Hotel DeSoto -- DeSoto Hotel and Jasper Monument, Savannah, Ga.

E. C. Kropp Co. Milwaukee

1913-1930

Savannah (Ga.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.

Historic buildings -- Georgia -- Savannah -- Pictorial works.

Hotels -- Georgia -- Savannah.

Preston, William Gibbons, 1842-1910.

Architecture -- Georgia -- Savannah.

Monuments -- Georgia -- Savannah.

Color postcard of the Hotel DeSoto and the Jasper monument with white border, divided back, and postally unused. The Jasper Monument, located in Madison Square, was erected in 1888. It is a fifteen and one half feet high heroic scale bronze statue of Sgt. William Jasper, with sword in hand, raising the flag. It sits on a granite stepped pedestal with four bas relief bronze plaques and is surrounded by benches. The monument is in memory of Sergeant William Jasper of the Second South Carolina Regiment, who was killed at the Siege of Savannah on 9 October 1779.

In the 1880’s, Savannah was an important stop in Florida’s burgeoning tourist trade. A railroad to Tybee Island was opened in 1887 with the idea of promoting the beach and Tybee as a resort area. Rail and steamship lines were well in place between Savannah and points north and south. It was hoped that Savannah would become a destination rather than a stopover. A major luxury hotel was the element missing that would draw people to stay in the city. Construction on the Hotel DeSoto began in 1888. It was a Richardsonian Romanesque style building designed by Boston architect William Gibbons Preston. The hotel building took up an entire city block and was constructed of terra cotta, brick, and shingle. Part of the hotel was five stories and the rest was six stories. It had 206 rooms and also housed solariums, a barbershop, drug store, lunchrooms, coffee shops, and a restaurant. There were separate entrances for ladies and gentlemen and large piazzas with rocking chairs. The many brochures in the collection boast of a swimming pool, 18 hole miniature golf course and proximity to tourist attractions, hunting, and fishing.

The publisher of the postcard was E. C. Kropp, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They published chromolithographic cards and, later, linen cards with a fine grain, between 1907 through 1956.

981 appears under the address side on the back of the card.

Scholars wishing to cite this item should include item title, Savannah Postcard Collection, MS 016, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the item's url.

Image

Postcard

3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches

Color lithograph

MS 016 Savannah Postcard Collection, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Though this item is believed to be in the Public Domain, copyright may have been retained by the authors or creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.