Forrest Gump sit-by-me statue - Port Wentworth, Georgia
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N 32° 13.011 W 081° 10.479
17S E 483542 N 3564484
The 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic was [hopefully] beginning to wane on the day I passed through Georgia and stopped at the Welcome Center in Port Wentworth. Who was there to greet visitors? None other than Forrest Gump.
Waymark Code: WM148YZ
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2021
Views: 3
The 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic was [hopefully] beginning to wane on the mid-April day I passed through Georgia and stopped at the Welcome Center in Port Wentworth. Who was there to greet visitors? None other than Forrest Gump himself. Well, his statue on a replica of the famous bus stop movie scene bench. It was installed as part of the facility's 2015-2017
renovations.
To quote the Roadside America website - "Covid is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." We were both masked up for health and safety as we sat to chat!
Chippewa Square
Savannah is known for its tree-lined squares, which break up the grid that the city is set upon. Each has a different name and focal point, but Chippewa Square is one of the most well-known. Located at the intersections of Bull and McDonough streets, the square was designed in 1815 and commemorates a battle in the War of 1812. A statue of General Oglethorpe sits in the middle, but it’s the ["Forrest Gump"] film history that brings visitors. Forrest’s iconic bench scene took place here, but the bench is now housed in the Savannah History Museum. A fun fact is that traffic on the square had to be reversed for the bus to pick up Forrest on the iconic bench.
Source: Explore Georgia
The welcome center is located on I-95 South two miles south of the South Carolina state line at Mile Marker 111. The center is open 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM daily for information services. Restrooms are open daily 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM. The facility is closed for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.