In 1904, the city council made the controversial decision to demolish the venerable City Exchange (1799–1801, Adrien Boucher), whose 1802 bell survives in a reconstructed belfry on Bay Street east of Drayton, to make room for the new city hall as a symbol of modern Savannah. Like its predecessor, City Hall is the linchpin that connects Savannah to its waterfront. In a city of multiple squares with numerous prominent building sites, it enjoys a singular prominence, aligning with Bull Street to the south (though slightly off axis) and directly fronting both Bay Street and the river. The building reflects the planning principles of the City Beautiful movement, and resembles the domed central Administration Building from the highly influential World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, employing the same Beaux-Arts features, including the clear cubic massing, deeply channeled ground floor masonry, deep entrance arches, and conspicuous statuary. The original design for the city hall called for extravagant sculptural quadrigas (chariots drawn by four horses abreast) at the corners, but these were never realized. A gift from local philanthropist Mills B. Lane IV’s Beehive Foundation allowed the original copper dome to be gilded in 1987, and it was regilded in 2008.
The spacious yet surprisingly compact foyer boasts an impressive three-story atrium topped by an artificially lit stained glass dome. Lining the edges of each level are prominent electric, glass globe fixtures symbolizing the modernity of this then-new source of illumination. Beyond the foyer, the stair hall wraps around another modern symbol—the elevator, which originally had an open-cage front (still visible on the sides and rear) allowing a view of its dynamic movement. The council chamber fills the western portion of the second floor and is peculiar in its elongated rectangular proportions. A semicircular railing divides the council area from the surrounding public space. The desks originally paralleled the rail facing the centrally placed mayor, but were moved to face the public when Savannah switched its civic governance to a council—city manager system in 1954.