Troup Square

The low-key Troup Square boasts the most modern-looking monument in downtown Savannah [1], the Armillary Sphere. Essentially an elaborate sundial, the sphere is a series of astrologically themed rings with an arrow that marks the time by shadow. It’s supported by six tortoises.

Troup Square is also the home of the historic Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah (313 E. Harris St., 912/234-0980, www.jinglebellschurch.org [2], Sunday service 11 a.m.). This original home of Savannah’s Unitarians, who sold the church when the Civil War came, was recently re-acquired by the congregation. It is where James L. Pierpont first performed his immortal tune “Jingle Bells.” However, when he did so the church was actually on Oglethorpe Square [3]. The entire building was moved to Troup Square in the mid-1800s.

Just east of Troup Square, near the intersection of Harris and Price Streets, is the Beach Institute (502 E. Harris St., 912/234-8000, www.kingtisdell.org [4], Tues.–Sun. noon–5 p.m., $4). Built as a school by the Freedmen’s Bureau soon after the Civil War, it was named after its prime benefactor, Alfred Beach, editor of Scientific American, and served as an African American school through 1919. Restored by SCAD and given back to the city to serve as a museum, the Beach Institute houses the permanent Ulysses Davis collection and a rotating calendar of art with a connection to black history.