SAVANNAH, Ga. () – Two local rotary clubs are coming together to breathe new life into Savannah’s Forsyth Park while honoring a legendary Savannahian in the process.

With the city in the midst of tearing down a failing playground, the Rotary Club of Savannah and the Metropolitan Savannah Rotary Club have been raising money to create something beautiful in its place.

Thursday marked the unveiling of the clubs’ plans for the new area. They plan to call it the Herb Traub Gathering Space to honor the memory of a man who lived to make Savannah beautiful.

“There will be four quadrants in that space, and there will be picnic spaces, seating, tables, chairs for people to sit and have a picnic in each of the different quadrants,” Chair of the legacy project at the Metropolitan Savannah Rotary Club, Jordan Chase, said. “Right in the center will be a big community table. This is going to be a big, community table. They’ll be some etchings around the side of it that will help to honor Herb Traub.”

Traub’s friends said he never sought the spotlight but is more than deserving of recognition.

“Two of the driving passions in his life were community and hospitality, and he was so committed to improving Savannah,” Traub’s long-time friend Phillip Soloman said.
The two clubs presented a video about Traub’s life at Thursday’s event, and in an old clip, Traub said, “If I was able to do anything to improve my hometown, that gave me extreme pleasure.”

Before he passed, Traub brought lights to several of Savannah’s monuments. Through his rotary involvement, he also spearheaded the projects to create the fountain in Daffin Park and the clock tower in City Market.

Known for his entrepreneurship as well, Traub ran the Pirate’s House restaurant, a spot that’s still serving customers today.

Still, the plans for Forsyth Park are pending city approval.

“They’re showing us some renderings of what it may look like and some sketches,” Savannah’s District Two Alderman Detric Legget, said. “It’s beautiful. So, they wanted to show it to us first and then we’re going to go out into the community and show the community and get some feedback as to how we’re going to do it. We’re going to make some things move, but we want to make sure everybody understands this is not the Forsyth Park Master Plan.”

Although the rotary clubs have put together a plan for the space, the Forsyth Park Master Plan and the city’s plans for recreation will all have to be considered.

Then, Savannah City Council will vote on the final design.