Name/Title
121 Rutledge Avenue (Cannon Park and Ruins of The Charleston Museum)Entry/Object ID
RUTLEDGE.121.1Scope and Content
Established by 1880; some redevelopment ca. 1985. After the Bennett Mill Pond was filled, Mayor William Ashmead Courtenay was wise to retain Frederick Law Olmsted to design a park for this site. But before the park was completed, the city decided in May 1899 to build an auditorium here to serve as convention space, particularly for the United Confederate Veterans. A bequest from John Thompson to the city was used to finance the auditorium construction. Although designed by the architect Frank Milburn, who was selected early in his career for this commission, the structure was built in a temporary manner with a cast-iron frame and exterior stucco with applied ornament in the Beaux Arts style. By 1907 the auditorium became the home of The Charleston Museum, which remained here until the collection was moved into a new building on Meeting Street in 1980. Within a month, the old building burned. The original semicircular colonnade has been preserved as an architectural folly. The city partially restored the plan of the original Cannon Park, and much of the site remains as open green space. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains newspaper articles, some with photographs (including 1981 DYKYC); correspondence between Frances Edmunds and Kenneth Gifford (City) related to the site being used as a park (two letters, 1979).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
RUTLEDGE.121.Source or Donor
121 Rutledge Avenue (Cannon Park / Ruins of The Charleston Museum)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Lost Architecture, Rutledge Avenue, Harleston Village, Demolished buildings, lost buildings, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Lost architecture--South Carolina--Charleston, Charleston Museum (Charleston, S.C.), Auditoriums--South Carolina--Charleston, Parks--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files.
Level of Description: Folder
Location of Originals: See several slides showing demolition of the buildingLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 88Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2004.021.118, 2005.019.04, 2008.001.6, 2011.003.09, 2015.018.7a-d, MEETING.360.1, MEETING.360.2, RUTLEDGE.121.2, RUTLEDGE.121.3Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 560-561General Notes
Note
Notes: Photo by Sams, Object ID 2004.021.118.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
October 18, 2011Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 16, 2023