Savannah's Chippewa Square

Chippewa Square was named to commemorate the victory of American troops under General Jacob Brown in the Battle of Chippewa, War of 1812. In the center is a handsome bronze sculpture by Daniel Chester French of James Edward Oglethorpe in the full dress uniform of a British General.

Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump sat on the bus bench with his box of chocolates.

James edward Oglethorpe's right hand rests on his unsheathed sword; his eyes gaze southward toward Florida, ever guarding Georgia from the threat of the Spaniards. (Yes, the Oglethorpe statue is not in Oglethorpe Square.) Henry Bacon, who designed the base of the monument, also teamed with Daniel French to create the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Chippewa Square is one of the 24 squares that was designed and incorporated into the plan for the city of Savannah.

Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump sat on the bus bench with his box of chocolates. The bench is no longer there. The motion picture company took the bus with them when filming was complete. They later provided an identical bench, and it is now in the museum at the Savannah Visitors? Center.

Notable Buildings on Chippewa Square:

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools Administrative Offices -- 208 Bull Street (Formerly Chatham Academy and Savannah High School.)

Independent Presbyterian Church -- Corner of Bull and Oglethorpe. A soaring steeple with clocks on all four sides, topped by a gleaming brass weathervane.

First Baptist Church -- Bull Street on Chippewa Square, (1833). Church in Greek temple design with six massive columns.

Savannah Theater -- 222 Bull Street. Live theater in an art deco building on the country's oldest theater site in continuous operation; a Greek Revival building by William Jay once stood here. In 1820, this square was a center of nightlife at the William Jay designed theater.

Moses Eastman House -- The Charles Cluskey designed Moses Eastman House at 17 W. McDonough are also on Chippewa.

Location:

Chippewa Square is located on Bull Street between Hull and Perry Streets.

The Squares of Savannah Georgia:

Savannah was originally laid out around four open squares. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid; additional squares were added during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty four squares in downtown Savannah. Three of these have been demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving twenty-one squares at the present. One of those, Ellis Square, is currently being rebuilt. Most squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons, or event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. The first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for military exercises. All of the squares are a part of Savannah's historic district and fall within an area of less than one half square mile. Savannah's city plan was designed by General James Oglethorpe, and his layout has been hailed as the most intelligent grid in America. The American Society of Civil Engineers has honored Oglethorpe's plan for Savannah as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and in 1994 the plan was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The squares are a major point of interest for millions of tourists visiting Savannah each year, and they have been credited with stabilizing once-deteriorating neighborhoods and revitalizing Savannah's downtown commercial district.