Historic Preservation & Community Planning at College of Charleston

Come see us in Cougar Mall to learn more about our Maymester in Scotland!

Class is in! Today students in Dr. Gilmore’s ‘How It’s Made’ class began learning hands on preservation skills, and set up their equipment for the semester. It promises to be a great class!

Join us tomorrow at 4pm in the Cistern yard for our annual School of the Arts Kick Off! There will be swag, ice cream, and of course… your favourite professors! We hope to see you there!

#

Cedar and Cypress has arrived for HPCP 307 How Its Made! Hopefully we will have a couple new shutters for 12 Bull by December.

Welcome back students! We are looking forward to our first week of classes together, and can’t wait to discuss Historic Preservation with you!

Today, students learned about traditional tatami mat making with in Kyoto. Genroku Tatami was established in 1690, working in the same building in Kyoto. The students learned about the sustainable manufacturing methods, the benefits of tatami mat flooring, and made their own little mat to take home!

CofC students in the Arashiyama Sagano Bamboo Forest located at the foot of the “Storm Mountains” in the north of the city of Kyoto.

Today students visited Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage site in three Japanese Alps. The village has preserved the traditional thatched farmhouses built in the gassho or “praying hands” style. The slant of the roof prevents large amounts of snowfall from accumulating and damaging the house, while the unprotected walls on the gable ends are built at a slight outward angle to keep them as dry as possible when it rains. These walls usually have several large windows to let sunlight and air into the multi-level attic, which was traditionally used for silk farming, a major industry in Shirakawa-go until the first few decades of the twentieth century.

CofC students see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil at Tōshō-gū shrine located in Nikkō, Japan! This Shinto shrine is a part of ‘Shrines and Temples of Nikko’, a UNESCO World Heritage site and 5 of its structures are categorized as the National Treasures of Japan.

Students & Profs. Grant Gilmore & Joanna Gilmore’s study abroad courses in Japan are learning about Japanese architecture, craft, culture & museums. Here they are visiting the World Heritage shrines & temples in Nikko!

The James Nicholson House is a beautiful example of Classical Revival architecture!

Senior spotlight #4! Congratulations, Travis!

Senior spotlight #3! Congratulations, Preston!

Senior spotlight #2! Congratulations, Ashlyn!

The first of our HPCP senior spotlights, Alexandra Emch!

2 Green Way, known as the Martindale-Bell House or the Johnson House, is very significant to Charleston’s history because this house was owned by a free Black woman before the Civil War. Before the house was built, the land was owned by the College of Charleston and known as “Free School Lands”, but the College owed money to the family of Bishop Robert smith, the College’s former president, and had to sell part of the “Free School Lands”. The land was eventually sold to James C. Martindale, then to John Cessford Ker, then to Charles Graves, and finally after the home went into foreclosure, it was sold to Sally Johnson in 1844. Sally Johnson was a very significant figure because she was a free Black woman but also a slave owner. After she passed, her home was left to her family, who continued to live there until 1971 when they sold it to the College. It is currently the home to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Today, conservation students had the opportunity to gather paint samples from our historic building at 12 Bull. It will be exciting next week to observe these samples under the microscope and look at the changes over time, through historic paint layers!

Beautiful buildings with beautiful, unique windows!

The Sottile Theater, formerly known as the Gloria Theater, opened at 331 King Street in 1927 for vaudeville, shows, and movies. It was built by Albert Sottile’s Pastime Amusement Company and designed by C.K. Howell. It was the third Pastime Amusement Company theater opened in Charleston, and it is the only Charleston movie house that still operates as a performing arts space. Charles A. Hottinger from New York created the ornamental and decorative painting in the theater. The Gloria Theater closed in 1975 and was soon after purchased by the College of Charleston. The building was used as a storage space while the College worked on plans for the theater, and the College’s first plans were to preserve the theater’s blue dome and stars. The theater opened in February 1990 and was named after Albert Sottile.

Do you know what these stone blocks around Charleston are? They are carriage steps and mounting blocks!

Carriage steps are blocks of stone with two steps carved into it placed at the edge of the street. They were used as a stepping stone for passengers climbing in and out of carriages and were typically found outside of wealthier residents’ homes. Carriage steps were most popular during the 19th century all over the United States, and they are scarcely seen today because they were often destroyed when the railroad and cars became more popular.

Mounting blocks were often used by women riding sidesaddle because it was an easier way to mount the horse without being immodest. They were also used for people climbing out of carriages. Like carriage steps, mounting blocks are made of stone, but they are much more simple as they do not have steps carved into them.

Today our Conservation of Historic Materials class, with Prof. Moffatt, visited to discuss their lab and facility. Such an interesting day in the field, learning from those working in Preservation!

This afternoon students in our Preservation Planning Studio spent time measuring a historic campus structure, in order to create scaled drawings in the coming weeks.

Can’t join us in person to hear Dr. Samuel Gruber this Thursday? Use this Zoom link to listen in!

4 Green Way is another one of the College of Charleston’s many historic buildings. David Bailey built 4 Green Way in 1817, and in 1827 it was sold to Dr. John Schmidt who used this house as a rental property. The house remained a rental unit until 1875 until it was bought by Maier Trieste, and in 1901 the house was sold by Hannah Trieste to the College. The College went on to open this house as a dorm for male students which was known as “the shack”. 4 Green Way was shut down in 1921 by the Board of Trustees because of the unruly behavior from the “shack club’’ members, and the dorm was reopened a year later. The shack club’s motto was “We will do anything but what is right; if we ever did a good deed, we are sorry.” In 1929 the building was used for offices and labs and underwent minor renovations and reparations in 1936. The building was used as an office space until the late 1960s when it was converted to the first women’s dormitory on campus. 4 Greenway was restored to its original appearance in 1974 by African American architect H.A. DeCosta. Today 4 Green Way houses the Mathematics department and has offices for faculty members.

14 Green Way is one of the College’s many historic buildings. It is known for its yellow painted exterior and ornate ironwork.

14 Green way was built in 1872 for A.O. Jones, African American clerk of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Jones lost his house to foreclosure, and then 14 Green Street was owned by many Charleston natives. These owners included a grocer and a shoe store owner. The College rented the home in 1899 to use it as a dormitory. The College moved its dormitory to 4 Green Street when that property was put up for sale two years later. The Lesesne family owned it from 1918 to 1961. Charles and Frieda Tice bought it in 1961, but were not able to complete renovations. Developer J.C. Long bought the house and later sold it to the College in May 1964. In the later 1960s, the College rented the building to the Junior League of Charleston. The College renovated the house from 1972-73, and it was a women’s dormitory until 2013. 14 Green Way is now home to the College of Charleston’s Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services.

The Unfinished Task: Preserving Jewish Heritage in Eastern Europe from the Holocaust to the War in Ukraine

Join us on March 14 in the School of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering at 5:30 PM to hear Dr. Samuel Gruber, founder and managing director of Gruber Heritage Global, speak on the preservation of Jewish heritage.

Beautiful doors around Charleston!

Some beautiful ironwork around Charleston! Decorative ironwork has been an important part of buildings in Charleston since the 18th century and continues to be a favorite feature of many.

Hi HPCP Majors. Low Country Landtrust is waiting for applications from you…

We’re hiring four paid summer interns! From farms and forests to the pristine salt marsh and everything in between, an internship at Lowcountry Land Trust will immerse you in the iconic landscapes of coastal South Carolina while helping you develop valuable skills in land stewardship, GIS and conservation, nonprofit management, or communications and marketing. Apply by March 5 to be considered! https://lowcountrylandtrust.org/careers/summer-internship-applications-now-open/

Professor Wylie’s Digital Methods and Communications class introduces digital media often used for preservation and community planning. This week, students are using AutoCAD!