Name/Title
55 Society Street (High School of Charleston)Entry/Object ID
SOCIETY.055.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1840-42; portico constructed 1850; rehabilitated 1984. Edward Brickell White, architect. The High School of Charleston was founded in 1839, replacing an early preparatory academy associated with the College of Charleston. Its construction was a response to the call for major improvements in the city's public education in the second quarter of the 19th century, led by Christopher G. Memminger. The school board approved the current plan by Edward Brickell White in 1840 after rejecting a more expensive scheme. White also designed a 2-story portico, added to the high school in 1850, as well as one for the College of Charleston's main building. After correspondence with the Worcester, Massachusetts, architect Elbridge Boyden, White ordered from Worcester fabricated terra-cotta column capitals, probably manufactured by Tolman, Luther and Company. In 1881 the high school moved to the old Radcliffe-King Mansion at George and Meeting Streets and the building was leased through the 1930s to a series of African American fraternal orders. The column capitals were heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1886 and were later removed. In a rehabilitation in 1984 fragments of the capitals were located and the sculptor Robert Pringle was able to reconstruct them based on the Tolman catalog, newspaper accounts, City Council minutes, and the fragments. The current capitals are made from fiberglass reinforced cement material. The wrought-iron gates [attributed to Christopher Werner] were probably installed in 1840 and correspond to similar work in the city from the same decade. The buildings immediately to the east at 49-51 Society Street constitute the former St. Peter's School, a separate African American school founded by Roman Catholics. The St. Peter's buildings grew from the westernmost portion of the structure, originally constructed by Edward Roach. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
Five files contain documentation of the covenant on the property; correspondence and other documentation related to the covenant itself; correspondence and other documentation related to the sale of the property; correspondence and other documentation related to the management of the property including the rehabilitation for adaptive reuse; documentation of HCF's purchase of the property; Part I certification (National Register); annual inspection reports; requests for alterations; building history from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; narrative history (HCF); building description from Landmarks in Use Tour (3/7/1965); newspaper research notes; HCF information sheet with sales price (3/9/1982); newspaper articles (including 1964, 1981, 1984 DYKYC); sketch of building footprint and lot as it was in 1882 (by CRW); photocopy of plat of number 53-55 Society Street (1983); photocopy of HCF easement information card (TMS number, year of construction, significant resident(s), deed research, deed restrictions, measurements, and tax information); rehabilitation project reports (also contain building history); research on column capitals including information about Eldridge Boyden and reports from Edward B. White; copy of 1953 renovation drawings.
See Covenant/Easement Inspection Photo Files for inspection photography.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
SOCIETY.055.Source or Donor
55 Society Street (High School of Charleston)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Society Street, Ansonborough, Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project (ARP), Covenant Property, Adaptive reuse, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, School buildings--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
2 Covenant Folders
2 Management Folders
1 History/Miscellaneous 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 94Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
SOCIETY.055.2, SOCIETY.055.3, SOCIETY.055.4, SOCIETY.055.5, SOCIETY.055.6, SOCIETY.055.7
Related Units of Description: Easement Manager's working files
Preservation Consultants files (Part I and/or Part II applications and/or photos and/or miscellaneous documentation), 2011.022.1
"Ansonborough" document box, Preservation Topics shelvesRelated Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 466-467General Notes
Note
Notes: Image # 2 in this record from 1943 City Yearbook.
1983 renovation drawings from Preservation Consultants file.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
February 27, 2012Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023