Name/Title
723 King Street (White Swan Laundry)Entry/Object ID
KING.723.1Scope and Content
Constructed ca. 1913. The White Swan Laundry stood at 723 King Street. It opened for business in April 1913 and remained in business for many decades. In Hurricane Hugo, the building suffered some damage, but was still clearly salvageable. But, the owner had other ideas and announced his plans to tear it down. In March 1995, the City investigated whether the building was more than 75 years old. Despite the owner's claim that the building was not that old, the BAR determined that the building was indeed old enough to be protected and it denied demolition of the remaining façade on April 12, 1995. Historic Charleston Foundation and other preservationists agreed. The next month, the owner claimed that an after-hours emergency had caused the building to be unstable and a contractor demolished the structure without notifying any city officials first. There were no witnesses to this emergency even by the time a demolition contractor had been hired to finish the job. It was demolished without approval. The City's only response was a very small fine on the contractor who demolished the building, but after letters to the editor pointed out the severity of the loss, the City filed charges against the contractor, for demolishing the building without permission. (Research Notes, Eberle, 2016.)
File contains correspondence from Jonathan Poston to the City and others related to the demolition of the building; deed and ward book research (HCF); photocopies of plats and Sanborn Maps; site map and architectural drawings of the building by Ronald W. Ramsey (1994); research notes and related documentation on White Swan Laundry, Ideal Laundry, and others compiled by Ronald W. Ramsey; newspaper articles about the building's demolition (1995); research notes (Kevin Eberle, 1995).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
KING.723.Source or Donor
723 King Street (White Swan Laundry)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
King Street, Demolished buildings, lost buildings, Laundries--South Carolina--Charleston, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Commercial buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Lost architecture--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive 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 56Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2016.006.12, HUGO.002.025, KING.723.2a-h, KING.723.3General Notes
Note
Notes: Image in this record from HABS Hugo photos.
Eberle research notes sent via email 2/28/2016 that accompanied photo 2016.006.12.
Full text of research notes: Constructed ca. 1913. The White Swan Laundry stood at 723 King Street. In December 1912, White Swan Laundry was chartered by George S. Brantley (president). A building permit for a $6,000 facility was issued for 723 King Street on January 4, 1913. It opened for business in April 1913 and remained in business for many decades. In Hurricane Hugo, the building suffered some damage, but was still clearly salvageable. But, the owner, Bill Lewis, had other ideas, and he announced his plans to tear it down a few years later. In March 1995, the City investigated whether the building was more than 75 years old. The owner of the building claimed that the building was built only in the 1920s and was outside the jurisdiction of the BAR. However, the City's preservation organizations argued that it was older than 75 years old. The BAR agreed that the building was old enough to be protected and denied demolition of the remaining façade on April 12, 1995. The next month, the owner claimed that an after-hours emergency had caused the building to be unstable and a contractor demolished the structure without notifying any city officials first. There were no witnesses to this emergency even by the time a demolition contractor had been hired to finish the job. It was demolished without approval. The City's only response was a $50 fine on the contractor who demolished the building. After letters to the editor pointed out the severity of the loss, in July 1995, the City filed charges against Peter Koke, the contractor, for demolishing the building without permission. The unrepentant Koke said, "If they have nothing better to do that charge me with that, an individual and a contractor who did nothing more than make a dilapidated part of town safer for children, then the city's got some really serious problems." (Among some of those other problems, perhaps, were outstanding criminal charges against Koke at the time for second degree arson, malicious damage of real property, and assault and battery.) The outcome of the case was not reported in the newspaper, but even the maximum penalty of 30 days in jail would hardly have been enough. (Research notes by Kevin Eberle, 2016.)Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
September 23, 2009Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023