ABSTRACT
Savannah’s 1733 plan is a unique and sophisticated allotment of streets and parks. The plan is a complex, hierarchical grid much like a Scottish tartan based upon one fundamental element: a rectilinear cellular unit called a ward with a public square at its center. Each ward is nearly identical and comprised of one primary north-south street on axis with the square while two east-west streets run laterally along the north and south edge of the square. Three additional east-west tertiary streets bisect the blocks resulting in a woven pattern of twelve parcels with room for forty houses. The ward unit was then duplicated and set alongside adjacent units. Where the two units met became a continuous street through the city. Today, each square has evolved into its own character including residential, commercial and governmental. The squares shown here are, clockwise from upper left, Johnson Square, Warren Square, Oglethorpe, Wright Square and St. James Square.
