April 16- Maritime Preservation

Our class met in Liberty Square at the Fort Sumter Museum and boarding station. We met National Park Service Ranger, Carlin Timmons who provided us with a good backdrop for the exhibits. Joining us was University of South Carolina alum and Park Guide Nate Johnson. The museum is provided for those waiting to take the ferry to Fort Sumter. The panels cover from colonial Charleston to the out-break of the Civil War.

I appreciated the frankness with which Ms. Timmons discussed the exhibit development. The exhibit panels were revised several times and public input was encouraged. Those on the exhibit committee felt that the panels needed to show diversity and awareness of audience—which was a challenge due to the topic. I think that the panels as a whole try to interpret too many voices, but then, how could they avoid that? Some of the panels on the African-American experience use the well-known African-Americans of the time—I feel that they should have tried for more unique examples of lesser known African-Americans. The panels are text heavy and center on six themes: Colonial Roots of the Conflict, Ambiguities of the Constitution, Antebellum United States, Charleston in 1860, South Carolina Declares Its Independence, and Fort Sumter Countdown to Conflict.

Next was our ferry ride to Fort Sumter. For more information on Fort Sumter, follow this link: http://www.nps.gov/fosu/.

Fort Sumter was built from 1820s to 1861 when it was interrupted by Confederate fire on the Federally controlled fort. Because the fort is on a man-made island situated on a shoal in the Charleston harbor, extreme conditions have contributed to its further deterioration. It was decommissioned in 1947 by the War Department and was sold to the Park Service.

The fort is currently a mixture of the original brick construction/ruins paired with ca. 1898 concrete. The fort is not being restored, nor is it being rehabbed. It is only being preserved and in an ever increasing state of disrepair. Foot traffic and weather are dangerous combinations—both of which are being addressed as best as time and budgets allow. I feel as though more work needs to be done at the Fort in interpreting all aspects of the war and to move the focus away from just being about the north or south.

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Our next, and final Charleston Field School visit, was at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center to view the Hunley. The Hunley is a late 19th century submarine prototype that crashed after it successfully attacked The U.S.S. Housatonic. For more information, follow this link: http://www.hunley.org/. The Hunley was 4 feet tall, 3.5 feet wide, and 40 feet long and had a crew of 8. The Hunley is a controversial issue that some see as representing white supremacy, southern aggression, northern aggression, etc. Whatever people may believe it represents, I feel as though the Hunley is an invaluable relic of national history. Not in order to promote the Confederate cause, but in order to preserve a piece of technological, military, and yes, South Carolina history. Enormous preservation monies are being poured into the conservation efforts surrounding the Hunley. Visiting the lab was a treat—we got to see the science behind the history. I was impressed with the conservation of the piece of cashmere fabric belonging to a vest of one of the crew.

Before we saw the Hunley in its conservation tank, we talked to Head Conservator, Paul Mardikian about the challenges facing maritime preservation. Dangerous, expensive, and hard work seem to sum up the field of maritime preservation. Challenges arise because artifacts can be severely altered chemically if taken from water to air. In some instances chemical reactions can occur. In those cases, immersion in salt, lack of oxygen, and removal of moisture are the recommended steps in conserving the artifact. The conservators of the Hunley will have to take a mitigation approach due to the composite nature of the artifact. Meanwhile, contributions to the research and development of new conservation methods make this a truly field worthy subject.

April 2- Landscapes and Environments

River facade of Drayton Hall, 3380 Ashley River Road. For more information, go to http://www.draytonhall.org/.

Drayton Hall is owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a museum. I like what the website says about its mission and about the house:

"Drayton Hall is different. It’s the real thing, and we are bound by our mission to preserve the property—that is, to keep it in near-original condition just as the National Trust received it from the Drayton family in 1974. Instead of being restored to the vision of those who lived centuries after it was built, Drayton Hall is an artifact that has survived the American Revolution, the Civil War, the earthquake of 1886, hurricanes like Hugo, and maybe most surprisingly today, urban sprawl."

Drayton Hall is a ca.1738 Georgian Palladian style house built and once owned by one of Charleston’s wealthiest men, John Drayton (1715-1779). But showcasing Drayton’s story is a far cry from what Drayton Hall's interpretation is at the site. Educating and expanding the knowledge and interpretation of those enslaved at Drayton is also important to the staff. We met Executive Director George McDaniel, Director of Preservation Carter Hudgins, and Craig Tuminaro, Director of Museum Interpretation.

Through historical and archaeological research, the staff at Drayton Hall are contributing to the ever-widening historical record of Charleston and Drayton Hall. A new interactive and interesting website engages visitors before they arrive. Preserving and interpreting Drayton Hall and its environs in order to educate the public is their mission.
Drayton Hall is a unique house museum in that there is no furniture and the house is merely preserved—no restoration, no rehabilitation, etc. Drayton Hall is a great example of good preservation—but it fits Drayton Hall’s case. This way of preserving may not be the best way for other historic sites.

Left: When restoring Ashley River Road facade columns, graffiti was found. Workers left the patch and a protective case will be placed over the writing. Inside the house, historic graffiti was also found on a hall closet door.



Above: Detail of decorative moldings, medallions, and a family sitting room.


Above: The Ashley River as seen from the banks of the Drayton Hall property. Beyond the second line of trees are new subdivisions. The fact that this is not visable from the historc site is a testament to successes in preserving historic landscapes.
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Our next stop was Charlestown Landing State Historic Site.Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site is owned and operated by South Carolina State Parks. For more information, go to http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park/1575.aspx or Friends of Charles Towne Landing, http://www.charlestowne.org/.

Interpreting cultural landscapes such as Charles Town Landing can be difficult when historical and archaeological evidence does not correspond. Al Hester, Historic Site Coordinator with the Park’s Central Office and John Hiatt, Park Interpreter met with us to discuss the park and its issues. Charles Towne Landing encompasses several layers of landscape history: European Settlement, 1670-1680; Plantation Era, 1680-1865; Legare-Waring Era, late 19th century to 1969; and Commemorative Layer, 1970-present.

Park Interpreters have a task ahead of them to find the correct balance between what should be done in cultural landscape settings and what should not be done. Features within the site should be presented correctly and for a purpose. Randomly erecting buildings or structures then adding waysides does not make a historic site. Before Park staff at Charles Towne Landing erect or interpret more, they need to determine what is fact and what is not historically accurate. However, I did like their idea in interpreting the African-American cemetery and the earth fast colonial dwelling was exciting. Hiatt’s idea to install scents within the building was not.

March 19- Non-Profits and Current Issues

Above: Historic Charleston Foundation's circa 1808 headquarters at 40 East Bay Street. We met with Katherine Saunders, Associate Director of HCF, and discussed important current issues such as the Calhoun Street East/Cooper River Waterfront Plan. Photo by Historic Charleston Foundation.

Meeting Katherine Saunders with Historic Charleston Foundation provided an insightful glimpse into an active historic preservation agency. Their mission is to preserve and protect the architectural and cultural character of Charleston and its environs. In order to promote preservation in Charleston HCF has created several programs that involve the public. Revolving fund initiatives, easements and covenants all help HCF in their mission.

In the 1950s, the historic Ansonborough neighborhood was part of the nation’s first neighborhood rehabilitation effort. However, gentrification and displacement soon followed. We need to find ways to encourage preservation without gentrification and displacement. Our goals as preservationists now should be to promote our cause to every demographic and to preserve the character that comes with a diversity of people, not just the character that comes with historic buildings. In planning for Charleston’s preservation plan for the future, city officials, preservation organizations, and the public need to consider these issues and others, like zoning. Future plans also need to consider green sustainability and re-use of historic materials. Charleston is moving outward, thanks to the active annexing of the surrounding area—there is no one character of Charleston now.
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Above: Part of the corridor for the proposed Calhoun Street East/Cooper River Waterfront Plan. You can find a pdf of the plans if you follow this link: http://www.charlestoncity.info/shared/docs/0/calhounst_091123.pdf.
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Preservation Society of Charleston headquarters at 147 King Street. We met with Robert Gurley, Assitant Director, to discuss the above plan.

Robert Gurley gave us a great introduction to the oldest community based preservation society in the nation. For more information on the Preservation Society, follow this link: http://www.preservationsociety.org/. Like HCF, they have easement programs and view themselves as a preservation advocacy arm of the community. Some of their concerns for the future of Charleston are issues to consider as having important impacts on preservation progress. Tourism has become a major blessing and curse for Charleston. Crucial tourism dollars help fund a city that is weakened by a declining population and increase in absentee property owners. There is little buildable land and much of it is privately owned. Staying vigilant to changing ordinances and broadening their inclusion of historic buildings since the 1950s has made the Preservation Society of Charleston an important cornerstone in Charleston’s preservation community.
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Above left to right: On the way to our last meeting, we passed by an interesting building near King Street and the United Church of Christ's Circular Congregational Church on Meeting Street. The church is very interesting and for a bit more of its history go to this link: http://www.circularchurch.org/content.cfm?id=2002.
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Above: Wrought iron entrance gate to the William Aiken House and the courtyard view of the house and wrap around piazza.

Meeting with John Hildreth of the Southern Regional Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Offices are located at the circa 1810 William Aiken House on 456 King Street at Ann. For more information: http://www.preservationnation.org/about-us/regional-offices/southern/.
We met John Hildreth, Director of the Southern Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Nancy Tinker, Senior Program Officer at the Southern Office. The National Trust promotes our historic sites, buildings, structures, and landscapes from an organizational (not governmental) stance. One of the goals in supporting certain sites and buildings is to add to America’s “portfolio of places” examples of true American experiences. For example, the Lower East Side Tenement, Slave Meeting House, and Drayton Hall reflect varying experiences of different people.

Another goal of the National Trust, and one that I see as extremely crucial to the future of preservation, is how to use properties in a responsible way to make them more vital. We need to move away from making more house museums and create model projects to promote advocacy of realistic preservation. The National Trust also acts a way to connect the public and other preservation organizations on a national scale. Programs such as their Endangered Properties List, Gosaic heritage travel initiative, Main Street Initiatives, Rosenwald School Initiative, and Modernism in Recent Past Initiative demonstrate just how involved the Trust is. Through these programs, they hope to apply their National Trust resources on the ground and become even more of a worthy advocate to other organizations.

Inside the Southern Office headquarters:

Above left to right: Sitting room and detail of an earthquake bolt.

Above group: Drawing room chandelier with decorative ceiling medallion, window treatments, and crown molding detail in red salon on second floor.

Below left to right: Chandelier with decorative ceiling medallion in ballroom and a glimpse onto the second floor piazza.

February 19- Preserving the Building Arts & Restoration and the Private Sector

Above: The Trolley Barn, ca. 1897, at 665 Meeting Street. Potential class room space for the American College of the Building Arts. For more information about the College of Building Arts, follow this link: http://www.buildingartscollege.us/.

Our class met David Payne outside The Trolley Barn on Meeting Street. This building used to house streetcars for the city of Charleston. The American College of Building Arts will lease the property from the city in order to have more classroom space for its stone carving, iron working, masonry, timber framing, and plaster workshops. The goal is to have the Barn functioning for Fall 2011--which may not be a realistic time frame considering the actual shape of the building and outbuildings.
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Above: Circa 1840 15 Thomas Street home that the College of Building Arts is working on.

Next, we drove to the site of a current project between the College of Building Arts and a local contractor. The Thomas Street residence was getting a near complete preservation treatment. This house was a unique architectural blend of a New England Style house with a Charleston Piazza--dare I say a form of Charleston vernacular architecture? External and internal structural issues were holding up the progress. Interior changes will occur, but mainly in the form of modernizing interior space. In order to match the house to its appropriate historic appearance, a house was found on the same neighborhood that records indicate is a close match to the Thomas Street house. The College of the Building Arts is collaborating with a contractor that is building for a client. In situations like these, client's wishes often do not mesh with preservation professionals like those at the College and the State Historic Preservation Office.

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At left and below: American College of the Building Arts.

Located inside the old Charleston District Jail at 21 Magazine Street.

The main building of the 21 Magazine Street Old Charleston District jain was built in 1802 in a Georgian style. In 1850 a Gothic Revival addition included an octagonal shape at the back and crenallation on running along the top of old and new space. In 1886, an earthquake severly damaged the jail and an entire floor was destroyed--bringing the jail to three stories down from four. In 1933, the building was discontinued as a jail and was used for storage. The old jail has been used as a work house for slaves and a P.O.W. camp for Union soldiers during the Civil War. In 1999, the School of Building Arts arrived and through a Save America's Treasure grant, was able to rehabilitate some areas of the old jail.

This is a good example of an adaptive reuse of an historic building. Though the College faces many challenges with funding, deterioration, and lack of space--reusing this builidng has afforded the College a great experimental place. Externally, the facade is in great shape. Internally, I feel that they need to preserve some of the historical fabric like cell markings and windows that give a sense of what this building's layers of history represent.

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Above: McLeod Plantation, 1850-1851, pre Civil War gin house, an 18th century outbuilding, and post Civil War barn on James Island. The last two photos are of an intact slave house row that you can view from the main highway.

This was a frustrating visit for the simple reason that no one within Charleston's preservation community can figure out what to do with McLeod Plantation. Currently, it is owned by the Historic Charleston Foundation. At one time the American College of Building Arts (ACBA) was to purchase the property. However, Friends of McLeod Plantation, dissapproved and the process was stopped. The College of Charleston was interested, but it too met with the Friends of McLeod's dissaproval. For more information about the Friends of McLeod Plantation, follow this link: http://www.mcleodplantation.org/.

McLeod Plantation is threatened by development. A major highway runs parallel to the main house, only seperated by mere acres. An original row of slave cabins runs nearly from the highway to the house. Of the outbuildings, the gin house is pre civil war and the barn is post civil war construction. There is an 18th century structure that is now used for storage and at one point was a garage.

The problems that McLeod Plantation seems to face is uncooperation for area preservation organizations--mainly the Friends of McLeod. Professional and non-professional preservation organizations should work together to overcome situations like the plantation is in. This is a threatened historic site and it should not be encased in glass as a house museum. It should become part of a living organization that will strive to protect its unique historical character while making it a viable part of our modern world.

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Above photos left to right: At the 97 Broad 1830s single house just completed and the 1787 Georgian style undergoing work at 93 Broad.

We met with Fillmore Wilson of Meadors Construction to talk about historic preservation concerns with LEED projects (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). For more information on LEED, follow this link: http://www.usgbc.org/. Mr. Wilson has worked with many LEED projects and was able to impart a great deal on some problems with LEED and preservation projects.

LEED point criteria is based on sustainable ideas. New construction, major rehabilitations, and residential projects can be LEED compliant. However, there are many different criteria depending on where you live that can potentially change how many LEED points you earn.

Left: A freshly started project that will turn this 1961Navy degaussing station into a very upscale and gold LEED certified private home.

There currently is no national standard for what is green and LEED provides a way for large scale, and now smaller scale, projects to have an official standard for green. LEED levels consist of certified, silver, gold, and platinum. There are problems between LEED and historic preservation projects. LEED does not recognize specific historic material needs that may be needed to make a rehab or restoration historically accurate. From what I can tell, LEED is an important rating system that many architects and preseration professoinals are buzzing about. Changes can occur with proper preservation representation within LEED and initial programs are always broad. It is up to those wihtin the historic preservation to initiate an acceptance within LEED of historic preservation's place in all things green.