Local Life and Lore in Savannah

By Amy Flurry, FrontDoor.com | Published: 2/25/2009

Although Savannah has many coastal locations, locals refer solely to Tybee Island as the beach. Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Book
That's what locals call John Berendt's 1994 mega best-seller, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The book doubled the tourism business in Savannah and was made into a 1997 film starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey.

The Beach
This is the name given to Tybee Island, the barrier island east of town, on the Atlantic Ocean, that's home to a funky residential area.

The School
It seems unlikely that a small private college that opened in 1979 with only four staff members, seven faculty and 71 students could be responsible for reviving Savannah's downtown. But according to locals, the Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) impact on the city can't be overstated. SCAD got its start in the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory on Madison Square, a Romanesque-style structure built in 1892. The art school has since grown, restoring more than 60 structures downtown for use as classrooms, dorms and studios, including a former multilevel elementary school, two theaters and a secondary power station for use as college facilities. Walk in any direction from the original location, and you will run into one of the college's facilities. Today SCAD is one of the largest art schools in the country, with satellite campuses in Atlanta, Lacoste, France, and, in 2010, Hong Kong.

SCADdies
Nickname for the art-school students from the Savannah College of Art and Design, many sporting experimental hairstyles and clothing. Where you're likely to spot them: downtown cafes or stocking the shelves at the Marc by Marc Jacobs boutique on Broughton.

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