Hyatt Regency Savannah

Hyatt Regency Savannah is a high-rise hotel in Savannah, Georgia. Built in 1980,[1] it stands adjacent to Savannah City Hall at Bay Street's downtown midsection.

Hyatt Regency Savannah
The building's lobby in 2011
Hotel chainHyatt Regency
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHotel
Address2 West Bay Street
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates32.0816°N 81.0915°W / 32.0816; -81.0915
Completed1980 (1980)
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
DeveloperMerritt Dixon
Website
Official website

Originally envisioned as a 14-story structure in Savannah's Historic District, a long battle with the Historic Savannah Foundation concluded with a compromise being reached of its being limited to six storeys. Another source of controversy is that it bridged River Street, physically dividing the waterfront in two,[1] although the air rights were actually a remnant of the preceding structure, the Wilcox and Gibbs Guano Company.[2] A tunnel allows pedestrian and vehicle access along the street.

Facilities

The hotel has a swimming pool, a fitness center and a lounge.[3]

The hotel is to the right of City Hall in this view south over the Savannah River

Waterfront location
  • The rear of the hotel spanning River Street, with the Savannah River Queen in the foreground
    The rear of the hotel spanning River Street, with the Savannah River Queen in the foreground
  • Looking east
    Looking east

Previous structures

Long before the site became occupied by the hotel, two ranges of buildings — Bolton Range and Habersham & Harris Range — stood on the lot, part of Commerce Row.[4] These buildings were replaced by the Neal Blun Building, which stood between 1889 and 1969, and (to the west) the M. Ferst and Company grocery store.[5] The Ferst building was completed in September 1888, but Moses Ferst, a native of Bavaria, died eleven months later, aged 60.[6]

  • Bolton Range, circa 1880s, looking northwest
    Bolton Range, circa 1880s, looking northwest
  • Habersham and Company, southern façade. The company was in business between 1764 and 1899
    Habersham and Company, southern façade. The company was in business between 1764 and 1899
  • A c. 1863 view
    A c. 1863 view

References
  1. "Editor's Note: A developer’s vision – and a building controversy" – Connect Savannah
  2. Savannah Morning News, July 14, 1889
  3. Explore Our Hotel – Hyatt Regency Savannah
  4. Lost Savannah: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society, Luciana M. Spracher (2003), p. 93
  5. Lost Savannah: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society, Luciana M. Spracher (2003), p. 94
  6. Savannah Morning News, August 15, 1889
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