Tuesday, March 25, 2014 (cont.)

Before I continue, here’s a little background on Savannah: The historical center of the city is notable for its 22 squares laid out in a grid. This was the idea of James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia. On two opposite sides of each square would be residences and on the other two opposite sides would be reserved for commercial use. Each square has a small park in the center and most have either a fountain or a statue. These squares serve the purpose of keeping traffic from flowing too fast, as it would on most major straight thoroughfares in urban areas.

This map gives an idea of the layout of the historical district.

We continued on the trolley tour until Stop 8.

These beautiful old houses are the reminders of the opulence enjoyed by Savannah’s upper class in the 19th century. No doubt many of the owners of these homes were plantation owners who depended on slave labor.

At Stop 8 we got off to tour the Andrew Low House. Across the street was a large church, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. I snapped a picture of it before we went into the house. We had to wait a little while for our tour, and meanwhile looked at the beautiful gardens and the patio in back.

As in the Juliette Low birthplace, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Andrew Low House.

I think we got on the last tour of the day because it was too late to try to get to the Davenport House and tour it, even though Tam had bought tickets for that house also. We had to wait for another trolley to pick us up, so meanwhile, we looked at the gardens around the Low House.

The large cathedral of St. John the Baptist also beckoned, so Tam hung around the Low House and trolley stop while Dale and I took a quick look in the cathedral.

It was definitely worth it! The stained glass windows were beautiful and the sanctuary was magnificent but not overdone. Green marble columns flanked the pews on each side of the aisle. There were frescoes on either side of the altar depicting Jesus’ ministry. I liked the general color scheme inside the cathedral – the green marble contrasting with the pink and white marble on the floor. The arched ceiling was also lovely, and in the balcony at the back of the church was a spectacular organ!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t capture the colors of the stained glass windows, it being late afternoon with the sunlight filtering in through the windows. The holy water font was tiled with a Celtic design set against a dark blue  background. Stunning!