Josiah Smith Tennent House

The Josiah Smith Tennent House is a historic house in Charleston, South Carolina.[2][3] The house was built by Josiah Smith Tennent in 1859 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

Josiah Smith Tennent House
Josiah Smith Tennent House
Location727 East Bay St.,
Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates32°47′55″N 79°56′6″W
Area0.25 acres (0.10 ha)
Built1859
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.79002377[1]

In 1993, the city gave the property known as the Josiah Smith Tennent House to nonprofit Elpis Inc. At the time, the house was little more than a shell, and the nonprofit intended to restore the building as a community center. A restoration followed, aided by the community development grants from the city, private donations estimated in the millions, and a $1.73 million mortgage that Elpis took out on the building in 2003. The restoration received a South Carolina Historic Preservation Award in 2004.[4]

Elpis outfitted part of the building as a dental clinic, helped established a day care center there, and housed other nonprofit groups in the building. In March 2008, it was announced that Charleston would spend $1.4 million to buy the house when a nonprofit that received more than $1 million in municipal grants toward renovating the building as a community center defaulted on its mortgage.[5]

The small front yard of the building became the Philip Simmons Children's Garden, honoring the master blacksmith.[6]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Childs, Margaret; William D. Evans (July 16, 1979). "Josiah Smith Tennent House" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  3. "Josiah Smith Tennent House, Charleston County (729 E. Bay St., Charleston)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  4. "2004 South Carolina Historic Preservation Awards" (PDF). South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved Nov 22, 2012.
  5. David Slade (March 5, 2008). "Charleston to buy mansion for $1.4M after group defaults". Charleston Post & Courier. Retrieved Nov 22, 2012.
  6. Ron Menchaca (June 1, 2000). "East Side garden to honor blacksmith Philip Simmons". Charleston Post & Courier. Retrieved Nov 22, 2012.


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