Name/Title
8 St. Michaels Alley (James L. Petigru Law Office)Entry/Object ID
STMICHAELS.008.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1848; restorations after 1918, 1983-84. Edward Brickell White, architect. Designed by the architect Edward B. White, this law office was built by famed jurist James Louis Petigru on this site by 1849. Petigru, born in Abbeville, moved his practice to Charleston in 1819. He later served as attorney general of South Carolina and as a member of the House. Defender of the liberties of the weak, particularly slaves and free blacks, Petigru opposed nullification and was Charleston's most outspoken unionist at the time of secession. After his residence on Legare and Broad Streets burned in the fire of 1861, Petigru and his wife moved into this building. According to an 1850s plat, Petigru's walled garden stood directly opposite. The Petigru law office boasts some characteristics of Neoclassical design, out-of-fashion in the 1840s, with its brownstone window lintels and central pediment with a lunette window in the tympanum. The wrought-iron balcony with cast-iron panels was salvaged from a demolished building and installed by Susan Pringle Frost in her restoration of the area.
File contains Part I Certification application (1984); brief narrative history (Carter Hudgins); newspaper articles about both Petigru and 8 St. Michaels Alley (including 1981 and undated DYKYC); house history from Information for Guides of Historic Charleston (1984); measured plan of first floor (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation drawing).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
STMICHAELS.008.Source or Donor
8 St. Michael's Alley (James L. Petigru Law Office)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
St. Michael's Alley, Civic Square, 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 88Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
White, Edward BrickellRelated Entries
Notes
2021.017.18, STMICHAELS.008.2Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 193-194Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
October 20, 2011Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023