Where Is the Forrest Gump Bench in Savannah? (And What’s There Now)

Where Is the Forrest Gump Bench in Savannah? (And What’s There Now)

It’s the question our guides hear more than any other. People walk into Chippewa Square, look around at the benches, and can’t work out which one Forrest sat on.

The short answer: none of them. The Forrest Gump bench in Savannah was never a real bench in the square. It was a movie prop, it was removed after filming, and today it’s indoors at the Savannah History Museum, about a ten-minute walk away. The spot where it stood is still there, though, and it’s easy to find if you know where to look.

Quick answer: The Forrest Gump bench scenes were filmed on the north side of Chippewa Square, at Bull and Hull streets in Savannah’s Historic District. The bench was a fiberglass prop and was removed after filming. One of the prop benches is now on display inside the Savannah History Museum at 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Where the bench scene was filmed: Chippewa Square

The famous bus stop scenes in Forrest Gump, where Tom Hanks tells his life story to a series of strangers waiting for the bus, were filmed in Chippewa Square. The production set up the bench on the north side of the square, where Bull Street meets Hull Street, facing the street as if at a bus stop.

The film was shot in 1993 and released in 1994. It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and made Chippewa Square one of the most visited spots in Savannah.

How to find the exact spot

Stand at the northern edge of Chippewa Square, on the Bull Street side near the corner with Hull Street. Independent Presbyterian Church and First Baptist Church, both of which appear in the background of the bench scenes, are right there, and they’re the easiest way to line up the shot.

There’s no plaque and no bench, so people often walk straight past. For the photo, stand on the north side and get one of the churches in the frame. Your guide on our tour will show you the exact spot.

Why isn’t the Forrest Gump bench in Chippewa Square anymore?

A few reasons come up whenever someone asks:

• It was never a real bench. There was never a bus stop in Chippewa Square. The production built the bench and a raised brick-and-concrete base for the scene, and both came out after filming.
• It was a prop. The bench was made of fiberglass with wood slats, built to look right on camera rather than to survive years of weather and visitors.
• The location isn’t ideal for crowds. The spot sits right at the edge of traffic on Bull Street, one of the busiest walking routes in the Historic District. The city has never put a replica back in the square, and a permanent photo stop there would put a lot of people very close to cars.

Where is the Forrest Gump bench now?

The bench is on display inside the Savannah History Museum, at 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, on the western edge of the Historic District. Two prop benches were built for the film. Paramount donated one to the city after filming; the other went back to the studio in Los Angeles. Savannah’s bench was first displayed at the Telfair Museum before moving to the History Museum.

It’s shown as a museum artifact, so plan on a photo beside it rather than sitting on it.

Visiting the Savannah History Museum

	Details
Address	303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Savannah, GA 31401
Hours	Daily, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Closed	Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
Admission	$12 adults, $8 children ages 3 to 12
Phone	912-651-6825
Parking	The Visitor Center lot next door, or the Liberty Street Garage a block away

Prices and hours are from the Coastal Heritage Society, which runs the museum. Check their site before you go.

The museum is worth the ticket even without Forrest. It’s housed in the old Central of Georgia Railway passenger station and covers Savannah’s history from its founding in 1733, with a steam locomotive, Revolutionary War artifacts from the 1779 Siege of Savannah and an exhibit on the city’s jazz history. The site of that 1779 battle is right next door at Battlefield Memorial Park. The Savannah Visitor Center is next door in the same railway complex, so it’s a useful first stop in any case.

How to get there from Chippewa Square

The walk is about ten minutes. Head west from Chippewa Square for about four blocks to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The museum is in the old brick railway station on the west side of the street, next to the Savannah Visitor Center.

What’s in Chippewa Square now

Even without the bench, Chippewa Square is one of the best squares in Savannah to spend ten minutes in.

• The James Oglethorpe statue. The bronze monument to Georgia’s founder was sculpted by Daniel Chester French, who also made the seated Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, and unveiled in 1910. Oglethorpe faces south with his sword drawn, a pose locals often say is aimed at Spanish Florida.
• The Savannah Theatre. At 222 Bull Street, on a site that has been used as a theater since 1818. It still puts on live shows most weeks.
• First Baptist Church. At 223 Bull Street, built in 1833, and one of the backdrops in the film.
• The square itself. Chippewa was laid out in 1815 and named for the Battle of Chippawa in the War of 1812. Its live oaks and benches (real ones) make it a good place to sit.

Other Forrest Gump filming locations near Savannah

The bench scenes are the ones everyone remembers, and the film’s opening shot follows the famous feather as it drifts down over Savannah to Forrest’s feet. A few other short scenes were shot around the Historic District, but much of the rest of the film was shot in South Carolina’s Lowcountry around Beaufort, about 45 miles northeast of Savannah, where many of the Greenbow, Alabama scenes and the Vietnam War sequences on the nearby islands were filmed. If you’re driving between Savannah and Charleston, Beaufort is an easy detour. Our guide to a day trip to Savannah covers that route.

See Chippewa Square on a tour

Chippewa Square is the first landmark on our Savannah Historic District Open-Air Cruiser Tour. Your guide will show you exactly where the crew placed the bench, tell the story of the filming and point out the details in the square that most visitors miss. The 75-minute loop then continues to Forsyth Park, Monterey Square, the Cathedral Basilica, Factors Walk, River Street and City Market.

It’s $25 per person, departs seven days a week from 405 E Gaston St, and tour guests can park free at the meeting point during the tour.

Make a Forrest Gump morning of it

1. Take the 10:00 AM open-air tour and see Chippewa Square with the story behind it.
2. Walk back to Chippewa Square for your photo from the north side.
3. Grab a coffee at one of the cafés on the square.
4. Walk ten minutes west to the Savannah History Museum to see the bench itself.
5. Have lunch at City Market, a few blocks north.

For a full day built around the Historic District, see our one-day Savannah itinerary, or our weekend itinerary if you’re staying longer. And if you’re watching the budget, the square is one of our 25 free things to do in Savannah.