What can you do at Forsyth Park?
Forsyth Park stretches across 30 acres at the southern edge of Savannah's Historic District, a green expanse anchored by its famous cast-iron fountain. Installed in 1858, the fountain was modeled after those in the Place de la Concorde in Paris and quickly became the emblem of the city itself. Water cascades from its tiered basins into a wide reflecting pool surrounded by live oaks, their branches draping Spanish moss over paths where joggers, dog walkers, SCAD students, and tourists mingle throughout the day. The park was established in 1851 on land donated by William Hodgson and named for Georgia Governor John Forsyth, originally comprising only the northern half. The southern extension, added in 1858, expanded it to its current size and included a Confederate Memorial and a fragrant garden designed for the blind. Where Savannah's 22 squares function as intimate outdoor rooms, Forsyth Park serves as the city's grand living room. On any given Saturday, the park hosts a farmers' market beneath the live oaks, pickup soccer games on the open fields, families picnicking on blankets, and visitors photographing the fountain from every conceivable angle. The surrounding blocks — known as the Victorian District — contain some of Savannah's most ornate residential architecture, with gingerbread trim, turrets, and wraparound porches that contrast with the more restrained Georgian and Federal styles of the squares to the north. The park represents the transition from Oglethorpe's original colonial city to the Victorian-era expansion that doubled Savannah's footprint.