The Charleston County Courthouse at 83 Meeting Street started life in about 1790, replacing the previous building that burned in 1788, that had served as the South Carolina State House, just a year following the ratification of the young nation's Constitution. People interested in architecture can find similar buildings in Dublin, Ireland, and Chelmsford, Essex, UK.

Hurricane Hugo in 1989 accelerated the wear-and-tear on the old Courthouse, as it did Charleston's other old buildings; so the city decided to renovate the Courthouse and do something with the surrounding buildings, in order to create more space for government offices.

In doing so, the city paved over one of Historic Charleston's oldest streets, named Courthouse Square. The increased need for office-space outweighed the historical issues, and, after all, only two buildings remained in the Square, the Daniel Blake Tenements at No. 2-4 and an old building at No. 8, seen in a photo from the 1950s.

No. 8 was built in about 1800, surrounded by a nice garden with trees, as seen in this photo from the 1950s.

But the building sold multiple times over the years and lost its surrounding garden and trees to the adjacent property-owners, as the lots became more valuable. By 1990, as the city began its rehabilitation of the area, No. 8 had become vacant and derelict, headed for demolition.

 

The building's owner then sold the lot to the government, and sold the building to one of Charleston's historical preservation societies for a dollar. The preservation people decided to move the building to a vacant lot on Broad Street. The task of moving the building fell to a firm that moves buildings. Watching the firm set the building on a row of I-beams, turn it 45 degrees, and slide it over the beams to Broad Street is one of the most interesting things I have ever seen.

Really, you can find trained-people who can do almost anything for a price. The moving of No. 8 Courthouse Square confirmed something about man's ingenuity. The new owner of the building renovated it and turned it into law offices.


Blog

March 31, 2023

How Long Do Republicans Wait?

Americans who vote Republican have to remember that, for people who work for the Republican Party, it's just a job. They may like their jobs. Mostly they prefer to keep their jobs. They may share the Republican sentiment for free-market principles and military readiness; but when someone like me comes along and suggests that Republicans petition for a nation of their own, they worry about things like job-redundancy and relocations more than they do about Democrat big-government and peacenik sell-out.


March 23, 2023

Release Grand Ole Prometheus!

Left-wing trash-talking of the GOP represents a concerted campaign that should concern its leaders. The scathing rhetoric suggests that the trash-talking will not end until the Left can make the GOP the permanent minority-party, and silence or discredit its associated media-organs. Older Americans familiar with the Nazi-smearing of the Jews should note the similarities in the left-wing method. Neither the Republicans nor freedom-loving people of any stripe should ignore the potential threat that these smear-tactics represent.


March 21, 2023

Republicans: a New Start

The Republican Party has a few tasks it needs to undertake. It needs to examine the philosophy it claims to represent and to take stock of its future, and stop thinking in terms of personal rivalries. We have more on the line than just choosing candidates and securing a victory in future elections. The GOP needs to regain a corporate sense-of-self. How can we move forward when we have deep doubts about the game, the rules, and not least the players?


Lloyd Bowers

loybow3@gmail.com


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