Our Savannah scavenger hunt starts at the fountain in Forsyth Park and ends on East River Street, and this guide covers both ends of that line plus two places in between: the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and Chippewa Square. Together they take you from the green southern edge of the historic district, past its biggest church and its most filmed square, down to the old cotton waterfront on the Savannah River.
Forsyth Park Fountain
Forsyth Park began in the 1840s on ten acres of land given by William Brown Hodgson, was enlarged in 1851, and today covers about 30 acres at the southern end of the historic district. It is named after John Forsyth, a governor of Georgia. Its white cast-iron fountain was put up in 1858. It was made by Janes, Beebe & Company, an iron foundry in the Bronx in New York, to a design by John Howard that drew on the work of the French sculptor Michel Liénard, and it is often compared with the fountains on the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The fountain has appeared in films such as Cape Fear, The Longest Yard, Forrest Gump and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Every year around St. Patrick's Day its water is turned green, one of the best-known Savannah traditions. The fountain is the first stop of our scavenger hunt.
- The tiers of white-painted cast iron, best photographed early in the day, when the park is at its quietest.
- The live oaks hung with Spanish moss around the fountain, and further into the park the Fragrant Garden, created for blind visitors.
Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
Savannah's Catholic parish was founded by refugees from the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution, who built a small wooden church dedicated to St. John the Baptist in 1799. The present Neo-Gothic cathedral near Lafayette Square was begun in 1873 and dedicated in 1876, and its two spires were added in 1896. Only two years later, on 6 February 1898, a fire destroyed the interior. The building was rebuilt and rededicated in 1900.
Stained-glass windows from Austria-Hungary were fitted in 1904, and the church now has 81 windows in all. Its murals and painted surfaces were restored during a major renovation from 1998 to 2002. In 2020 Pope Francis raised the cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica. It is one of the stops on our scavenger hunt.
- The twin spires, which rise above the trees around Lafayette Square.
- Inside, the colour of the stained glass and the painted walls and ceilings restored around 2000.
Chippewa Square
Chippewa Square was laid out in 1815 and named for the American soldiers killed at the Battle of Chippawa in the War of 1812. In the middle stands the monument to James Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony of Georgia, by the sculptor Daniel Chester French, with the architect Henry Bacon, unveiled in 1910. Oglethorpe faces south, towards what was then Spanish Florida, with his sword drawn.
The square is best known worldwide for the opening scene of Forrest Gump, which was filmed on its north side. The bench Tom Hanks sat on was a fibreglass prop rather than a real park bench; one of the props is now on display at the Savannah History Museum, so there is no bench to look for on the square. It is one of the stops on our scavenger hunt.
- The Savannah Theatre of 1818, the oldest building on the square.
- The First Baptist Church of 1833 and the Independent Presbyterian Church, rebuilt in 1891 after a fire in 1889.
East River Street
Below the bluff on which Savannah was founded, a row of old brick cotton warehouses lines the river. On the bluff above them is Factors Row, where cotton brokers once made their deals, and Factors Walk, which runs along the slope between the warehouses and Bay Street. The warehouses were also used to hold enslaved Africans. East River Street begins well below Bay Street, is paved with Belgian blocks with streetcar tracks set into them, and is now lined with restaurants, cafés and shops. Its river promenade is named after John P. Rousakis, mayor from 1970 to 1992.
East River Street is the last stop of our scavenger hunt, and two statues on the waterfront are worth finding there.
- The African-American Monument, dedicated in 2002: a bronze family by Dorothy Spradley with broken chains at their feet and a line by the poet Maya Angelou.
- The Waving Girl, a statue of Florence Martus by Felix de Weldon, put up in 1972 in Morrell Park. From 1887 to 1931 she greeted ships on the Savannah River from her home on Elba Island, waving a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night.
- The story that she waved because she was waiting for a sailor she loved, who never came back; it is a legend, not a documented fact.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the fountain in Forsyth Park and walk north out of the park into the squares. Head for Lafayette Square to see the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, then cross west to Bull Street and walk north to Chippewa Square. Keep following Bull Street north through the squares to Bay Street, then take one of the ramps down to the river, such as the Lincoln Street ramp at the western end of Factors Walk, and walk east along East River Street.
See Savannah with World City Trail
Our Savannah scavenger hunt turns the historic district into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the fountain in Forsyth Park to East River Street, and the cathedral and Chippewa Square are stops too, along with Monterey Square, the Sorrel-Weed House, Colonial Park Cemetery, the Owens-Thomas House, Reynolds Square and City Market.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Savannah, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Savannah scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Savannah →
Play the outdoor escape game in Savannah →
Facts checked in October 2026.