Downtown power outage disrupts tourism

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An underground fire ground downtown business to a halt.

By Tim Guidera - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - For visitors, it started out like any other day in downtown Savannah.

"I want to go to Paula Deen's,'' Christie Lea, a tourist from Strafford, Mississippi said Monday morning. "Maybe I'll get in, maybe I won't.''

But even before breakfast, those and many other lunch plans were turned upside down by an underground fire that ground downtown business to a halt and presented an unexpected challenge to those trying to enjoy the Historic District.

"We came in last night so everything was closed because it was Sunday,'' said Elizabeth Zuraw, a schoolteacher visiting the city from Lancaster, Pennsylvania during her Christmas break. "Then we got up this morning excited to go out and explore and everything is closed again.''

"We thought we'd go down to River Street,'' added Norwin Voegeli, who traveled to the city from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida with his family. "But everything's blocked off now and probably later on.''

The timing was worse for some than others.

"I'm only here until tomorrow, actually,'' said Lea. "So I guess I won't get to see Paula Deen's, huh?''

But the power outage downtown didn't completely disrupt trips to the city.

With River Street and most of Bay Street shut down for hours and several stores closed for the day, tourists were going to have to alter their plans. But that gave some an opportunity to see Savannah, which is what a lot of people come here for anyway.

"We'll explore the squares,'' said Zuraw, who lived in Savannah in the early 1990s, but hasn't been back in about 10 years. "I'll learn some of the history, take in some of the tours and just re-acquaint myself with the area.''

"It's a beautiful city,'' added Voegeli. "We really like it. We've seen a lot of the city.''

Monday just became a day to see it from the outside.