Old Greenville City Hall

The Old Greenville City Hall, is a former building in Greenville, South Carolina. It was originally built as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office in 1889 on the corner of Main and Broad Streets. After 1938, it was transferred to the City of Greenville and used as its city hall. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1971.[2][3] After its demolition in 1972[4] or 1973,[5] it was removed from the National Register in 1973.[1][3]

Greenville City Hall
Old Greenville City Hall
LocationMain and Broad Sts., Greenville, South Carolina
Coordinates34°50′52″N 82°24′2″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1889
ArchitectWindrim, James H.
Architectural styleRomanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.71001067[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 19, 1971[2]
Removed from NRHPJanuary 1, 1973

History

The court office and post office was designed by James H. Windrim, who was Supervisory Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury.[2][5] It was built in 1889 on the site of the former home of Colonel David Hoke.[4] The resident architect for the construction was James R. Lawrence, who moved from Port Huron, Michigan for the project and is locally recognized as the architect.[2]

An addition on the north side was made in 1909. James Knox Taylor was the Supervisory Architect and signed the drawings. More alterations or minor additions were made in 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, and 1931.[2]

The U.S. Circuit Court for the Western District of South Carolina met here until 1898. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of South Carolina met here until 1937.[5]

The City of Greenville traded a parcel of land on East Washington Street for the courthouse and post office. After construction of the new post office on that parcel, the building became the Greenville City Hall in 1938.[4]

The present City Hall was built in the adjoining lot was formerly occupied by the local Masonic Temple. The Old City Hall was demolished in the early 1970s. A parking garage was built on its site,[4] located across Broad Street from the Peace Center.

Architecture
U.S. Court House and Post Office from a ca. 1910 postcard showing the addition

The two-story building was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It had castellated towers and precast terra-cotta insets. It had a red tiled roof. The building has been described as similar to the Smithsonian Castle.[2]

The foyer had pink marble floors. It had a staircase with half-turns on the landings that led to the tower.[2]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Greenville City Hall" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  3. "Greenville City Hall, Greenville and Broad Sts., Greenville)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  4. Willis, Jeffrey R. (2003). Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 6, 14. ISBN 0-7385-1566-3.
  5. "Greenville, South Carolina". Historic Courthouses. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 29 April 2010.

See also
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