Name/Title
100 Meeting Street (Fireproof Building)Entry/Object ID
MEETING.100.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1822-27; earthquake damage and repair 1886-87; restored 1970. Robert Mills, architect; John Spidle, construction architect; John Gordon, brickmason; James Rowe and John White, stonecutters. Originally constructed as a state office building with fireproof storage for records of the Charleston District, this structure was designed by Robert Mills at the city's behest in 1822 as part of the new city square plan. Mills's plans relied primarily on the removal of combustible materials from the fabric of the building. Brick, brownstone, and stucco for the exterior; stone groin and barrel vaults; stairways lit by a central skylight; and cast-iron windows were key components of the plans. The completed building differed from Mills's original plans. John Spidle, the on-site construction supervisor, may have directed the use of plain roughcast stucco columns instead of the fluted columns, the elimination of the belt course, the substitution of quoins for horizontal channeling, and changes to the cornice and the third-story window openings as designed by Mills. Serving generally as the county property record office and housing functions such as the coroner's and tax offices, the building was leased to the South Carolina Historical Society in 1955 and officially became the Society's headquarters in 1968. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains FOHG building histories (1983, 1997); building history from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston and the Lowcountry; newspaper articles; building history from Architectural Guide to Charleston; article by Helen G. McCormack "The Fireproof Building: New Home of the South Carolina Historical Society (1943); report "Notes on the Interior of the Fireproof Building"; photocopy of measured plan first and second floors (HABS, 1934); correspondence and HCF position statement on use of elastomeric coating (2001); SCHS "Restoration Fund" booklet; color photocopy of photo of building in 1902; report "The Fireproof Building: Masonry Conservation Study" by George T. Fore and Associates (1990).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
MEETING.100.Source or Donor
100 Meeting Street (Fireproof Building)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Meeting Street, National Register of Historic Places, Fireproof Building (Charleston, S.C.), Historic buildings--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 71Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2006.010.305-319, 2016.014.27a-b, 2020.012.10, MEETING.100.2, MEETING.100.3a-h, MEETING.100.4, MEETING.100.5, MEETING.100.6, MEETING.100.7a-b, MEETING.100.8a-dRelated Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 186Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
June 21, 2010Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023