"It took a hurricane, 13 years and a seemingly endless and sometimes stormy debate over the question of
how to fit a very large, modern building into the heart of downtown Charleston," noted a Post and Courier
reporter, but with Historic Charleston Foundation's involvement, that is what was successfully accomplished.
The Charleston County Judicial Center opened amid much fanfair on Aug. 30, 2002. Over the course of
those 13 years, HCF and other preservationists successfully sought to
- tear down inappropriate modern additions to the Charleston County Courthouse, so damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989
- prevent the demolition of the back 98 Broad Street, c. 1735, and the Meyers-Peace House, c. 1790
- modify the design of the building so that it would not dwarf the adjacent row of historic, two-story Broad Street buildings, but instead snuggle in behind its historic neighbors
- shift parking for the complex's 250 employees to an existing, though expanded, garage on Cumberland Street
For most of the past two centuries, the Charleston County Courthouse has stood out as an architectural
jewel at the heart of the city's center. The building speaks as strongly about civic vitality as it does
rchitectural aesthetics.
| HCF staff members Jonathan Poston and Scott Lane review plans for the restoration of the Charleston County Courthouse to its 1792 appearance. |
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Designers of Charles Town's Grand Modell in 1680 followed a tradition in city planning that owes its
origin to Roman custom and Renaissance vision: a common public space where civic institutions would
establish buildings whose proximity to one another created the critical gravity that defined a community.
Civic activities in Charleston have been centered at the Four Corners of Law for almost 300 years,
establishing Broad Street as the city's heart of commerce and banking. Thus Charleston maintained its
civic vitality within the heart of the city, a record of continuous use unsurpassed by any other
American community. Until Sept. 21, 1989.
Hurricane Hugo left the County Courthouse little more than a shell. Even before Hugo forced the
question, civic leaders had begun debating the future of the aging courthouse, questioning whether
the cost of restoration, the need for parking and suburban growth called for relocating nearer the
interstate highway.
Historic Charleston Foundation staff and trustees immediately responded, arguing that America is
filled with cities whose downtown centers have fallen into economic ruin because they failed to
recognize that their vitality relied on central shared spaces where the common bonds of law,
culture and community link citizens to one another. Foundation representatives appeared time and
time again at County Council and Board of Architectural Review meetings, vigilant in their conviction
that the Courthouse's presence was critical to the downtown area's character, economic and civic health.
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Restoration of the Charleston County Courthouse has preserved the heart of downtown Charleston
as the city's hub of legal and governmental activities. |
More than 200 buildings along Broad Street depended on the judiciary function remaining at the city's
center. If the courts moved away so would dependent professional offices. Vacated buildings would have
to find alternative uses, the most likely being the southward expansion of the tourist-oriented
commercial district around Market Street. Maintaining an office-oriented corridor along Broad Street
was a critical buffer between the commercial Market district and the historic residential community
south of Broad.
Restoring the County Courthouse and fitting the judicial complex sensitively within the block bordered
by Broad, Meeting and King streets was no easy task. Foundation staff worked at great length with the
County's staff, architects and archeologists. Thus, through perseverance, creativity and negotiation,
Charleston has preserved an invaluable resource that so many other American communities are seeking
desperately to recreate.
The Foundation, along with Friends of the Courthouse, also successfully advocated the placement of
the William Pitt Statue (1770) by Joseph Wilton in the Judicial Center's entrance hall with Pitt's
quotation carved in stone above: "Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins." Several speakers at the 2002
dedication ceremony cited the quotation as an important symbol of the new building's presence.
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