The Crosstown: Physical Effects of the Expansion of Highway 17 Across the Charleston Peninsula

Publication

Historic Charleston Foundation

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

2015.002.027

Description

Completed in 1967, the Septima P. Clark Parkway is a prominent thoroughfare of peninsular Charleston, South Carolina. Locally known as the Crosstown, the road is officially part of Highway 17 and was conceived in the late 1950s to connect the state highway with Interstate 26. The roadway's route sliced through the middle of working class Charleston neighborhoods . City Council journals and minutes and South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) survey photographs reveal the character of the neighborhoods adjacent to the Crosstown. These micro-communities and their architectural fabric, disrupted by the acquisition of the right-of way and subsequent road construction, presented a picture of architecturally diverse neighborhoods in relatively good condition. By employing City Council documents, SCDOT photographs, and local newspaper articles, this study examines the City of Charleston's role in the placement of the Crosstown. It also analyzes the conditions and architectural design quality of the 1960s structures and 2014 structures in the path of the roadway. This analysis serves to assess the effects of the roadway throughout time. This study finds that the physical ramifications of the Crosstown were not as pronounced as conventionally thought. Within this work, the author suggests that the Crosstown is an example of a more successful urban renewal project of the 1960s. 77 leaves : ill., maps (photocopy)

Collection

Pamphlets, Guidebooks, Reports, Theses/Dissertations

Acquisition

Accession

2015.002

Source or Donor

New Library Catalog Records (2015)

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Thesis

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Literary Works

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Search Terms

Roads--South Carolina--Charleston, Highway planning--South Carolina--Charleston, Roads--Social aspects--South Carolina--Charleston, Highway planning--Social aspects--South Carolina--Charleston

Publication Details

Author

Roach, Melissa Mann

Date Published

2014

Call No.

HE355.3 .E94 R63 2014

Notes

Copy No.: 0

Other Names and Numbers

Other Numbers

Number Type

Other Number

P418

Location

Shelf

Books-Pamphlets

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Date

February 7, 2023

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

2009.022.1

Related Publications

Notes

Thesis relies heavily on the photograph collection "SCDOT Photographs - Properties in the Right-of-Way," available on the Lowcountry Digital Library.

General Notes

Note

Notes: By Melissa Mann Roach. May 2014. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-77). Master’s thesis (Master of Science in Historic Preservation, Graduate School of Clemson University). PDF available on CD (Publications CD/DVDs Box 1). PDF also available through Clemson University Tiger Prints (http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1967/).

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

January 15, 2015

Updated By

kemmons

Update Date

June 23, 2017