River Street renaissance: Savannah to spend $60M to upgrade waterfront

SAVANNAH ― Ansley Williams first experienced Savannah’s waterfront on New Year’s Eve, 1974. He remembers pleasant temperatures, a mesmerizing mist rising from the water’s surface and a hippie celebration at River Street‘s then-centerpiece watering hole, O’Leary’s Tavern.

“The street was dirt, and the decor was broken-down docks,” said Williams, who would go on to become River Street‘s most prominent restaurateur. “It went from there to being, for 50 years, the economic driver of this city.”

Some may quibble with Williams’ assessment. Tourism alone hasn’t made Savannah a coastal boomtown. The city’s port, universities, a cluster of large-scale manufacturers and two military installations deserve credit, too. Visitors are also drawn to the colonial-era squares, striking architecture and th