The hotel was originally a bank and then a City of Savannah office building before its glorious restoration.
Written by Mary Fitzgerald
Midcentury modern is not the most widely recognized architectural style in Savannah, but it is a significant one, marking a pivotal chapter of change during the 1950s and ’60s. If you look around, you will see examples of this modernist movement throughout the city, realized in both commercial buildings and residential homes. Defined by clean lines, a minimalist sensibility, and the raw materiality of wood, stone, metal, and glass, this architectural style exemplifies modernism’s focus on form and function.
Endangered Spaces
During the post-World War II era of economic rebuilding, many of Savannah’s vacant and dilapidated buildings were leveled and replaced with modern structures. While some remarkable properties were lost — including the original Victorian-style DeSoto Hotel, which was demolished in 1966 and rebuilt in the midcentury modern style in 1968 — this period ultimately helped ignite Savannah’s preservation movement…