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 chain	Hyatt Regency
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Hotel
Address	2 West Bay Street Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates	32.0816°N 81.0915°W / 32.0816; -81.0915
Completed	1980; 45 years ago (1980)
Technical details
Floor count	6
Design and construction
Developer	Merritt 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
• 
  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
• 
  Habersham and Company, southern façade. The company was in business between 1764 and 1899
• 
  A c. 1863 view