Old Candler Hospital, Halloween Bar Crawls & Live Music Venues

Good morning, Savannah!

In today’s newsletter:

• Haunted Old Candler Hospital (appropriate before Halloween, no?) 🎃 

• Halloween Bar Crawls 🎃 🍺 

• Live Music and their venues this weekend 🎷🎹 🎸 

Let’s get to it.

-Jay Paszamant

INBOX INSIDER

Healing, Haunting, and History: The Legacy of Savannah's Old Candler Hospital

If walls could whisper secrets, the Old Candler Hospital in Savannah would have enough tales to fill a library. As one of America's oldest medical institutions, this Georgian sentinel has stood watch over life, death, and everything in between since Thomas Jefferson was president. I once asked a local tour guide why the hospital's facade seemed to lean slightly forward, as if peering down at visitors. She smiled cryptically and replied, "Maybe it's trying to tell us something." Indeed, this architectural grande dame has witnessed more than two centuries of human drama, from the desperate days of Yellow Fever epidemics to the blood-soaked years of the Civil War, when its halls echoed with the groans of both Blue and Gray.

The hospital's transformation from a humble seamen's sanctuary to a major medical center reads like a Southern Gothic novel, complete with an unexpected plot twist involving Coca-Cola. In 1931, Asa Griggs Candler, the soft drink magnate who turned sugary water into liquid gold, endowed the hospital and named it after his brother Warren. But long before the Candler name graced its entrance, the hospital had already earned its stripes battling some of the deadliest Yellow Fever outbreaks in American history. During these epidemics, doctors and nurses worked tirelessly in the sweltering Savannah heat, their cotton clothing drenched with sweat as they fought an invisible enemy that turned the city's streets into ghostly thoroughfares.

Perhaps it's no surprise that a place with such a rich history of human suffering and healing would attract tales of the supernatural. The infamous morgue tunnel, stretching like a macabre umbilical cord to Forsyth Park, still draws paranormal enthusiasts from across the globe. Standing beneath the sprawling Candler Oak, aptly nicknamed the "Hanging Tree," one can't help but feel a shiver despite Georgia's warmth. Even after its 1997 merger with St. Joseph's Hospital moved medical operations elsewhere, the old building refuses to be forgotten. As night falls and shadows lengthen across its weathered brick facade, some swear they can hear the echoes of centuries past - the shuffle of nurses' feet, the murmur of prayers, and perhaps, if you listen closely enough, the whispered stories of those who never quite managed to check out.

LOCAL WEATHER

Today: 🌫️Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, it is sunny, with a high near  82. The wind is calm, reaching east around 6 mph in the afternoon. 🍃 

Tonight - 🌙 Clear, with a low of around 🌡️ 62. Light and variable wind. 🍃 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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LOCAL BUSINESS

WHAT’S HAPPENING

MORE LIVE MUSIC

Friday, October 25th

• Eric Culberson | B&D Burgers Patio | 7-10 pm

• Joe Wilson | Wexford Pub | 5 - 9 pm

• Gabriel Donohue | Wexford Pub | 7 - 10 pm

• Patti & The Mild Mannered Men | Jazz’d Tapas Bar | 7:30 - 11 pm

• Pentagram String Band, WEstern Funeral Company, Raygun and the Future Times | El Rocko | 8 -11:30 pm

• Swamptooth | Service Brewing Co. | 6 - 9 pm

• Elli Perry | Starland Yard | 7 -8:30 pm

• Rob49 & Skilla Baby | Johnny Mercer Theater | 7:30 - 10:30 pm

Saturday, October 26th

• Phil The Neighborhood | Chippewa Square | 1 - 3 pm

• James Stratton | City Market | 12 - 4 pm

• Matt Hill | Wexford Pub | 5 - 9 pm

• Gabriel Donohue | City Market | 7 -10 pm

• Trae Gurley Band | Jazz’d Tapas Bar | 7:30 - 11 pm

• Cockspur Lighthouse Jamboree | Tybee Island | 1 - 5 pm

• Isle of Hope Art & Music Festival | Isle of Hope Marina | 10 am

• Savannah Live | Historic Savannah Theater | 8 - 9:30 pm

• Mark Johnson & Emory Lester | Randy Wood's Pickin' Parlor

• An Evening with Jason & Jaret | Coach’s Corner | 7 pm

Sunday, October 27th

• Phil The Neighborhood | Baldwin Park | 5 - 7pm

• JD Music Duo | Wexford Pub | 5 - 9 pm

• James Stratton | City Market | 12 - 4 pm

• Gabriel Donohue | Wexford Pub | 7 - 10 pm

• Dave Smith | Jazz’d Tapas Bar | 6:30 - 9 pm

• Jimmy Wolling Band | Red Gate Farms | 1 - 6 pm

EXTRA NUGGETS

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