The Savannah neighborhood of Kensington Park recently earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of America's historic treasures.
Featuring single-story ranch houses with carports and green lawns spread out along streets that wind in confusing arcs, Kensington Park seems a world removed from the oak-shaded squares of downtown Savannah and its mansions and row houses built between the Colonial period and the Civil War.
The Savannah most outsiders and tourists know is a full two centuries older than Kensington Park. But the younger neighborhood's nearly 400 homes still pack a certain time-warp factor, having changed little in the decades since young professionals began seeking out places to raise families away from the core city.
Why the historic designation? In part because their streetscapes and architecture are such a radical departure from Savannah's older communities. The uniform lot sizes and strict north-south, east-west grid pattern that Savannah's streets had followed since its founding were shattered by Kensington Park, where homes were set back from the street to make room for larger front yards, sidewalks were eliminated and streets curved along U-shaped paths and ended in cul-de-sacs.
Here are a few views of Savannah’s newest historic district:
For more information, go to the Kensington Park Comunity Association website.
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