Savannah's Daffin Park and Parkside Place

Daffin Park is an 80-acre gem of an oasis in midtown Savannah, Georgia.

Designed in 1907 by noted landscape architect John Nolen, the park features a grassy mall covered by a canopy of moss-covered oak trees, a lake, a walking trail, a swimming pool, tennis courts, playgrounds, and athletic fields. The park's anchor is Grayson Stadium, which was built in the early 1940s and is one of the best existing examples of a pre-World War II stadium. Adjacent to Daffin Park is Parkside Place, a 20-block neighborhood made up of homes built in the early 20th century. Sprinkled throughout Parkside, as it is commonly known, are Craftsman-style bungalows, Colonial Revival houses, cottages, and apartments. In 1999, Daffin Park-Parkside Place was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Award-winning journalist Polly Powers Stramm grew up a short bicycle ride from Daffin Park and Parkside Place. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and is a veteran newspaper reporter, freelance writer, and stringer for People magazine. She pens her popular column Polly's People for the Savannah Morning News and is the author and coauthor of 10 books.