Historic Charleston Foundation

Preservation services - Historic Charleston Foundation (hcf) is one of the nation's oldest and most respected Historic preservation organizations. Founded in 1947 by a group of concerned local citizens, the Foundation continues its important role in managing growth in Charleston and preserving the city's Historic architecture and neighborhoods. Hcf is currently one of the most innovative and effective preservation advocacy organizations in the united states.the Foundation created the nation's first revolving fund for neighborhoods, saving and protecting over 140 Historic structures, and stressing the importance of revitalizing entire neighborhoods rather than just individual buildings. Its ansonborough project is credited with inspiring community-based conservation efforts in Historic neighborhoods throughout the nation. The Foundation's neighborhood revitalization initiative is an arm of the revolving fund. Established in 1995, the goal is to be a catalyst for the preservation of neighborhoods by creating community gathering spaces and rehabilitating deteriorated Historic properties, while also preventing displacement of long-term residents. In 2014, hcf provided funding to establish the romney urban garden, a joint project with new israel reformed episcopal church which owned an abandoned lot in the north central neighborhood. The community garden continues to flourish as the site of community events to include musical performances, poetry readings and pizza parties, with pizza and pies made in the garden's oven. The community gathering space concept has been so successful that hcf expanded the program to include working with local partners to establish a book nook reading area and pollinator garden in the same neighborhood. The Foundation has a new initiative under the neighborhood initiative called the common cause loan fund, a partnership between hcf and a housing affordability non-profit, the Charleston redevelopment corporation. The common cause loan fund provides loans of up to $60,000 for exterior repairs to Historic houses for income qualified homeowners. These legacy homeowners contribute to the cultural fabric of Charleston and these needed repairs help families to retain ownership of their homes. Target participants are 80% or lower of the area median income. Hcf reached its goal of getting five projects underway by the end of last year with homeowners receiving financial counseling and legal advice prior to the loan's closing. Through the revolving fund, hcf has purchased a Historic gas station at 80 ashley avenue that was threatened by demolition by neglect. We are currently completing stabilization work and plan to re-sell the property, with restrictive covenants, to a preservation minded buyer for an appropriate commercial use.hcf is also known as an innovator in Historic easement and covenant programs. The Foundation holds approximately 380 easements and restrictive covenants, which protect Historic buildings in the city and outlying areas as well as over 2000 acres of open land of Historic significance. Properties protected by easements and covenants held by hcf are as diverse as the magnificent c.1772 william gibbes house in downtown Charleston to the c.1939 auldbrass near beaufort, sc, the only plantation designed by frank lloyd wright. Through its dedicated easements manager, the Foundation performs annual inspections and provides technical outreach to all our easement and covenant property owners, helping with appropriate conservation techniques for issues ranging from brick re-pointing to window restoration to the cleaning of architectural stone. The Foundation actively advocates and continually monitors issues of preservation, urban planning, climate resilience, livability, and development across the city and county of Charleston and is a staunch defender of the public process. The preservation department makes significant contributions and provides input at county and city council, zoning, planning, and design review hearings, and meets regularly with property owners, developers, and architects to review their proposed projects. Special projects include research and documentation of Historic properties, national register nominations, and assisting the city with the development of sound public policies. Responding to the significant demographic, environmental, and economic changes in Charleston over the last 20 years, hcf constantly works with the city to re-align our land use planning practices to address these changes. Hcf worked successfully in 2022 to get planning efforts underway to reflect the community's preservation, climate resilience, and land use priorities, including a new master plan for the Charleston peninsula, a complete overhaul of the city's zoning code, and sc's first comprehensive integrated water plan.as part of our outreach to protect Historic african american resources in the community, the Foundation took a stand to protect property rights and the gullah geechee culture by supporting an alternative to the county's plan to widen highway 41 through the Historic phillips community, a 150-year-old african american settlement community. With support from the Foundation and other partners the phillips community was designated a Historic district by Charleston county in 2021 and was listed on the national register of Historic places as sc's first traditional cultural property, both serving to protect the area for future generations. Further, in 2022, hcf worked closely with the beefield, ten mile, and red top communities in their quests for designation as Charleston county Historic districts. Hcf assisted with Historic deed and plat research, as well as did advocacy work with the appropriate governmental bodies to support the applications.the Foundation continues to work with local educators to incorporate the hcf-produced tangled roots documentary films into the curriculums of area schools. Based on feedback from educators, the Foundation commissioned a prequel to the film to present a more complete backstory about the general history of johns island, sc leading up to the civil rights movement. Tangled roots provides powerful stories from Charleston's john island community which are intimate, and sometimes painful, reflections of rural economies and social injustice in the lowcountry. With accelerated commercial development in Charleston, population growth, and rising housing costs, the Foundation has prioritized housing affordability as a significant advocacy issue that is adversely affecting residential quality of life. Hcf continues its work with the palmetto community land trust, an initiative started in 2018 by hcf with the city of Charleston. One of the many ways hcf seeks to protect Charleston's architectural, historical, and cultural integrity is through scholarly research and documentation. The margaretta childs archives include Historic building documentation, photos, drawings, and other materials that are useful to those researching properties throughout Charleston. The online catalogue contains records for 2,329 books in the Foundation's library and 7,202 items from the archives, making the Foundation's archives and library even more accessible to the public.

Museums - hcf fulfills its educational mission through the interpretation of its collections and two outstanding museum houses: the nathaniel russell house, c. 1808, at 51 meeting street, one of america's most significant neoclassical federal townhouses; and the aiken-rhett house, c. 1820, at 48 elizabeth street, where visitors can step back in time to better understand life in antebellum Charleston. Historic Charleston Foundation purchased the nathaniel russell house, c. 1808, a national Historic landmark, in 1955. Visitors continue to admire the grand federal-style townhouse of prominent merchant, nathaniel russell. Completed in 1808 when russell was 70 years old, the lavishly ornamented house serves as a testament to the great wealth he accumulated over his distinguished lifetime. Then, as now, the russell house is considered to be among the finest dwellings in Charleston. The house also stands in contrast to other contemporary Charleston residences with a unique geometric floor plan and fine architectural detailing. The interior boasts a spacious reception room with intricate glazed doors, an elegant free-flying staircase, and elaborate trompe-l'oeil decoration from the first to the third floors. Painstakingly restored to its original 1808 appearance, the russell house also serves as the ideal exhibition space for hcf's outstanding collection of fine and decorative arts. In a commitment to tell the stories of everyone who lived and labored on the properties of the Foundation's two house museums, the audio guides interpret the histories of the houses, architecture and museum objects and discuss the lives of the white families who owned the properties as well as the enslaved people who lived there. The audio guide is supplemented by commentary from local experts ranging from a discussion of the harsh realities of slave life to entertaining in the antebellum period to colonial paint techniques. The app also features a walking guide of Charleston with over 300 points of interest and 30 audio stops. Underrepresented narratives, such as the important role the grimke sisters played in the abolitionist movement or the role of the freedman's cottage in post-civil war Charleston, are included along with interpretation of the more well-known Historic sites.also operated as a museum house is the aiken-rhett house, c. 1820, built by john robinson and greatly expanded by governor and mrs. william aiken jr. In the 1830s. The property, which remained in the family until 1975, has survived as a unique time capsule, virtually unaltered since 1858. Original dependencies include the kitchen, slaves' quarters, stable, coach house and privies. Together with the main house these structures combine to form a rare and unique 19th century urban complex. The buildings and the artifacts within them poignantly illustrate the connections among all members of the household, those who lived in the main house as well as those who lived and worked as enslaved african americans on the property. Historic Charleston Foundation has adopted a unique approach to its stewardship of the house. Thanks in great part to a prestigious save america's treasures grant, hcf has restored and thus protected the building's exterior to its 1858-1860 appearance. The preservation plan for the original Historic interior is stabilization and conservation. This rare approach enables the interpretation of the house's continued habitation and its changes over time as new technologies, such as gas lighting and electricity, were adopted. The period finishes, such as original 19th century wallpapers, make the aiken-rhett site one of the nation's most important house museums, and the intact decorative layers help us better understand nineteenth-century conceptions of refinement, patterns of consumption, and decorative preferences in the carolina lowcountry.unlike most other Historic house museums, all objects on display are original to the house. Many of the objects were purchased by gov. Aiken and his wife, harriet lowndes aiken. During their residency, the house went through several decorative periods as the couple kept current with the latest fashions. While the majority of the furnishings in the house were in the plain grecian style, gothic-inspired and rococo revival objects were acquired and added to their collection over time. Linking the interior and exterior, it is no coincidence that these items closely relate to the gothic elements found in the outbuildings. A grant from the south carolina Historic preservation office allowed hcf to execute a complete digital laser scan of the aiken-rhett house. The scanner utilized in this work collects millions of measurements (each accurate to with three millimeters) over a three-day period. This data was put into a software program that assembled a comprehensive digital model of the aiken-rhett house, from which engineering and construction experts will be able to conduct a conditions analysis.

Public programs - as part of hcf's mission to educate the public about the benefits of Historic preservation, the Foundation holds its annual festival of houses and gardens. Each march and april the monthlong festival allows visitors to learn about and visit the city's finest Historic private houses and gardens, as well as attend workshops, lectures, educational concerts, and other cultural and social events. Daily morning history walks are held as well as specialty tours educating guests about the history, preservation, and advocacy issues around the city. Last year the Foundation was able to host over 5,000 guests at 90 individual events and 65 private Historic home and garden tours in the city.for 2022, the Foundation once again partnered with southern living and explore Charleston to host an event called illumination Charleston. The illumination Charleston event was a 4-day weekend highlighting the Historic aiken-rhett house museum with vignettes designed by well-known designers from the southeast and providing an interesting juxtaposition between contemporary decor and the preserved rooms. Also highlighting the weekend were "design in mind" talks featuring well-respected and recognized designers, highlighting the preservation ethos in contemporary design, including the creative reuse of historically significant buildings and materials. Over 3,300 people from all over the country enjoyed the festivities and were able to see the aiken-rhett house in a whole new light. Taking a scientific, Historic, and artistic look at local foodways, the 2021/2022 art and architecture lecture series featured three speakers and an excursion. University of Pennsylvania archaeologist dr. katherine moore spoke in november on her continued analysis of the plant and animal materials found at the nathaniel russell kitchen house. In december, chef, historian, and author michael twitty, spoke on his book the cooking gene. In january, the group traveled to lavington farms to visit jimmy hagood, founder of Charleston's food for the southern soul. The series culminated with artist jonathan green discussing incorporation of foodways and rice culture within various aspects of his art. The Foundation continued to emphasize its curriculum-based field trip opportunities. Unfortunately, because of the logistical and budgetary issues from the pandemic, student visitation from local and regional schools was severely obstructed. We are focusing on reimagining our educational curriculum and conducted several field trips in 2022 with plans for continued growth.hcf laid the groundwork for a new digital preservation and education project titled "harborside history." This video series will be accompanied each month by a blog, and both will be featured on hcf's website, its youtube channel, and most major social media outlets. The start of this digital initiative was launched in january 2022 and coincided with Historic Charleston Foundation's 75th anniversary.hcf also hosted public programs in 2022 to engage and educate the community on our preservation advocacy efforts. The community was invited to two advocacy forums in the fall and spring. The first was to initiate dialogue focused on the development of the city's new peninsula plan. The second public forum featured a tourism management-focused panel highlighting livability and quality of life concerns in Charleston. Additionally, hcf was also proud to host a virtual "water dialogues" lecture series to examine the intersection of the water hazards Charleston faces alongside intense land use and development pressures.

Other programs: retail/licensed products - Historic Charleston Foundation began its licensed products program in 1972 as an innovative way to extend the Foundation's preservation efforts beyond Historic architecture and interiors to Charleston's material culture as well. Items selected for inclusion are those whose origins are steeped in Charleston's history, culture, decorative arts and architecture.the program strives to keep Charleston designs alive and make those designs available to a broad audience while also generating revenue to support our mission. The licensed products of Historic Charleston Foundation range from furniture, china, mirrors, jewelry, porcelain, decorative accessories, and Historic paint colors. Many of the original objects, which are reproduced or are used for inspiration, may be seen in the Historic museum house collections and other museum collections in charleston.the shops of Historic Charleston Foundation showcase the licensed products of the Foundation as well as an extensive selection of books on Charleston history, architecture, gardens, and culture. Within the shops of Historic Charleston Foundation is the frances r. edmunds bookstore, providing the most comprehensive selection of books on Charleston and lowcountry history in the city. In addition, the shops include a wide range of decorative arts and gift items, including china, jewelry, garden furniture, lamps, mirrors, and a palette of paint colors inspired by Historic buildings in charleston.the market shop of Historic Charleston, which opened in the summer of 2011, is the anchor shop in the great hall of the Historic Charleston city market. With displays that demonstrate the Foundation's mission and a selection of the items found in the main retail location, the shop allows the Foundation to reach a wider audience with the millions of annual visitors who visit the market.