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The Accidental Preservationist

An unexpected journey

From Shopping

12.01.2018

Holiday Guide to Gifts that Give Back – Supporting Historic Preservation in Charleston, SC

Finding the perfect holiday gift for everybody on your list can be a challenge. To help with this endeavor, I complied this holiday gift guide – best of all, these gifts support the preservation and research work being done by three of my favorite organizations here in Charleston, SC: Drayton Hall, The Charleston Museum and…

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What is The AP?

Join me on an unexpected journey in restoration and research at the circa 1810 Simon Jude Chancognie House in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond.

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Hitting another Philip Trammell Shutze highlight - the 1928 Swan House. Having just visited Goodrum House which was built shortly after Swan House, I found it interesting to compare the two properties. With its smaller scale and more intimate rooms, Goodrum House feels much more like a home to me than the grand spaces of Swan House. If I had to choose, I would most certainly live at Goodrum House. #theaccidentalpreservationist

Thank you @goodrumhouse for the fantastic visit! Designed in 1929 by Philip Trammell Shutze, the house was built for May Patterson Goodrum, the widow of Atlanta businessman John J. Goodrum. Schutze considered this one of his favorite houses due to the fact that he had almost complete control over the design of the house and the landscape. The Architecture League of New York awarded Schutze an honorable mention for the project, a first for him and a rare recognition by the League for southern architecture. #theaccidentalpreservationist

The renovation project here posed a problem - how to preserve the integrity of the c.1810 cistern while supporting the weight of the addition. The answer? We had a structural steel beam fabricated to span the cistern. Side to see the installation process - moving a 5200 pound beam into place with only inches to spare was a delicate operation to say the least. Thanks to @unrepentantclassicist for making sure that everything was just right! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

View from the doorway of the c.1803 Joseph Manigault House: the gatehouse, the c.1965 Mendel Rivers Federal Building and the steeple of the c. 1856 Citadel Square Baptist Church. Thank you @grahame_central_station for the fantastic tour! #theaccidentalpreservationist

One of my favorite houses in Georgetown, SC is also one of the oldest - the c.1737 Crafton Kerwon House. #theaccidentalpreservationist

The exterior of the cistern was not designed to be seen, hence the lack of concern about the appearance of the mortar between the bricks. There would have been a system of gutters on the house and outbuildings to funnel water into the cistern and a pump (unfortunately, missing) to extract the water for use. The only access to the cistern would have been through the top opening. The opening at the end of the cistern was made by a previous owner whose plans to make the space into a wine cellar were never realized. As for our plans, we will finally turn this space into a wine cellar with a small tasting area outside the cistern. While the cistern may never serve its original purpose, it will soon be put to good use once again! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse