Name/Title
105 Meeting Street (Hibernian Hall)Entry/Object ID
MEETING.105.1Scope and Content
Designed 1835; constructed 1839-41; earthquake repairs 1887. Thomas U. Walter, architect, John White, stonecutter; Andrew Cunningham, carpenter; George Thompson, bricklayer. The hall of the Hibernian Society was built for an organization that was established in 1801 to provide aid to Irish immigrants and their families and that was the result of the amalgamation of two earlier Irish fraternal orders. The organization eventually attracted men of wealth and power, not necessarily of Irish origin, and welcomed both Protestant and Catholic members. The Hibernians hoped to follow the examples of the halls built for the South Carolina Society and the St. Andrew's Society and discussed the matter for 14 years before buying a lot on Meeting Street. Architect Thomas U. Walter of Philadelphia, noted later for his design of the Capitol dome in Washington, DC, was paid $100 in 1833 for plans for a building. Construction commenced on the hall in 1839 and was complete by January 1841 at a cost of $40,000. The exterior, with its Ionic portico, reflects the simple and chaste design requested by the committee, save the gilded Irish harp over the door. The interior, however, is an exciting space, dominated by a rotunda of three stories surrounded by stairs and circular balconies; the ceiling is finished with a coffered dome and oculus. Although the exterior portico was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1886 and changes included altering the proportions of the columns, a more elaborate modillioned cornice and an Italianate window in the tympanum of the pediment, the building's interior is largely unchanged. The site of numerous Hibernian functions, including its annual St. Patrick's Day banquet, the building also hosts other large social events. Since the years following the Civil War it has been the annual site of the January Ball of the St. Cecilia Society, Charleston's oldest and most exclusive social function. On the portico stands a stone from the Giant's Causeway, brought to Charleston from County Antrim in 1851. An elaborate wrougt-iron fence and cast-iron gas lamps enclose the property from the street. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains narrative history (by MDMc, undated).
Image #2 from Guide to Charleston Illustrated, 1875.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
MEETING.105.Source or Donor
105 Meeting Street (Hibernian Hall)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Meeting Street, National Register of Historic Places, Civic Square, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Hibernian Society (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 72Shelf
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
Walter, Thomas U.Related Entries
Notes
2006.007.54, 2006.010.320-331, 2020.012.11, MEETING.105.2, MEETING.105.3, MEETING.105.4a-d, MEETING.105.5Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 186-187General Notes
Note
Notes: Photo in this record from Whit Smith photos (on loan).Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
July 6, 2010Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023