The Birth of City Hall, 1903-1906, Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906-2006
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The Birth of City Hall 1903-1906 Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906-2006 City of Savannah Research Library & Municipal Archives The Birth of City Hall 1903-1906 Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906-2006 City of Savannah, Research Library & Municipal Archives Savannah, Georgia January 2006 ii On the cover: Architect Hyman W. Witcover’s original watercolor rendering of City Hall, 1903. City of Savannah, Clerk of Council’s Office, Savannah, Georgia. Used with permission. City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives City Hall, Room 103 Bay Street at Bull Street P. O. Box 1027 Savannah, Georgia 31402 Telephone 912-651-6412 Fax 912-233-1992 www.savannahga.gov The Birth of City Hall, 1903-1906, Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906-2006. Prepared by Luciana M. Spracher, Archivist City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives January 2006 © Copyright 2006 by the City of Savannah, Georgia. All rights reserved. iii City of Savannah Officials Dr. Otis S. Johnson, Mayor Edna B. Jackson, Mayor Pro Tem ALDERMEN Ellis P. Cook Jeff Felser Van R. Johnson, II Clifton Jones, Jr. The flag of the City of Savannah was designed by Cornelia Sams Mary Osborne Maclean (later Mrs. Willis Wilder) and adopted by City Council on January 18, 1905 as the City’s official banner. The design includes Kenneth Sadler a field of white bordered by blue and red, with the City’s Coat of Tony Thomas Arms in the center surrounded by thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies. As used in the flag, white denotes purity, red represents courage, zeal and fervency, and blue signifies loyalty, devotion, justice and truth. Michael B. Brown, City Manager Christopher P. Morrill, Bureau Chief, Management & Financial Services Glenda E. A. Anderson, Director Luciana M. Spracher, Archivist Research Library & Municipal Archives iv v Table of Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 The Birth of City Hall: 1903 3 1904 19 1905 67 1906 165 Special Articles: Savannah City Exchange 183 Mayor Herman Myers & the Building Committee 187 Architect Hyman Wallace Witcover 195 Sculptor Fernando Miranda y Cassellas 197 Louisiana Purchase Exposition 201 City Hall Architectural Drawings On-line 203 General Sources 207 Index 209 vi vii Acknowledgements The City of Savannah would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for generously sharing their time and historical collections for City Hall’s Centennial: Frederick Baldwin Dr. Roy Blackburn, III Bull Street Main Library of the Live Oak Public Libraries Darlington County, South Carolina Historical Commission Georgia Historical Society Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace James Keating Massie Heritage Interpretation Center Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum George Rody and Rody’s Music Enterprises, Inc. Savannah College of Art & Design Savannah Jewish Archives at the Georgia Historical Society Savannah Morning News Telfair Museum of Art V. & J. Duncan Antique Maps & Prints Irvin J. Warshaw Doug Weathers WTOC TV Andy Young The Research Library and Municipal Archives would also like to thank the following City of Savannah departments: Buildings and Grounds Department of the Leisure Services Bureau Department of Cultural Affairs of the Leisure Services Bureau Office of the Clerk of Council Public Information Office Tourism and Film Services Office viii Introduction Constructed between 1903 and 1906, Savannah’s City Hall stands as a monument to the progressive spirit of the City of Savannah during the early 1900s when the municipal government strived to achieve “A Greater Savannah.” The City desired a larger home to reflect the community’s prosperity and to give the growing government adequate facilities with “a building for a century to come.” In the century since then, City Hall has served the local government and the community faithfully, and stands as a symbol of the City’s progress and history.* Relying on local newspaper accounts, architectural drawings, contracts and government records, the following series of articles tracing the planning and construction of City Hall, from January 1903 through its opening in January 1906, has been prepared in an effort to document City Hall’s history in preparation for its 2006 centennial anniversary, as well as to serve as a future research tool. Each article represents a specific day in the planning and construction of City Hall and relates the issues and work of that point in the project. Additional articles on special subjects related to the construction of City Hall, including a brief biography of the architect and a brief history of the City Exchange building that preceded City Hall, follow the date specific articles. All information of pertinence found in the research process was included. However, there may be additional events and persons that were not clearly documented and have slipped through the cracks of history. Therefore, this should not be considered “everything” relating to the construction of City Hall. Each article has been designed to stand alone and includes date, title, narrative, supporting visual materials (if available and/or known), and supporting sources (in a smaller font size). A comprehensive bibliography of this series has not been prepared, since each article is fully cited within the body of the document. A listing of general sources, not specifically cited within the articles, has been supplied. At the end of the volume, a subject and proper name index is available. Instead of citing page numbers, the index directs the reader to a specific article by date or title. *For more information on the history of Savannah’s City Hall see A Century of History, Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906-2006 (Savannah, Georgia: City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives, 2006). 1 2 Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906 ~ 2006 City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives The Birth of City Hall 1903 A New City Hall February 18, 1903 On February 18, 1903, Savannah’s City Council was presented with a report of the special committee appointed to determine the advisability of erecting a new city hall (see page 4 for text of report). The committee confirmed what many already believed, that the government’s current home in the old City Exchange building on Bay Street was terribly inadequate and money spent on its repair wasted (for a brief history of the City Exchange see special article “Savannah City Exchange”). That the government needed a new home was not really in question; rather, where that new home would be built was up for debate. The committee proposed erecting a new city hall on the site where the City Exchange stood, reasoning that not only would the Exchange site continue to be the financial, political and commercial heart of Savannah, but the City could save money by using land it already owned. The proposal was met with approval by the Council members and adopted. The special committee was enlarged to five members, including Mayor Herman Myers and Aldermen Daniel R. Thomas, Richard J. Davant, James M. Dixon and W. J. Watson (for brief biographies of the Mayor and Building Committee members see special article “Mayor Herman Myers & the Building Committee”). Five-hundred dollars ($500) was appropriated for them to use towards securing plans, specifications and estimates for a new modern building to represent the growing City. City Exchange, Bull and Bay streets, Savannah, Georgia, c.1904. The Old and the New, Sketch of the Old City Exchange (1799-1904), and the New City Hall, Savannah, Georgia. Savannah: Savannah City Council, 1905. City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives, Savannah, Georgia. Used with permission. 3 4 Savannah City Hall Centennial, 1906 ~ 2006 During the same session, Council was presented with a proposition from Thomas H. Gignilliat, of Gignilliat & Smith, architects, to draw plans for a new city hall. The proposal, read and received as information by Council, indicates that there was already much excitement and talk in Savannah regarding the proposed building. Report of Special Committee on Site for New City Hall: The special committee appointed to take into consideration the advisability of erecting a new city hall, beg to report after a thorough investigation of the situation and the most careful consideration of the city’s finances, that in its opinion a new municipal building is urgently needed and steps should at once be taken looking to the erection of a modern and adequate building as soon as possible. At present the city departments have not the proper room in which to carry on their work, and their operations and usefulness are hampered as a result. It is impossible by the expenditure of any reasonable sum to make the present City Exchange suitable for the purposes of the city government. Money expended upon it is largely wasted. Provisions should be made for a building in which there will be ample quarters for all of the departments, in which the committees of Council will have meeting rooms, in which suitable chambers will be provided for the Mayor, and in which a large room will be had for meetings of Council and for public gatherings. Your committee after studying the situation closely feels satisfied that the site of the present Exchange is in every way suitable for a new hall. It is easily accessible from all parts of the city and will remain the center of business interests. Being the property of the city its use for this purpose will save the city in the neighborhood of $100,000, or almost enough to erect a fine building. We would accordingly recommend that Council decide upon the erection of a new city hall on the site of the present Exchange; that an appropriation of $500 be made and this committee, or another committee especially appointed for the purpose, be authorized to extend all or part of the same in securing plans, specifications and estimates for a building which will provide ample room for the needs of the municipality for many years to come.