protect the Carolinas from Spanish Florida and French Louisiana.
The town/city of Savannah was established on that date, along with the colony of Georgia.
In 1751, Savannah and the rest of Georgia became a Royal Colony and Savannah was made the colonial capital of Georgia. By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had turn into the southernmost commercial port of the Thirteen Colonies.
British troops took the town/city in 1778, and the following year a combined force of American and French soldiers floundered to rout the British at the Siege of Savannah.
The British did not leave the town/city until July 1782. Savannah, a prosperous seaport throughout the nineteenth century, was the Confederacy's sixth most crowded city and the prime objective of General William T.
Early on December 21, 1864, small-town authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to save Savannah from destruction, and Union troops marched into the town/city at dawn. Savannah was titled for the Savannah River, which probably derives from variant names for the Shawnee, a Native American citizens who migrated to the river in the 1680s.
The Shawnee finished another Native citizens , the Westo, and occupied their lands at the head of the Savannah River's navigation on the fall line, near present-day Augusta. These Shawnee, whose Native name was Sa wano ki (literally, "southerners"), were known by a several small-town variants, including Shawano, Savano, Savana and Savannah. Another theory is that the name Savannah refers to the extensive marshlands encircling the river for miles inland, and is derived from the English term "savanna", a kind of tropical grassland, which was borrowed by the English from Spanish sabana and used in the Southern Colonies.
Savannah lies on the Savannah River, approximately 20 mi (32 km) upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. According to the United States Enumeration Bureau (2011), the town/city has a total region of 108.7 square miles (281.5 km2), of which 103.1 square miles (267.0 km2) is territory and 5.6 square miles (15 km2) is water (5.15%).
Savannah is the major port on the Savannah River and the biggest port in the state of Georgia.
Georgia's Ogeechee River flows toward the Atlantic Ocean some 16 miles (26 km) south of downtown Savannah.
Five canals and a several pumping stations have been assembled to help reduce the effects: Fell Street Canal, Pipe Makers Canal, Kayton Canal, Springfield Canal and Casey Canal, the first four draining north into the Savannah River and the last, the Casey, draining south into the Vernon River.
Savannah records several days of freezing temperatures each year (and has rare snowfall).
Due to its adjacency to the Atlantic coast, Savannah rarely experiences temperatures as extreme as those in Georgia's interior.
Although summers in Savannah are incessantly sunny, half of Savannah's annual rain falls amid the months of June through September.
Each year, Savannah reports 24 days on average with low temperatures below freezing, though in some years less than 10 evenings will fall below freezing.
Because of its locale in the Georgia Bight (the arc of the Atlantic coastline in Georgia and northern Florida) as well as the tendency for hurricanes to re-curve up the coast, Savannah has a lower threat of hurricanes than some other coastal metros/cities such as Charleston, South Carolina.
Climate data for Savannah, Georgia (Savannah/Hilton Head Int'l), 1981 2010 normals, extremes 1871 present A map showing the existing City of Savannah neighborhoods.
Map showing town/city of Savannah neighborhoods.
Savannah is a town/city of diverse neighborhoods.
Besides the Savannah Historic District, one of the nation's largest, four other historic districts have been formally demarcated: Enumeration Bureau, Savannah's 2015 estimated populace was 145,674, up from the official 2010 count of 136,286 residents. The Enumeration Bureau's 2016 estimated populace of the Savannah urbane area, defined by the Enumeration Bureau as Bryan, Chatham, and Effingham counties, was 384,024. Between 2000 and 2010, Savannah's metro region had grown from 293,000 to 347,611, an increase of 18.6 percent. Savannah is also the biggest principal town/city of the Savannah-Hinesville-Statesboro Combined Statistical Area, a larger trading region that includes the Savannah and Hinesville-Fort Stewart urbane areas and (since 2012) the Statesboro Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Racial distribution map of Savannah and Chatham County (source: 2010 U.S.
Map displaying the Aldermanic districts of Savannah.
In 2003 Savannah and Chatham County voted to merge their town/city and county police departments.
The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department was established on January 1, 2005, after the Savannah Police Department and Chatham County Police Department consolidated .
The Savannah Fire Department only serves the City of Savannah and remains separate from the other municipal firefighting organizations in Chatham County.
While some[who?] see the police consolidation as a step toward city-county consolidation, Savannah is actually one of eight incorporated metros/cities or suburbs in Chatham County.
A container ship leaves the Port of Savannah after passing under the Talmadge Memorial Bridge and proceeding down the Savannah River past the Savannah Historic District.
Its manufacturing under the plantation fitness and shipment through the Port of Savannah helped the city's European immigrants to achieve richness and prosperity.
In the nineteenth century, the Port of Savannah became one of the most active in the United States, and Savannahians had the opportunity to consume some of the world's finest goods, imported by foreign merchants.
Savannah's port has always been a mainstay of the city's economy.
In the early years of the United States, goods produced in the New World had to pass through Atlantic ports such as Savannah's before they could be shipped to England.
Today,[when?] the Port of Savannah, manufacturing, the military, and the tourism trade are Savannah's four primary economic drivers.
In 2006, the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau reported over 6.85 million visitors to the town/city during the year.
For years, Savannah was the home of Union Camp, which homed the world's biggest paper mill.
In 2000, JCB, the third biggest producer of assembly equipment in the world and the dominant manufacturer of backhoes and telescopic handlers, assembled its North American command posts in Chatham County near Savannah in Pooler on I-95 near Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport.
Beyond its architectural significance as being the nation's largest, historically restored urban area, the town/city of Savannah has a rich and burgeoning performing arts scene, offering cultural affairs throughout the year.
The Savannah Book Festival an annual book fair held on Presidents' Day weekend in the vicinity of historic Telfair and Wright squares, includes no-charge presentations by more than 35 intact authors.
Savannah Ballet Theatre established in 1998 as a nonprofit organization, it has grown to turn into the city's biggest dance company. The Coastal Jazz Association presents a range of jazz performances throughout the year in addition to hosting the annual Savannah Jazz Festival. Savannah Music Festival an annual music festival of diverse artists which is Georgia's biggest musical arts festival and is nationally recognized as one of the best music celebrations in the world.
The Savannah Orchestra Savannah's experienced orchestra, which presents an annual season of classical and prominent concert performances. The Savannah Philharmonic experienced orchestral and choral organization presenting year round concerts (classical, pops, education). The Savannah Winds amateur concert band hosted by the music department of Armstrong State University. The Armstrong Youth Orchestra Savannah's experienced orchestra for elementary, middle school, high school and some college students. Muse Arts Warehouse established in 2010, Muse Arts Warehouse is a nonprofit organization committed to community-building through the arts by providing a venue that is available, affordable, and accessible to Savannah's individual artists, arts organizations and the public. Savannah Children's Theatre a non-profit, year-round drama theater business geared toward offering elementary through high school students (and grownups) opportunities for participation in dramatic and musical productions. Savannah Community Theatre a full theater season with a diverse programming schedule, featuring some of Savannah's finest actors in an intimate, three-quarter-round space. Little Theatre of Savannah established in 1950, The Little Theatre of Savannah, Inc., is a nonprofit, volunteer-based improve organization dedicated to the celebration of the theater arts.
The Savannah Theatre Savannah's only fully experienced resident theater, producing music revues with live singers, dancers and the most rockin' band in town.
Lucas Theatre for the Arts established in December 1921, the Lucas Theatre is one of a several theaters owned by the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Trustees Theater once known as the Weis Theater, which opened February 14, 1946, this theater reopened as the Trustees Theater on May 9, 1998, and hosts a range of performances and concerts sponsored by the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Art Rise Savannah, Inc.
A carriage from Historic Carriage Tours of Savannah pauses at the Cathedral of St.
Typical homes in the Savannah Historic District; these are positioned near the Cathedral of St.
The city's former promotional name was "Hostess City of the South," a phrase still used by the town/city government. An earlier nickname was "the Forest City", in reference to the large populace and species of oak trees that flourish in the Savannah area.
These trees were especially valuable in ship assembly amid the 19th century. In 2014, Savannah thriving 13.5 million visitors from athwart the nation and around the world. Savannah's downtown region is one of the biggest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States. The city's locale offers visitors access to the coastal islands and the Savannah Riverfront, both prominent tourist destinations.
Tybee Island, formerly known as "Savannah Beach", is the site of the Tybee Island Light Station, the first lighthouse on the southern Atlantic coast.
Other picturesque suburbs adjoining to Savannah include the shrimping village of Thunderbolt and three residentiary areas that began as summer resort communities for Savannahians: Beaulieu, Vernonburg, and the Isle of Hope.
The Savannah International Trade & Convention Center is positioned on Hutchinson Island, athwart from downtown Savannah and surrounded by the Savannah River.
The Savannah Civic Center on Montgomery Street is host to more than nine hundred affairs each year.
Savannah has persistently been titled one of "America's Favorite Cities" by Travel + Leisure.
In 2012, the periodical rated Savannah highest in "Quality of Life and Visitor Experience." Savannah was also ranked first for "Public Parks and Outdoor Access," visiting in the Fall, and as a romantic escape. Savannah was also titled as America's second-best town/city for "Cool Buildings and Architecture," behind only Chicago. Squares of Savannah, Georgia Savannah's historic precinct has 22 squares (Ellis Square, completed in 1954, was fully restored in early 2010). The squares vary in size and character, from the formal fountain and monuments of the largest, Johnson, to the playgrounds of the smallest, Crawford.
Savannah has various historic homes of worship.
The Independent Presbyterian Church (Savannah, Georgia), which was established in 1755, is positioned near Chippewa Square.
Benedict the Moor Church was established in Savannah, the first black Catholic church in Georgia, and one of the earliest in the Southeast. The earliest standing home of worship is First Baptist Church, Savannah (1833), positioned on Chippewa Square.
Other historic homes of worship in Savannah include: Cathedral of St.
Fort Jackson, not associated with Andrew Jackson, one mile east of Savannah's Historic District, was originally assembled between 1808 and 1812 to protect the town/city from attack by sea.
Fort Pulaski National Monument, positioned 17 miles (27 km) east of Savannah, preserves the biggest fort protecting Savannah amid the Civil War.
Savannah Historic District and the Savannah Victorian Historic District Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities and Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed a 33.2-acre (134,000 m2) historic precinct that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. City Market Savannah's restored central market features antiques, souvenirs, small eateries, as well as two large outside plazas Savannah State University ground and Walter Bernard Hill Hall The Georgia Historical Commission and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have recognized both the Savannah State ground and Hill Hall as a part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program. Hill Hall, which was assembled in 1901, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Various centers for shopping exist about the town/city including Abercorn Common, Savannah Historic District, Oglethorpe Mall, Savannah Mall and Abercorn Walk.
Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens a developing botanical garden positioned at Bamboo Farm, a former USDA plant-introduction station south of Savannah that began operations in 1919.
Oatland Island Wildlife Center positioned east of Savannah, a facility owned and directed by the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education and featuring wildlife from encircling coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
Ossabaw Island an surroundingally protected and commercially undeveloped barrier island south of Savannah.
Pirates' House historic restaurant and tavern positioned in downtown Savannah.
The actual parade route shifts from year to year but usually travels through the Savannah Historic District and along Bay Street.
The Savannah Waterfront Association has an annual celebration on River Street that is reminiscent of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Skidaway Island an well-to-do suburban improve south of Savannah that hosts Skidaway Island State Park, the University of Georgia Aquarium and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.
Tybee Island prominent Atlantic resort town 17 mi (27 km) east of Savannah, with enhance beaches, a lighthouse, and other attractions.
Savannah Braves Baseball Southern League Grayson Stadium 0 1971 1983 Savannah Spirits Basketball Continental Basketball Association Savannah Civic Center 0 1986 1988 Savannah Wildcats Basketball Continental Basketball League Armstrong State University 1 (2010) 2010 present Savannah Storm Basketball East Coast Basketball League Savannah High School 2014 present Savannah Steam American football American Indoor Football Tiger Arena 2015 present Savannah College of Art and Design Bees NAIA Florida Sun Conference SCAD Athletic Complex, Ronald C.
Savannah State Tigers NCAA Division I (FCS) MEAC Tiger Arena, Ted Wright Stadium Savannah Law School (the building once homed the initial Candler Hospital) Savannah has four universities and universities offering bachelor's, master's, and experienced or doctoral degree programs: Armstrong State University, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Savannah State University, and South University.
In addition, Georgia Tech Savannah offers certificate programs, and Georgia Southern University has a satellite ground in the downtown area.
Savannah Technical College, a two-year technical institution and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a marine science research institute of the University of Georgia positioned on the northern end of Skidaway Island, offer educational programs as well.
Savannah is also the locale of Ralston College, a liberal arts college established in 2010. Mercer, with its chief campus in Macon, received additional state funding in 2007 to grew its existing partnership with Memorial by establishing a four-year medical school in Savannah (the first in southern Georgia).
In 2012, Savannah Law School opened in the historic Candler building on Forsyth Park.
Savannah is also home to most of the schools in the Chatham County school district, the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.
Savannah Arts Academy* Savannah Christian Preparatory School Savannah Country Day School Savannah High School* Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah is also a part of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.
Located east of Savannah on a marsh island, it features a 2-mile (3.2 km) Native Animal Nature Trail that winds through maritime forest, salt marsh, and contaminating wetlands.
The Savannah Morning News is Savannah's only daily newspaper.
The Savannah Tribune and the Savannah Herald are weekly newspapers with a focus on Savannah's African American community.
Old Savannah cobblestone, Historic District Until September 2008, Day - Jet provided on-demand air transit service between Savannah and metros/cities throughout the Southeast.
Amtrak operates a passenger terminal at Savannah for the Palmetto and Silver Service trains running between New York City and Miami, Florida with three southbound and three northbound trains stopping at the station daily.
The DOT (Downtown Transportation) fitness provides fare no-charge transit in the Historic District. Services include express shuttle buses, the River Street Streetcar, and a ferry to Hutchinson Island and the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. I-16 Interstate 16 Terminates in downtown Savannah at Liberty and Montgomery streets, and intersects with Interstate 95 and Interstate 516.
I-516 Interstate 516 An urban perimeter highway connecting southside Savannah, at De - Renne Avenue, with the industrialized port region of the town/city to the north; intersects with the Veterans Parkway and Interstate 16 as well.
Route 80 (Victory Drive) Runs east west through midtown Savannah and joins the town/city with the town of Thunderbolt and the islands of Whitemarsh, Talahi, Wilmington and Tybee.
Route 17 (Ocean Highway) Runs north south from Richmond Hill, through southside Savannah, into Garden City, back into west Savannah with a spur onto I-516, then I-16, and finally closing over the Talmadge Memorial Bridge into South Carolina.
State Route 204 (Georgia) State Route 204 (Abercorn Expressway) An extension of Abercorn Street that begins at 37th Street in midtown (which is its northern point) and terminates at Rio Road and the Forest River at its southern point, and serves as the major traffic and commercial artery linking downtown, midtown and southside sections of the city.
Veterans Parkway Links Interstate 516 and southside/midtown Savannah with southside Savannah, and is intended to move traffic quicker from north south by avoiding high-volume Abercorn Street.
Islands Expressway An extension of President Street to facilitate traffic moving between downtown Savannah, the barrier islands and the beaches of Tybee Island.
Savannah has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: List of mayors of Savannah, Georgia List of citizens from Savannah, Georgia Savannah, Georgia in prominent culture Savannah had 24 initial squares.
See Squares of Savannah, Georgia for additional information.
Official records for Savannah were kept at downtown from January 1871 to April 1945, Hunter Field from May 1945 to September 1950, and at Savannah/Hilton Head Int'l since October 1950.
Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah was titled the Oatland Island Education Center until a name change in 2007.
"Savannah Information".
Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Savannah from the New Georgia Encyclopedia Online "Siege of Savannah During the American Revolutionary War".
Jacqueline Jones, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2008), 206.
"Savannah River Basin" (PDF).
"Average Weather for Savannah, GA Temperature and Precipitation".
"GA Savannah INTL AP".
"Weather History for Savannah, GA [Georgia] for January".
"State & County Quick - Facts: Savannah (city), Georgia".
City of Savannah.
"City of Savannah Neighborhoods 2008" (PDF).
City of Savannah.
"Savannah Book Festival".
"Savannah Ballet Theatre".
"Savannah Children's Choir".
"Savannah Concert Association".
"The Savannah Orchestra".
"The Savannah Philharmonic".
"The Savannah Winds".
"Savannah Children's Theatre".
"Savannah Community Theatre".
"Savannah Theatre".
"City of Savannah Home Page".
City of Savannah.
"Savannah, the Forest City".
"America's Favorite Cities 2011 - Savannah | Travel + Leisure".
"Tour Savannah's Squares".
"National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops & Terminal Facilities" (PDF).
"Connect Savannah website".
"Your Savannah Resource for Downtown Transportation".
"City of Savannah Town Hall Report 02/08" (PDF).
City of Savannah.
Savannah, Georgia.
Savannah, Georgia.
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Categories: Savannah, Georgia - Cities in Georgia (U.S.
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