Mayors of Savannah: Herman Myers

Savannah Union Station

Herman Myers was not only our first Jewish mayor but also can be thought of as the builder. Myers took office as Savannah entered the twentieth century and was determined to help Savannah become one of the great cities of the South. He was born in Bavaria in 1847 and when he was a child his family moved to Virginia. He moved with his brothers to Savannah after the Civil War. Here in Savannah they established a successful cigar manufacturing business. What is now the parish house for Christ Church and serves in part as a soup kitchen today was the factory. Myers and his brothers Frederick and Sigmund had branches manufacturing cigars in Richmond, New York, Tampa and Havana. He and his brothers also had a bourbon making business.

Myers was one of the leading businessmen of Savannah becoming the founder and director of the National Bank of Savannah. The National Bank was to build its headquarters on the northwest corner of Abercorn in the early 1900s. In a friendly competition a neighboring businessman, Mr. Blum, heard about Myers’s plans; he decided he would build a taller building, with six stories instead of five. Myers said nothing and built a structure that reached ten stories in height.  The elegant white building was the tallest building in Savannah at the time.

As bank president he constructed Hotel Tybee to accommodate the rising tourists on Tybee Island. It was considered one of the finest resorts in the country. The Hotel Tybee would help to build Savannah’s beach as a tourist destination unto this day. For over seven decades, Hotel Tybee hosted vacations, conventions, social events, and gambling. The establishment was ravaged by fire in 1909 but was resurrected more magnificently than before. It witnessed hurricanes, wars, a riot, murder, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

Myers began his ten year tenure as a Savannah alderman in 1885. In 1895 he became Savannah’s first Jewish mayor. Except for a two year period, he served in this position from 1895 through 1907. He was determined to lead Savannah to be one of the great cities in the world. One contemporary account notes that: “His administration has been marked by the greatest public improvements in the history of Savannah….” In nine years as mayor he would lead in the building of the stately Union Station for rail to receive passengers visiting the city.

He would also oversee the start of the public library system first housed in Hodgson Hall of the Georgia Historical Society. In 1903 the library opened at Hodgson Hall and the city appropriated $3,000.00 annually for the library. He was also responsible for the building of City Hall. It was the first building constructed by the citizens of Savannah expressly and exclusively to serve as the seat of municipal government. But it was not just a building.

It opened on January 2, 1906, and has served continuously in this role since that date. It is a Renaissance Revival structure of granite and limestone exterior. The original copper dome was first gold leafed in 1987. The money for the building came out of the city’s regular funds. Myers said of the building  “… it has indicated to the world Savannah’s spirit of determination to advance at least in keeping with the progress of its sister cities, if not to excel them in many ways.” This view was repeated by several newspapers of its day.

The last while not a building showed Myers love of Savannah. The Myers Fountain was donated to the city by Herman Myers and was originally in Forsyth Park. It was originally built to act as a fountain and sprinkler for the visitors to Forsyth Park. It was damaged and went to storage. It was moved to Troup Square but parts of the fountain had disappeared so the city commissioned blacksmith Ivan Bailey to redesign and re-function the fountain It was converted to a dog fountain. Bailey also placed his signature touch of sunflowers on the side. Today it is used for the annual interfaith Blessing of the Pets, held the Feast of St Francis on October 4.

Myers died on March 24, 1909. The newspaper reported “On the same day, City Council adopted a special resolution on his death calling for the flag to be lowered to half staff, City Hall to be draped in mourning, the City offices to be closed during the funeral, and Myers' body return to City Hall one final time.[where is the end of the previous quote] On March 25, 1909, Myers' casket was placed in the Council Chamber, surrounded by beautiful flowers, with police sentinels to guard as citizens and friends paid their respect in a steady stream until the doors were closed at 9 o'clock in the evening. "Thousands of persons from every walk in life and all ages went to the City Hall to get a last look at the man who in life did so much for Savannah." Visitors were again permitted on the 26th, until the remains of the popular mayor were removed from City Hall around 1 o'clock in the afternoon and escorted to Temple Mickve Israel for the funeral, followed by burial at Bonaventure Cemetery.” ”In the eulogy delivered by Rabbi George Solomon he used the City Hall building to highlight Myers' character and ensured that this beautiful building would forever be a memorial to the man who had worked so hard to have it built: At the foot of our most beautiful thoroughfare, and in the very heart of our most important business center, the massive masonry of its granite walls typifying the solidity of his achievements, the enduring strength of his incorruptible integrity—the chaste elegance of its graceful symmetry and the seductive loneliness of its alluring approaches, symbolic of the genial sunniness which drew men irresistibly to him, stands our City Hall, monument at once of the winning fascination and lasting charm, not only of our city, but of Herman Myers as well." Herman Myers' Funeral To-Day." Savannah Morning News (26 March 1909) 12:1."Herman Myers Laid to Rest." Savannah Morning News (27 March 1909) 12:4."Herman Myers Passes Away." Savannah Morning News (25 March 1909) 12:2.”

​Ivan Bailey left his sunflower mark on the side of the Myers Fountain and Myers left his progressive mark on Savannah.

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Tybee Island Hotel                                                                                      National Bank of Savannah