Name/Title
20 Franklin Street (Old Marine Hospital)Entry/Object ID
FRANKLIN.020.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1831-34. Robert Mills, architect. Robert Mills, a Charleston native, had moved to Baltimore and was working for the federal government when funds were appropriated for construction and operation of a marine hospital in his hometown. Mills served as the architect for the Marine Hospital, the city's first Gothic Revival structure. Initially built for sick and disabled merchant seamen, it has since been used as a teaching hospital by the Medical University of South Carolina, a confederate military hospital, a free school for black children, an orphanage, and a library and office space for the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston. Rectangular in plan, the Mills building boasts Gothic ornamentation such as lancet arches and cluster or quatrefoil-shaped columns supporting the piazzas. It served as a hospital until after the Civil War. Later it was run by the Reverend Daniel Jenkins as an orphanage for African American children, many of whom donned band uniforms and performed on the streets of Charleston. The Jenkins Orphanage band later earned an international reputation, visiting England, and was given credit for helping develop the dance called "The Charleston." The Reverend Jenkins's son Edmund studied music in Europe and as a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in England. He became a figure in the Harlem Renaissance but died before recognition of his significant body of work was attained. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains narrative histories; building history from Architectural Guide to Charleston (by Simons & Thomas); ca. 1930 newspaper article (from scrapbook 2008.005.13); photocopy (reduced-size) of HABS drawings (floor plans, elevations, details).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
FRANKLIN.020.Source or Donor
20 Franklin Street (Marine Hospital)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Franklin Street, Lower Peninsula, National Register of Historic Places, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Marine hospitals--South Carolina--Charleston, Hospital buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Hospitals--South Carolina--Charleston, Orphanages--South Carolina--Charleston, Jenkins Orphanage Institute (Charleston, S.C.)Archive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 42Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentLocation
Container
2Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Mills, RobertRelated Entries
Notes
2006.005.023, FRANKLIN.020.2, FRANKLIN.020.3, FRANKLIN.020.4, FRANKLIN.020.5a-b, FRANKLIN.020.6Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 351-352General Notes
Note
Notes: Images #2-3 from 1939 City Yearbook.
Contact sheet print of Image #3 also available; CSC Papers, Folder 9.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
May 14, 2008Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023