Savannah Squares: A Keepsake Tour of Gardens, Architecture, and Monuments

by Robert J. Hill

Discover the wonderful gardens, charismatic and quaint city squares, and unique architecture of Savannah, Georgia, through this enchanting new book. Over 150 beautiful color photographs showcase the famous residential squares of Savannah, as well as many of its monuments, fountains, and parks. The citys rich history is traced in the entertaining text. Explore these charming spaces, each a geographic landmark in this beloved small Southern city.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

64 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jimmy Lee]

I really wanted to love this, but it just didn't work out. I bought this book after spending an afternoon in Savannah on a walking tour. I was hoping that I would get additional background on the squares I saw; I wanted to have something in print since memories from a walking tour tend to fade (and it was hard to hear), I needed help, as always, identifying the photos I took, and I was looking for a little superficial information about Savannah overall.

Unfortunately I got only a slight bit of what I wanted. This 67-page pamphlet provided a three-page overview on the history of the city of Savannah. Great. Then on to the squares, where we have about two paragraphs and two color photographs each. Those two color photographs are perhaps trees, perhaps a fountain, perhaps a building, perhaps a general grassy area - along with a color photograph of a plant or tree or flower for each square. The photos were definitely on a learning curve, and none have labels. A few are mentioned in the text, but not consistently, so only rarely do you have any idea of what you're seeing. It's like looking at my own photos after the fact - no idea why this building is important, but clearly it is, and I have to scan Google Images for 20 minutes to figure out why. That's why I bought the pamphlet, which is now not helping.

The two paragraphs give an interesting bit of history about the square - but sadly less than I got in my walking tour. Probably not surprisingly, I'm feeling I got a little less than I paid for based on the title of the book. I wouldn't consider this to be a "tour of gardens, architecture and monuments." There was one mention of "Greek Revival" - that's definitely an architectural style - homes, but no identification on where those might be or if they still exist. The style of buildings of significance is not provided. Relative to gardens, the photograph of the flower or plant is only identified once in the text (the azalea).

We get a map and a shuttle map, but both are so compressed that the street names are illegible. So this is not book to rely on for touring.

I am sure this was a labor of love by the author, and I agree that Savannah is a lovely city; the older area is one of the most beautiful I've seen with the azaleas (a flower I already knew) and hanging moss everywhere. If that pesky subtitle hadn't been there, I would have felt much better about my purchase - but it just wasn't what I thought I was buying.

[William Crump]

This book was a gift from my sister, also a native Savannahian. I perused it each time I prepared to go back home, and the beauty of its pages stirred in my mind's eye for almost 15 years before I just had to begin writing. As I wrote book one of the trilogy "Savannah's Hoodoo Doctor" it led me to the startling discovery of the Hoodoo portal that I know now was in the Squares all along. As I ended the trilogy with "Resilience Knows No Gender" it added a stark visual to the truly remarkable story of Casimir Pulaski and the influence of the Irish Greens on modern Savannah.

[Annie]

Nice momento of Savannah with pictures and information on all the squares.

[Henry Kline]

A good little picture book with good written descriptions and History.

[Martin]

A quick read, but worth it. Beautiful color photographs, with thick, quality paper. For 10 dollars, this is a nice souvenir of Savannah, with plenty of historical tidbits about the many squares of Georgia's first capital.

[Shawna]

This is a fantastic book to keep on hand for any out-of-town guests that may want a quick overview of what the city of Savannah is all about. It includes three easy walking tours of the city, breaking it up into small areas to hit the most scenic spots of each area.

[Irene]

A little post-vacation reading -- bought the book while in Savannah so might as well revisit! Beautiful photos and nice details about each place without being a lengthy history lesson.

[Melissa]

I enjoyed this. Bought it in Savannah, nice keepsake