Name/Title
57 Pitt Street (Bethel Methodist Church)Entry/Object ID
PITT.057.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1852-1853. Ephraim Curtis, architect; Reb and Busby, contractors. The congregation of the Blue Meeting House on Cumberland Street bought this site for a church and cemetery in 1793. A wooden meetinghouse constructed in 1797 was moved to the western side of the lot to make way for the present Greek Revival building and was eventually moved across Calhoun Street to become Old Bethel Methodist Church. The (new) Bethel Methodist Church is a simple temple-form building with 6 large fluted Doric columns supporting a pedimented portico. On the interior, a late-19th century stenciled paint scheme has been restored and the pressed metal ceiling panels in the cove ceiling have been preserved. An antebellum cast- and wrought-iron fence encloses the front of the property, while masonry piers and wooden fencing surround the graveyard. A large columned Sunday school building once serving as host to one of Charleston's most thriving congregations was removed several decades ago, and an earlier Italianate structure built for the same purpose was demolished in 1994. A large monument in the graveyard marks the burial site of phosphate tycoon Francis J. Pelzer.
File contains National Register nomination form (see Multimedia link); FOHG building histories (2008, 2011); church brochure (photocopy); newspaper articles about the demolition of the education building (1983-1989).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
PITT.057.Source or Donor
57 Pitt Street (Bethel Methodist Church)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Pitt Street, Harleston Village, Churches/Synagogues/Houses of Worship, National Register of Historic Places, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Church buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Methodist churches--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Associated Material: Charles N. Bayless photograph on Lowcountry Digital Library
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 82Shelf
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
Reb and BusbyPerson or Organization
Curtis, EphraimRelated Entries
Notes
2006.010.047-49, 2006.010.384-385, 2011.015.82, CALHOUN.222.01, CALHOUN.222.02a-k, CALHOUN.222.03, CALHOUN.222.04a-i, CALHOUN.222.05, PITT.057.2
Related Units of Description: Description of church in Souvenir of Charleston S.C.: America's Most Historic City, ca. 1928, 2006.002.0068, and on Lowcountry Digital Library)Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 546-647Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
April 27, 2011Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023