This neon sign, lit up along West Oglethorpe Avenue at night, may be the coolest thing about the Thunderbird Inn, but the whole place has an amazing retro vibe, harking back to the days of roadside motels. As American automobile ownership began to increase in the 1930s, quaint motor courts with numerous tiny cottages began to fill the need for travelers. By the end of World War II, motels began to replace them, because they were less expensive to build and maintain, and because tourists demanded more convenience. Motor hotels, or motels, popped up on busy state and national highways all across the country. The Thunderbird Inn opened on the Coastal Highway (US 17) in 1964 and quickly became a popular Savannah destination. The Jackson Five even stayed here on their rise to fame. Savannah has changed a lot since then, but the Thunderbird Inn has stayed true to its origins, thanks to restoration and updates over the past 20 years. I’ve stayed several times, and it’s one of my favorite locations.
Savannah Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
That toll booth did have an attendant who would make change if drivers did not have any; but I well remember the fun of dropping our dime in the external basket that allowed a vehicle to pass through basically without stopping! For a 10-year old kid, that was exciting — tossing your dime in the basket and watching the lift arm go up!
More bridge history: The replacement bridge was to be paid for, 60/40%, by the feds and the state. Politicians on both sides argued for so long on the 5 split, the state legislature eventually allocated $40M, and told the feds to “put up or shut up.” More dilly-dallying, on Congress’ part; and then one day a troop carrier ship (as I remember it; I could be wrong on this small point) went underneath the old bridge with a boom still extended upward, because some numbskull forgot to lower it back to the deck when they finished using it.
That extended boom arm then ripped some of the steel under-girding of the bridge, causing immediate instability to the span as a whole! People freaked out, the DOT closed the bridge for safety reasons, and Congress suddenly realized the importance of that bridge! It was then deemed a “National Security Emergency” because the Savannah Port was the point of departure for troops from Hunter & Fort Stewart who comprised the “Rapid Deployment Force,” and needed to debark on a moment’s notice to wherever across the globe an emergency required their presence.
All-of-a-sudden Congress got their act in gear and appropriated the agreed-upon 60% match to the state’s 40%, and that’s how the “new” bridge got built.
While the old bridge was removed, and the new bridge got built, motorists had to detour through the old US 17-A route through Hardeeville SC and West Chatham County. A major inconvenience; but well worth it in the long run.
Hi Mom,
This one came in today and is one my favorites.
Jeff
My apologies Brian – thought I was emailing this to my mom because she loves your photos so much. So sorry.
Jeff Barnes
This motel was built at the bottom of the off-ramp to the original Talmadge Memorial Bridge, a narrow two-lane steel bridge over the Savannah River into South Carolina. When that bridge was built, late 1940’s or early 1950’s, it was a toll bridge, and the toll was a dime. The original bond used to build the bridge was to be retired from tolls collected over 20 years, but I believe the bond was paid off in 17 years because the toll revenue turned out to be greater than anticipated. So motorists enjoyed several years of not having t stop at the toll booth and throw in your dime.
I well remember going over that original bridge with my parents, in the early 1960’s, to spend a day at the beach on nearby Hilton Head Island, once it was connected to the mainland by bridge. Hilton Head at that time was much less developed than it is now, and lots could be had on Folly Field (or North Forest Beach) for a few thousand dollars. My parents bought one of those lots, so we had access to the beach there. It wasn’t that much further from our home in mid-town Savannah to Tybee Island, and was much less crowded — plus there were no parking meters to have to feed! Sea Pines was just starting to take off on the south end of HHI.
This was all before I-95 was built, so U.S. 17 was one of the major highways connecting coastal GA with both FL and SC/NC/VA and points north, thus well-traveled. The Thunderbird Motel was one of a group of them at the foot of the Talmadge Bridge. A Howard Johnson’s was another of them. Today only the Thunderbird exists as a motel; the others have all been converted into dorms for the Savannah College of Art and Design.
The original steel bridge was later removed and I believe taken offshore and dumped to form an artificial reef. Some of the old concrete support pillars were left in place because it was too much trouble to remove them. Some 25 years ago, the “new” Talmadge Bridge was built to replace it, at a much taller (185′) height, to allow for larger ships to get to the GA Ports terminal upriver. It is a beautiful cable-stayed four-lane span with four-lane tie-ins on the GA side to I-16. Unfortunately, at the time it was built, South Carolina did not have the funds to match their off-ramp with four lanes, so it narrows back down to two lanes on the northern side. SC is now working to widen US 17 to four lanes from the bridge to Hardeeville, so 15 or so miles north. I-95 to the west has a similar narrowing, for the same reason.
Now the GA Ports Authority wants to raise or replace this relatively new span with one that is even higher, to accommodate even larger ships. It remains to be seen how that will play out.
Thank you for the wonderful history.