2 weeks Ago
Some of Charleston's greatest works of architecture sprang from philanthropy. Centuries ago, city fathers built a grand orphan house and chapel on Calhoun Street that sadly no longer exist, but the impressive William Enston Home still stands off upper King Street. Its vast campus was made possible by the bequest of a wealthy 19th century merchant interested in making old age comfortable for future generations.
Other examples abound, from the Hebrew Orphanage at 88 Broad St. to Hibernian Hall, built for an organization founded to look out for Irish immigrants, to the Marine Hospital on Franklin Street, built for the care of sick and disabled merchant seaman, then later home to the Rev. Daniel Jenkins' home for African American orphans.
Another one of these jewels not only survives but still hews closely to its charitable roots, and it can be found just a few doors down from City Hall. For the past 158 years, the Confederate Home and College has provided affordable housing, education for young women and support for the arts inside its unique and uniquely beautiful campus that spans the block from its front door at 62 Broad St. all the way back to Chalmers Street.
Maintaining a historic building is challenging enough, but balancing that with a mission of charity and outreach is an even more difficult task. The Confederate Home was able to repair damage from a 2020 fire, but it really needed further work, and fortunately, its Board of Control embarked last year on a $2 million project focused on repairing the building’s large envelope, particularly its most visible piece that fronts on Broad Street, and on creating an endowment to ensure its preservation in the future. The construction piece included stucco repair, repainting, fixing up its 19th century wooden window sashes, and restoring delicate, ornamental features such as its eave brackets.
“We basically concluded if we don’t do this now or pretty soon, then we’re going to have more water problems and more things rotting away and it would cost even more to fix,” says Margaret Garrett, head of the board. "It was time to do this." Restoration carpenter David Dick carefully examined, cleaned and rebuilt the sashes, which turned out to be even older than originally thought; many still have Roman numerals that carpenters used to keep them straight, and their details indicate they were made from cypress by three different craftsmen, each of whom had his own subtly different ways.
"Millwork tends to be first stuff that’s thrown out, especially windows and doors," Dick says, so the surviving sashes are remarkable. A window sash from the 19th century still contains the Roman numeral used to identify it. Outside, the building also suffered from stucco loss, and several of its ornamental pieces crafted from sheet metal were almost completely rusted out.
"The paint was holding it together," Dick says. "Painters and paint can cover up a lot of sins.” Cahill Contracting has handled the deteriorated ornaments around the roof; Koozer Painting and stucco craftsman Joe Faust also have been part of the team.
The Broad Street facade, which received most of the work, was first built around 1800 as a Federal-style double tenement, and it was home to President James Monroe when he spent several weeks in Charleston in 1819. The building was converted into a hotel about 15 years later, making it one of the city's oldest surviving hotel buildings. But its use would change even more dramatically two years after the Civil War's end.
In 1867, Amarinthia and Isabella Snowden began leasing the building to shelter mothers, widows and daughters of Confederate soldiers. Its current Victorian facade, including its signature mansard roof, was added in 1887, a year after the 1886 earthquake damaged it. It's not visible from Broad Street, but the interior of the Confederate Home contains piazzas overlooking an expansive courtyard.
While the facade repairs are largely done, the nonprofit now is seeking to raise money to help pay for the work. Garrett and architectural historian Christina Butler will give a talk about the home from 4 p.m.
-6 p.m. Thursday at the home.
Though the mission of the Confederate Home is charitable, its leaders also remain dedicated to maintaining the fabric and historical nature of the property. Charleston's is one of only five charitable homes built in the South for Confederate widows, and it's the only one that continues its mission of providing quality housing to those in need. The Broad Street facade of the Confederate Home recently emerged from extensive repairs to its windows, paint, stucco and metal ornamental elements.
So what's remarkable here isn't simply a collection of historic buildings with varied, rich stories but the larger story they tell of an institution that once served as a haven for women and children whose lives were upside down — an institution that still tries to make a positive difference in women's lives today. Its history, and its future, is intertwined with its historic architecture. Here's hoping the two keep walking hand in hand.
The painted patches and permits on the Confederate Home's door reflect the ambitious scope of repair there. “That’s why we’re not just putting on another coat of paint," Garrett says. "We’re doing what needs to be done here to have another 100 years of history.
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