Stopped Dead In Our Tracks!     12/30/17

We’ve been to Savannah before – a couple of times.  It’s such an interesting town – for certain the historic part, but it also covers a wide area for address purposes.  For example, the campground we’re staying at – Skidaway Island – has a Savannah address and it’s about 20 minutes away.

Because we’ve experienced several ‘must see’ places before, we didn’t visit them this time.  Fort Pulaski, the house from ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’, a couple of other homes you can tour, a walking food tour (where we visited several restaurants for samples), the trolley tour bus . . .

Things like that.  But we simply had to re-visit St. John’s Cathedral!

With the exception of St. John’s (a Roman Catholic church) and taking a short walk along the riverfront, we mostly just picked random streets to walk down.

 

Blaine decided he wanted Subway for lunch instead of the tuna we’d brought.  There was no one there, but on an interesting note, you can’t use the bathroom without a keycode.  And you can’t get the keycode until you pay for your lunch.  They did offer to have us order and pay and then give us the code and when we came back, they’d make our sandwich.  I’m pretty sure they can’t do then when they’re busy though – it would just be too confusing!

Here’s our lunch views for today:  (haven’t done one of those for a while!  We’ve either skipped lunch, or been close to home most of the time lately)

 

After lunch, we headed to the river.  It was kinda busy there, but the last time Blaine & I were here, it was so crowded, you could hardly walk.  Add in the cars trying to find a place to park and the tour buses and you’ve got yourself a real mess!  Fortunately, it wasn’t like that today, but we still stayed on the walk close to the water instead of the shops.

 

Our trek to St. John’s took us past the Police Department.  When we got here, we remembered the chuckle we got out of it the last time.  Take a look at these cars!  😊

 

I believe seeing St John’s is the only time I can think of that we were stopped dead in our tracks by something man-made.  We responded no differently than many other people.  You walk in the door to the sanctuary and are hit with this gloriously awe-inspiring sight!  You can’t move, your eyes pop out of your head, you get a little teary-eyed.  It’s incredible!  I’m sure the pictures don’t quite do it justice.

 

 

And now, it is with great joy and lingering awe that I present to you, The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

 

We were doubly blessed to be visiting while they still had their Nativity set up.  Outstanding!  And to think that someone(s) had to put all this together!

 

Now we’re back to exploring the rest.

 

I can’t even describe how lovely the murals were!  How real they looked!

 

And then there were the carvings of the stations of the Cross!

 

And the authentic (as opposed to ‘painted’) stained glass windows!

 

After we’d made our way around and were heading out, I noticed that many, many of the constant stream of people coming in behaved just as we did – standing stock-still and gawking.  Some (most likely the Catholics) dipped their fingers into the little basins of water and touched their foreheads.  I’m guessing they were applying holy water to themselves?  Not being Catholic or knowing much about Catholicism, I’m not sure.

 

Here’s what an article from officialsavannahguide.com has to say about St John’s:

The church, which began as a small wooden building, suffered dismal beginnings. The original colonial charter initially forbade Roman Catholics from establishing a place of worship in Savannah. After the American Revolution, however, the ban was lifted which allowed the original congregation to organize around 1796. Immigrants then began organized worship in 1799 and as the members grew, inspiration for a second church emerged. Some worshippers eventually chose to depart from the original church and a second was dedicated in 1839. Over a quarter century later, construction began on the original Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. Diligence and perseverance led to the addition of the two spires, signifying its glorious completion in 1896.

Soon after, tragedy struck when the Cathedral caught fire in the winter of 1898. As the settlers watched, the building burned and was very nearly destroyed. Then Bishop, Thomas A. Becker declared, “The Cathedral must be rebuilt, and as soon as possible.” Preparation to rebuild began almost immediately, and the new Cathedral was dedicated October 28, 1900. Various restoration activities have taken place over the years to include a plaza addition, re-leading of many of the stained glass windows, and the replacement of a slate roof. Once available, modern heating, cooling, and lighting systems were also added, providing a modicum of modern convenience. The wrath of the 1898 fire was followed years later by a hurricane and while the Cathedral did not suffer nearly the damage as before, additional repairs were necessary.

Standing tall, the present day building inhabits a large expanse on Lafayette Square. USA Today Travel lists the St. John Cathedral as one of the “10 Best Sights to See” while in Savannah GA. It is no wonder it received this accolade with features like the extraordinary stained glass windows, murals which are “second to none” and the 9,000 pound altar made of Carrar marble. Renowned as one of the most visually striking buildings in downtown, the Cathedral keenly summons travelers. The façade exhibits two identical, Gothic styled spires which reach into the air, dominating the sky. After several decades of renovation, this matching pair now holds elements of style which intertwine both historical and contemporary architecture ideals.

Once inside, the display only intensifies as each of the eighty one stained glass windows shimmer with a myriad of colors. The awe inspiring display is difficult to describe and just as difficult to turn from while attending a service. One visitor states, “The tourists within the congregation are recognizable by their straining necks and slack-jawed stares”. The brightly colored windows, placed in chronological succession, tell the story of Jesus and his mother Mary. Each glass pane was handcrafted in Austria by the Innsbruck Glassmakers. They were installed in the Cathedral around 1904 after the reconstruction from the fire of 1898. Elegantly, one display stands out from the rest. The Great Rose Window, located directly above the organ is a quatrefoil, with St. Cecilia, the patroness of music in the center. The window spans twenty feet in diameter and holds ten radiations from the center which each contain celestial figures singing and attending to musical instruments. This particular showpiece is most often recognized as the pinnacle sight to see while visiting the Cathedral. Poised on the imposing front edifice, the Rose window adds a masterful touch to the scenery.

Speaking of musical instruments, the Cathedral’s steeple bell weighs more than 4,700 pounds! This monstrosity was cast in Baltimore, Maryland in 1900. Hanging almost one hundred feet in the air, the bell can be heard for miles and miles. Spotting the chime is not any more difficult than hearing it since it stands nearly fifty feet tall.

In the early twentieth century, it was uncommon for most people to own a personal copy of the Bible. In an effort to compensate for the lack of written teachings, the church supplemented sermons through artwork such as the murals which fill the Cathedral. Religious murals are often filled with symbolism used to suggest dedication to a particular ideology. Several symbols representing the Catholic faith are brilliantly shown inside the church. Depictions of saints are embedded in the artistic landscape showcasing a glimpse of the connection between God and humanity. A lamb which symbolizes purity on one wall and a set of keys illuminating the “Keys to the Kingdom” are just a few in the display. Father Schadewell ordered the murals during the Cathedral’s renovation in the early twentieth century and Christopher P.H. Murphy, a local Savannah artist, provided oversight to the development and placement. The murals were viewed for the first time by the public when the Cathedral re-opened in May 1912.

Made mostly of brick, copper and terra cotta the building truly is a spectacle with more than 28,000 square feet! Helping to watch over the church and its worshippers, sixteen gargoyles can be found peering from the steeples.

 

There were tributes to at least two people on either side of the entrance to the sanctuary, the Right Reverend Edward Barron and Patricia Barragan Shrek.

I was intrigued by the Reverend’s because of “…though a stranger…”  He came to Savannah around 1845 and died of yellow fever while helping out the current Bishop during the epidemic in 1854.  More than 1,000 people from a then population of 14,000 died during that epidemic.

 

Patricia was no less interesting!  What she accomplished!  Would have loved to hear her play here!

 

And a plaque recognizing the Bennetts and their daughter’s generous donation.

 

 

And a statement of faith.  We found this particularly interesting because we used to recite this all the time in the church we grew up in.  We’re not Catholic . . .

 

Blaine noticed this article on the devastating church fire.  It’s not really readable.  Sorry.  Essentially it says – no one knows.

 

Wasn’t that an awesome tour???

 

Back on the street.

 

We planned on entering the Jewish church in town, but guess what??  Saturday is their Sabbath.  No tours on Saturdays.  Duh!  After having spent 14 years in the Old Testament, you’d think I would have thought of that, wouldn’t you?

 

There are a total of 22 squares in the historic district of Savannah.  We did not choose to visit them all, but as we walked around, we came across a couple.

 

The largest fountain isn’t in a square as I assumed.  It’s actually in the 30 acre Forsythe Park.

 

Considering all the things we’ve visited so far since June, Battlefield Park was a disappointment for us.  I guess it’s nice they commemorated it, but it was built as an example and nothing of import actually happened at this spot.  It’s beside the Visitor Center.

 

Continuing our walk, we ran into some snow!  There was a little girl there with her mom and I tried my best to involve her in a snowball fight, but she wasn’t buying it.  Then again, if she’s from the South, she most likely had no idea what I was talking about!  Her mom tried to encourage her at least.  😊

 

Shortly thereafter, we heard loud country music with boisterous singing, so we stood on a corner trying to find the source.  And then we spotted it! A tour ‘bus’ that was people-powered! I’m not sure how much, if anything, they were learning though because the music was loud, the people singing loudly and shouting ‘woo hoo’, and most had drinks in their hands. But they seemed to be having a wonderful time at least.

 

 

The thought occurred to me – An awful lot of churches are named ‘First Baptist’, so I consulted my friend Google.  “Open Bible” (an association of Pentecostal churches that’s headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa)  did a random study of 300,000 churches to find out how many used the word “First” in their name.  First Baptist showed up the most frequently with 5,115.  As I suspected, it’s because it was the ‘first’ Baptist church in that particular town.

 

 

I know you don’t want to hear this, but once we were finished downtown, we headed in search of a cemetery I’d read about.  It was supposed to be a segregated one with sections for Blacks and Whites.  We figured it would be a bit different and how often would we run across that?

We didn’t see any of that, but it was definitely the most unusual one we’ve ever seen!  Located in a kinda scary neighborhood, Blaine took a bit to warm up to it.  It didn’t help that the entrance had a sign to lock up your valuables.

 

I took a few pictures of the etched marble Plot Map at the entrance.  I even thought this was unusual.

 

 

 

I found this cemetery so unusual, Blaine had to lure me out with the promise of a great BBQ dinner.

 

 

No food pictures.  We were hungry!  But it was just as described on TripAdvisor!  Great BBQ (and only BBQ) in an odd location and a bit of a dive.