John C. Calhoun Motor Hotel / Orvin Court [194 Calhoun Street]

Description

Three postcards (scans) of 194 Calhoun Street:

a: Ca. 1953 B&W postcard of the building operating as the John C. Calhoun Motor Hotel. A 1949-50 Chevrolet Fleetline Sedan is in the foreground, and a 1953 Buick is in the background.

b: Ca. 1960 B&W postcard of the Orvin Court. Sign advertising "air conditioned" projects from the front of the building. Sign "Restaurant" hangs over the window at left.

c: Ca. 1964 color postcard of the Orvin Court. a 1959 Chevrolet station wagon is in the foreground; a 1953-54 Willys Aero Sedan is parked in front of the building; the first car in the parking lot is a 1960 Impala. Also visible in the parking lot is the tailfin of a 1956 Chevrolet.

The Orvin Inn, also known as the Orvin Motor Court, was located at 194 Calhoun Street. A postcard boasts "106 Rooms - AC and TV - 24 Hour Switchboard Service - Heated Swimming Pool - Restaurant, Banquet and Convention Facilities." The building was later named The College Inn when the College of Charleston purchased the motel and used it to house female students until the 1990s. At some point thereafter, the building was demolished and used as a parking lot, and in the mid-2000s, construction began on the science and mathematics building, which is there today. (Post & Courier articles accessed via the database "America's News-Historical and Current.")