By: Marcia Abramson
It's Savannah's historic district that lived up to all my expectations from books trial I have read over the years. I still remember reading about blue-faced villainous pirate Captain John Flint who died of too much rum in Robert Louis Stevenson's book Treasure Island. On his death bed in Savannah, he turned over a map to his mate Billy Bones designating Savannah as the site of buried treasure, dated July 20, I754.
Then, came the remarkable Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Even though the locale was Atlanta during the Civil War in the 1860s, her main character, Scarlett O'Hara described Savannah wistfully as, the gently mannered city by the sea, a far cry from the pirates of the 18th century. I also remember the romantic Rhett Butler leaving Scarlett and going off to Savannah and wondering whether he would return.
But it was John Berendt who wrote the ultimate nonfiction book: Midnight in the Garden or Good and Evil in 1994 about historic Savannah, an intriguing book about a murder, a trial that went through numerous appeals and wonderful real-life characters. The book remained on best-seller lists for years, became a stellar motion picture, and portrayed the hauntingly beautiful city as I saw it. In fact there is a tour of the different places mentioned in the book. I chose the historic tour which included parts of the book tour after spending a restful night at the Hamilton-Turner Inn.
The Hamilton-Turner Inn has a very impressive exterior fabricated in French Second Empire chateau-style architecture. In fact it reminded me of a Charles Addams House because of its unique root, fancy ironwork, tall windows which opened into opulent balconies and the cast-iron picket fence. I understand that in its hay-day people passing by stopped in wonderment at this outstanding four-story structure. That picket fence marked off my garden room, a few steps off the street level with my own private entrance. The current owners and innkeepers, Charlie and Sue Strickland, natives of Savannah, told me that Samuel P. Hamilton, a wealthy jeweler and former mayor of the city was the original owner. Complimentary southern style breakfast British style high tea were served by the innkeeper and his wife in a charming warm atmosphere. Staying at an historic inn in Savannah is an experience not to be missed in my opinion.
On my historic tour of Savannah, I got to see more of the city that James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia planned back in 1733 before he sailed from England. He decided that Savannah was going to be on the top of a forty-foot buff on the southern bank of the Savannah River. He also used the design of a Roman military encampment of a grid pattern for the streets with squares at set distances. There are gardens, moss covered oak trees and swaying palms throughout the historic district. Also in the center of the district is the Bonaventure Cemetery in a beautiful oak forest with the grave sites of the well-known song writer Johnny Mercer and the parents of the Pulitzer Prize author and poet Conrad Aiken whose own grave is marked with a bench. The story goes that Aiken's wish was that people should come, sit on his bench, drink martinis and watch the ships at the port as he did before his death.
On my tour I got to see many of the old mansions including the Mercer House which was considered one of the most beautifully restored houses in Savannah. It also contained the most fabulous antique collection of Jim Williams. Rumor has it that Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis wanted to buy the house for $2 million when she visited Savannah. Jim Williams was also the central figure in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, since he was the accused murderer of a young man who lived in his home and was finally acquitted after a fourth trial. Another must on the tour was the Savannah College of Art & Design campus and many gentrified buildings in the historic district.
The historic district tour was arranged by Gray Line Tours and it was excellent. For additional information you can visit the web site at http://www.savannah-visit.com.
