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HOSPITALITY SERVED HERE SINCE 1889
Originally built more than 122 years ago in 1889 the legendary Hotel Tybee once stood at the same location that the Ocean Plaza Beach Resort occupies today. That hotel was acclaimed as the “Finest resort between Atlantic City and Miami on the Atlantic Coast.” In its day the Hotel Tybee set the standard for resorts in the United States and featured a lavishly appointed dining room, a saloon, a dancing and group meeting pavilion, elevators, and an electricity generation plant to provide electric lighting to every room. It even had its own artesian waterworks which provided fresh water throughout the property. That hotel survived hurricanes, world wars, and the Great Depression. It was the center of activity during Tybee Island’s Golden Age in the roaring 1920s. The original Hotel Tybee, built featuring a coastal Victorian architecture, burned down in 1909. The second rendition of Hotel Tybee, built in a majestic Mediterranean Revival architecture opened on the same site in 1911. It was demolished by its previous owner in 1960.
While staying at the Ocean Plaza, you can discover Tybee Island's rich history. By visiting local museums, monuments and historic sites, you will learn how Tybee Island was first discovered in 1520 by Francisco Fordillo, a Spanish explorer. You can learn why Spain fought a bloody war with France over sassafras plants; why historians believe that Tybee Island is really the place where Blackbeard the Pirate buried his treasure; how a decisive Civil War battle between Confederate and Union forces was fought at nearby Fort Pulaski; how Fort Screven, located on the north end of the island, was a training camp for thousands of American soldiers during World Wars I and II, and how that fort witnessed the tragedies of war when Nazi submarines sank ships as they left the Savannah harbor during World War II. One interesting historical fact is that since Tybee Island's discovery in 1520, seven different flags have flown over Tybee Island. These flags were those of the Spanish, French, British, Pirate, Confederate States of America, United States of America and the State of Georgia.
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