Name/Title
150 Wentworth Street (Gustavus Memminger House)Entry/Object ID
WENTWORTH.150.2Scope and Content
On this site was the home built by Christopher Gustavus Memminger some time after 1838. Memminger was the Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederacy and a leading supporter of public education and railroad development. The large Greek Revival house remained in Memminger's family until 1936. John McAlister, Inc., later purchased the house and operated it as a funeral home until neighborhood opposition in the courts was successful. The funeral home moved to a location on Meeting Street; however, the property remained in the McAlister family as a residence. Eventually the property was re-zoned to allow for it to be used as a funeral home. The McAlister family had planned to re-use the house but plans were abandoned when it was determined to be unsafe for public use. The house was eventually demolished c. 1956. The construction of a new McAlister Funeral Home building was completed in 1960, using the old English brick from the original house on the exterior. (Source: City of Charleston Tour Guide Training Manual, News & Courier, Evening Post.)
File contains house history from City of Charleston Training Manual (2011); captioned photograph from Preservation Progress (Jan. 1966); entry (photograph) from This is Charleston (see Media tab); newspaper articles (2012) regarding the proposed construction of a hotel on the site; HCF's position statement on request for zoning variance (2012).
PDFs of news articles: "Do You Know Your Charleston" (1/24/1949), "Group to Fight Re-Zoning" (4/4/1955), Local Funeral Home Marks its 75th Anniversary" (10/23/1961) on Media tab.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
WENTWORTH.150.Source or Donor
150 Wentworth Street (Gustavus Memminger House)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Wentworth Street, Harleston Village, Demolished buildings, lost buildings, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Lost architecture--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 112Shelf
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 Entries
Notes
2006.005.073, WENTWORTH.150.1Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
February 13, 2014Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023