There are 21 squares in Savannah, a city laid out to a well-designed and geometric grid. However, the most popular one with travellers and tourists is Chippewa Square and has been since the mid nineteen nineties. But why?
The square was laid out in the early nineteenth century commemorating the soldiers who died in the War of 1812, a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.
But that’s not the reason for it receiving visitors today and for the last quarter-decade.
The answer can be found in the video below.
The square was the location of the bench on which the character played by Tom Hanks appeared in the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump. This weepie movie was a huge hit and won numerous awards.
In the movie, Forrest Gump sits on the bench and, related much of his life story – stories which are shown as flashbacks – to people who happen to sit alongside him as he waits on the bench for a bus.
Note that the bench was in reality simply a stage prop. There was and still isn’t a bench at that exact location. However, Forrst Gump fans can see the real stage prop, the bench used in the movie, at the nearby Savannah Visitors Center.
Where is Chippewa Square?
Chippewa Square
Savannah,
GA 31401,
USA
