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Thunderbird Inn

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1964, John Knox Stacy; 2004–2005 restoration, Ramsay Sherrill Architects. 611 W. Oglethorpe Ave.

Noteworthy for its eye-catching neon sign, the Thunderbird Inn was one of several motels built in the region in the 1960s by Stanley Fulghum. Its strategic location on Oglethorpe Avenue, just outside of the historic district, conveniently served automobile tourists traveling across the first Talmadge Bridge (completed 1954; see 1.14) on U.S. 17 to or from South Carolina. The two-story, concrete-block structure follows a simple, L-shaped plan with forty-two guest rooms connected by covered walkways opening onto an asphalt parking lot. Yellow, teal, and red panels below the windows of each room and the boldly cantilevered canopy above the office entrance enliven the design.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler
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Data

What's Nearby

Joe Murray Rivers, Jr. Intermodal Transit Center (Greyhound Bus Station)
SCAD Museum of Art (Up-Freight Warehouse, Central of Georgia Railroad)
Kiah Hall, SCAD (Gray Building, Central of Georgia Railroad)
Eichberg Hall, SCAD (Red Building, Central of Georgia Railroad)
Savannah-Ogeechee Canal (Savannah, Ogeechee, and Altamaha Canal)

Citation

Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler, "Thunderbird Inn", [Savannah, Georgia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/GA-02-5.8.

Print Source

Buildings of Savannah, Robin B. Williams. With David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, 96-96.

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