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Occupying 30 acres between Drayton and Whitaker Street, Forsyth is Savannah’s Central Park. It’s not as massive as its counterpart in New York, but blends more seamlessly into the city, and has long been a part of its history.

Forsyth Park was built in the 1840s and christened in honor of John Forsyth, a former statesman and Georgian Governor (who donated twenty acres of his own land to it, helping ensure his name’s immortality). The park’s massive fountain, crowned with a female figure and flanked by spitting geese, was inspired by the Parisian fountain in the Plaza de la Concorde. With water shooting haphazardly in all directions, it’s one of the most recognizable landmarks of Savannah, appearing in films like 1962′s Cape Fear and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Three monuments in Forsyth Park commemorate Savannah’s contribution to American wars. To the north, there’s a small dedication to the Vietnam War. An impressively large memorial to the Civil War’s Confederate dead is in the park’s center, with the moving biblical inscription: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live” (Moving, and distressingly pro-Zombie). And at the southern end is an interesting tribute to the Spanish-American war, when the US helped “liberate” Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam from Spanish influence.

Though the northern third of the park is shaded and tree-filled, the rest is wide open, with gorgeous lawns that host weekend picnics and pick-up sports. There’s a cafe, a visitors center and an open-air stage which hosts summer concerts, as well as something I’d never heard of before: a Fragrant Garden for the Blind. The gate was locked, but I stuck my nose through the bars and took a long whiff. Smelled like trash and roses.

In the few days we’ve been in Savannah, we’ve already been through Forsyth Park many times. Practically an extended pedestrian-only section of Bull Street, it’s as much a thoroughfare people transit through, as a destination. I have a feeling we’ll be spending plenty of time there.

Location on our Savannah Map

- Savannah Tours