When one thinks of Savannah, they picture cobblestone streets enveloped in draping Spanish moss and lined with Antebellum-era, Georgian-style row houses. What they might not realize is that this compact, historically significant, and undeniably haunted port town is also home to a sprinkling of distinctive Moderne and Midcentury Modern tower blocks, rising amid the Hostess City’s quaint park squares.
One such postwar structure is the six-story First Federal Savings & Loan Association Building—erected by architecture firm Levy and Kiley—along the central commercial drag of Broughton Street. For the past six decades, the landmarked edifice has stood out with its well-maintained gray granite volumes, white concrete frames, and blue mosaic tile walls. When transforming the 36,000-square-foot building into the newly opened, 44-key Municipal Grand Hotel, polyvalent firm AAmp Studio sought to emphasize—even exaggerate—the texturally complex surface materials found within. Working with local practice Ward Architecture + Preservation, the studio achieved this by peeling back existing layers. What they uncovered was not only accentuated, but also served as inspiration for the non-structural changes that followed.
“The challenges in taking a landmarked former bank—and later municipal building—and transforming it into a full-service hotel experience were evident from the start,” says Andrew Ashey, AAmp Studio co-founder. “But rather than be daunted by the task, we saw it as an amazing opportunity for creative design interventions that united historic and new in a very holistic fashion.” What this largely amounted to was the almost surgical introduction of deeply referential yet softening finishes and curvilinear inserts.
As respectful as these additions are, they clearly distinguish themselves from the original elements. The strategy reflects a more holistic, interpretive, and frankly successful form of architectural preservation, in the vein of the widely lauded 19th-century theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. For him, the continuation of a building’s original intent and relevance—achieved through the technological advancements of its time—should supersede superficial facsimile.
AAmp Studio began the building’s careful conversion by easing the threshold between the ground floor and the streetscape. The once uninviting entrance is now freshly illuminated and features an inviting lounge seating area, with new lush planters smoothing the transition. The subsequent double-height lobby now serves as the main hospitality space, complete with an expansive bar and a range of table and sofa arrangements. Original blue tile mosaics wrap the columns in this exuberant interior.
Because of this repeated material language, the firm extended a tropical modernist sensibility across all public areas—a fitting response to the sweltering climate. Nods to Roberto Burle Marx’s proclivity for botanical motifs and Oscar Niemeyer’s organicism appear throughout. This locally rooted haunt is designed to operate at all hours: a family restaurant by day and a bustling watering hole by night. A former bank boardroom now ingeniously serves as a private dining space.
“We hold a deep, and slightly obsessive, reverence for the all-day lobby bar, which is really the foundation of Midnight Auteur,” says Ryan Diggins, partner and CEO at Midnight Auteur. “We love the idea of immersing our team and our guests in a vibrant, celebratory experience that only a hotel lobby bar can appropriately capture.”
Other Municipal Grand venues include the concealed-access Hot Eye cocktail lounge in the basement, clad in a palette of dark terrazzo, deep-stained wood, and shades of red. Sun Club abuts the rooftop pool—lined with an azure zellige tile wall—and frames some of the best views in town.
Available in five tiers, guest rooms take on a far more subdued, sand-toned aesthetic—still aligned with the property’s Midcentury Modern character. Hints of Finnish master Alvar Aalto are hard to miss. Across the offering, bathroom-anchoring vestibules in a rich shade of green lead through millwork thresholds into the main bedrooms. Here, red marble countertops—serving as minibars and desks—play against style-appropriate curved mirrors, undulating banquette seating ideal for remote work, and plush headboards. Highly detailed terrazzo floors tie everything together, while some suites feature private balconies overlooking Broughton Street.
The overall scheme is a deft marriage of site responsiveness—both to the building itself and the surrounding neighborhood—and sophisticated references to international design movements and sub-movements.
What: Municipal Grand
Where: Savannah, Georgia…