Multiple murals and markers dot the Tybee Island landscape. Some brighten, some educate; all are oh-so-Tybee. Here are a few you’ll want to find.
Walter Parker Pier. Stretching out over the ocean at the end of Tybrisa Street, the outside walls are decorated with dolphins, sea turtles, and spooky sheepsheads, painted by SCAD art students.
Tybrisa Murals. Along a wall near the Pier are three mural panels by the Tybee Arts Association that capture memories of the railroad, the permanent carnival, old hotels, etc.
Chu's Department Store: 7 Tybrisa St. Inside the store over the entrance is Leonard "the Sandman" Miller painting of the 1996 Summer Olympics Yachting competition. Chu's Manager Michael Flores said that on the $500 commission the beloved Miller predictably bought himself a steak sandwich and an ice cream cone next door and had them write the rest of the check to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
Doc's Bar: 10 Tybrisa St. Inside the storied bar are other Miller works, in the dart room and the band floor.
Spanky's Restaurant: 1605 Strand Ave. There is a weathered Miller work on the Izlar Street wall. A Great White shark eyes the feet of Foghorn Leghorn fishing from an inner tube.
Bernie's Oyster Bar: 13 Tybrisa St. A cheery St. Bernard generously serves from his trusty keg.
RAW Ingredients Restaurant: 18 Tybrisa St. The soon-to-open patio has humorous sushi-themed art by SCAD grad Kipper Milsap.
Atlantis Inn: 20 Silver Ave. A dreamy mermaid sings a siren song.
1206 2nd Ave.: One of the best residential murals has jellyfish and other marine life.
Gerald's Pig and Shrimp Restaurant: 1115 Hwy. 80. The odd couple "American Gothic" by artist Michelle Black of A Color Affair cracks you up as you dine.
Café on 80 Deli & Bakery: 304 1st St. Muralist Dana Richardson's "Peace, Love, Tybee" decorates the bakery/deli take-out area.
Oceanside Nursing Home: 77 Van Horne Ave. Oceanside's Business Development Director Charlene Samuel loves the work generously done inside and out by Savannah College of Art and Design students.
Michael's Dragon: 3 Naylor St. Another residential mural captures Tybee mythology.
Surf's Up: 6 Hosti Ave. More residential work makes a fence become scenery.
Tybee Vacation Rentals: 0110 Hwy. 80. On another fence, artist Tiffany O'Brien's pelican views the world through rose-colored glasses.
Tybee Island Marina: 4 Old Hwy. 80. Next to Bubba Gumbo's restaurant, an old fuel tank has another work by Leonard Miller.
Lazaretto Historical Marker: Next to the Welcome to Tybee loggerhead sign is a Georgia Historical Society (GHS) marker describing the 18th century slave trade quarantine station.
Federal Batteries Marker. Another GHS marker at Highway 80 at Estill Hammock describes the bombardment of Fort Pulaski during the Civil War. Interpretive panels in nearby Battery Row show the view of the bombardment.
Tybee Lighthouse and Museum: 30 Meddin Dr. Outside the museum and across from the lighthouse are GHS markers describing the naming of Tybee and the Army's Fort Screven.
HMS Otranto Memorial. Also in front of the Museum are the American Legion memorials to the 130 Georgia and Ft. Screven soldiers lost in the WWI sinking.
Henry Sims Morgan Memorial. Next to the Otranto panels is one commemorating the 1898 drowning death of Lt. Henry Sims Morgan contemporaneous with the construction of Ft. Screven.
Civil Rights Wade-Ins. The most recent signage in front of the Museum are panels commemorating the 1960's civil rights wade-ins to desegregate the beach.
Girl Scouts Markers: 30 Van Horne Ave. Next to the gazebo in nearby Jaycee Park are panels describing the establishment of the Fort Screven Girl Scout troop in 1933.
Ben Goggins is a contributing lifestyles columnist for the Savannah Morning News. He is a retired marine biologist and lives on Tybee Island. He can be reached at 912-547-3074 or bengoggins9@gmail.com. See more columns by Ben Goggins at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: A Tybee Island self-guided tour takes you to historical markers, murals, and memorials
The Latest
Featured
