Books on German Immigration

Orleans Square, on Barnard Street, might as well be called Parking Lot Square. Sadly, it’s one of Savannah’s squares most negatively impacted by the thoughtless development boom of the mid-20th century.

The square itself is quite charming, with a large central fountain dedicated to the German immigrants to Savannah that was installed on the 250th anniversary of the founding of Georgia. But once you take your eyes off the ground and look around the square, the charm vanishes. The biggest blight is the Civic Center, whose backside and rear parking area mars the western end of Orleans Square. Five of the eight lots which surround Orleans are dedicated to parking. Another is occupied by SCAD’s gym.

Luckily, the houses which do survive on Orleans are beautiful, particularly the Harper Fowlkes House on 230 Barnard. Built in 1842 in the Greek Revival style, this house is occasionally open for tours and also serves as the Georgia headquarters for the Society of the Cincinnati. Another noteworthy home on Orleans is the Stephen Williams House, constructed in 1834 in the Federal style. It’s currently an inn with individually designed rooms.

Location on our Savannah Map
Harper Fowlkes House
Stephen Williams House Inn
Book your Savannah BnB here

We just published our Savannah Book

Three months ago, me, Juergen and 4-year-old Xiao Liang in Shenzhen, China were the only three people on Earth who hadn’t read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Sincere apologies to Xiao: you are now completely alone. We’ve buckled down and read The Book.

And it’s a great book! Especially after having become intimately familiar with Savannah during our time here, the characters and locations leaped right off the page. John Berendt has an amazing talent for description, and a clever way of getting into interesting situations and meeting the right people. The Book was a little humbling to read — the same places which we’ve written about on this blog are far more perfectly, hilariously captured in Berendt’s work.

But, dear lord, have we gotten tired of hearing about it. I wonder if there’s ever been a city to capitalize so much on a single work of art. I doubt that even Bethlehem milks the Bible as outrageously as Savannah does The Book. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is everywhere. You can find copies of the book on sale in every shop, even clothes stores! There are tours. There’s an entire store dedicated to it. Fans can visit the Mercer House on Monterey Square, where Jim Williams lived and Danny Hansford died.

While I loved Midnight, I’m glad I didn’t read until after we’d lived here for awhile — otherwise we might have used it as our sole travel guide. But though we’ve tried to do things which are unique, and cringe about repeating Berendt’s experiences, sometimes we can’t help ourselves. For example, on Saturday we went to see The Lady Chablis at Club One. The Book’s portrayal of her was too perfect. We simply had to experience The Doll firsthand.

Buy The Book – The Movie or take The Tour

Where is the bird statue now?

Capturing the Night with Your Camera

I know we’re a little tardy wishing you a happy new year, but better late then never. How’s 2011 treating you so far? We won’t be here for most of it, but is there anything you’re looking forward to in Savannah this year? For example, we’ve overheard people chatting excitedly about St. Patrick’s Day, the filming of the movie “Savannah”, and a happy couple who were planning a wedding in one of the squares.

These are a month late, but here are some pictures I took during the Holidays. Happy 2011!

- Savannah Index