CHARLESTON CONTRADICTIONS: a CASE STUDY of HISTORIC PRESERVATION THEORIES and POLICIES David Payne Clemson University, [email protected]
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 8-2013 CHARLESTON CONTRADICTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION THEORIES AND POLICIES David Payne Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Part of the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Payne, David, "CHARLESTON CONTRADICTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION THEORIES AND POLICIES" (2013). All Dissertations. 1140. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1140 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHARLESTON CONTRADICTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION THEORIES AND POLICIES A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Planning, Design, and the Built Environment by David Robert Payne August 2013 Accepted by: Dr. Cliff Ellis, Committee Chair Dr. Robert Benedict Dr. Carter Hudgins Steven Semes i ABSTRACT The philosophy, policies, and practices of historic preservation are currently struggling with how to incorporate Modern architecture, as many of these buildings are reaching the threshold to be considered historic. Since one of the movement’s original goals was to counteract Modernism, it is ironic that many of the buildings initially opposed by historic preservation are now forcing the profession to consider their designation and preservation. The potential preservation of many of these buildings raises important philosophical and practical contradictions for the profession that require further study and resolution. This study presents the results of a case study of three Modern buildings in Charleston, South Carolina—the old Charleston County Library building, the Rivers Federal Building, and the Gaillard Auditorium. All three buildings are civic buildings, built in the 1960s, and located very close to one another in what is now the historic district in Charleston and under the purview of the Board of Architectural Review. While only the library building has reached the 50-year threshold to be considered historic, the other two buildings will reach it soon and, despite similarities among the buildings, each is receiving a different preservation treatment. The qualitative study utilized an explanatory case study methodology and analyzed several different sources of evidence in order to triangulate the results between them. Sources of data included archival evidence, minutes from Board of Architectural Review meetings, and most significantly, in-depth interviews with a small number of expert participants. The participants included architects, preservationists, members of the ii Board of Architectural Review, attorneys and others with knowledge of Charleston’s preservation community. The findings from this research suggest that the potential preservation of Modern architecture presents numerous contradictions for the field of historic preservation and has implications for the field of architecture as well. By dictating that new buildings must express the zeitgeist, both architecture and preservation are creating and supporting an unsustainable cycle of constantly needing to break new ground, rather than relying more on the tried-and-true solutions from the past. Analysis of the cases of the three buildings in the study suggest that the problem is only going to become more acute, as more and more Modern buildings become eligible for historic designation. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my sons, George and Charlie, and my wife Beverley. Her love and encouragement made this work possible and I will always be grateful for her positive attitude and everlasting support. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my committee members for their guidance and support during my time in the PDBE program. In particular, my committee chair, Dr. Cliff Ellis, who not only provided expert academic advice, but also successfully steered me through a mountain of red tape and enabled me to complete the program, as well as providing inspiration and a role model for my future academic career; Dr. Robert Benedict, as a graduate of the PDBE program, gave me constant support and encouragement that I could complete the program; Dr. Carter Hudgins provided me with an opportunity to teach and interact with the Clemson Historic Preservation Program in Charleston; and Steven Semes provided invaluable and needed insight into the fields of both historic preservation and traditional architecture. I would also like to acknowledge the many people who assisted me with this project, most notably the participants who gave freely of their time and opinions, as well as Karen Emmons of the Margaretta Childs Archive at the Historic Charleston Foundation and Libby Wilder of the Post and Courier archives. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge and thank my mother, Catherine Payne- Podsadowski, who taught me the value of hard work and instilled in me a love of learning. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement ................................................................................... 1 Objective .................................................................................................. 3 Purpose/Significance of Study ................................................................. 3 Research Questions .................................................................................. 7 Philosophical Background ....................................................................... 8 Historic Preservation Background ......................................................... 18 Charleston Preservation Background ..................................................... 39 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 44 Introduction ............................................................................................ 44 Historic Preservation Literature ............................................................. 46 Preservation of the Recent Past Literature ............................................. 51 Additions to Historic Buildings Literature ............................................ 63 New Designs in Historic Contexts Literature ........................................ 66 Traditional Architecture Literature ........................................................ 74 Summary of the Literature Review ........................................................ 86 III. RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................ 89 Research Design..................................................................................... 89 Methodology .......................................................................................... 91 Research Sources ................................................................................... 92 Archival Sources .................................................................................... 92 vi Table of Contents (Continued) Page Interviews ............................................................................................... 95 Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 98 Threats to Construct Validity ............................................................... 100 Threats to Internal Validity .................................................................. 100 Threats to External Validity ................................................................. 101 Threats to Reliability............................................................................ 102 IV. ARCHIVAL RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS........................................... 104 Old Charleston County Library, 404 King Street ................................ 105 L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building, 334 Meeting Street ..................... 129 Gaillard Auditorium, 77 Calhoun Street .............................................. 153 V. INTERVIEWS AND ANALYSIS ............................................................. 175 Introduction .......................................................................................... 175 VI. BAR MINUTES/TEXTUAL INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 225 Old Charleston County Library, 404 King Street ................................ 225 L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building, 334 Meeting Street ..................... 227 Gaillard Auditorium, 77 Calhoun Street .............................................. 231 VII. SUMMARY