Interview with Joseph H. ("Peter") McGee about growing up in Charleston, his involvement with Historic Charleston Foundation, and historic preservation in Charleston. In particular, he reminisces about playing on The Battery, going to school, living conditions in Charleston, grocery stores, streetcars, and the 1938 tornado. He also discusses HCF's long-time Executive Director Frances Edmunds, HCF's Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project, and the National Trust Meeting in Charleston in 1970. Interviewed by Kitty Robinson and Jonathan Poston at the Missroon House on June 24, 2003.
Interview with Herbert A. DeCosta, Jr., former trustee, about Historic Charleston Foundation, historic preservation in Charleston, and life in Charleston throughout the years. Mr. DeCosta discusses growing up in Charleston in the 1920s and 1930s and his role in the city's preservation movement. He recalls childhood memories of living on Smith Street and on Sullivan's Island and his school days, including his attendance at the Avery Normal Institute. DeCosta's grandfather founded DeCosta construction in the 1890s, and Herbert speaks about the many historic properties in Charleston the company restored during his time as head of the company, including work completed for Historic Charleston Foundation's Revolving Fund. He goes on to discuss his family's ancestry and his involvement in St. Mark's Church and the Brown Fellowship Society. Interviewed by Kitty Robinson at the Missroon House on June 24, 2003.
Interview with Richard (Dick) Jenrette. Mr. Jenrette discusses how he discovered Charleston; his purchases of the Roper House, the Blacklock House, and others; his involvement with the rebuilding of the Mills House Hotel; and his collecting of classical homes and antiques and his foundation Classic American Homes. He also speaks at length about his tenure as an HCF Trustee; about Frances Edmunds's impact on the success of Charleston; and about how Charleston has improved over the years. Other subjects include the Charleston Place project; HCF's success in Ansonborough; his thoughts on the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Mayor Riley; and the scourge of power lines.
Interview with William J. Murtagh (Bill Murtagh), the first Keeper of the National Register and one of the world's leading historic preservationists. In this interview he speaks about how he became the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places; his involvement with Charleston's first preservation plan and the development of what became known as the James Island Connector; his relationship with Frances Edmunds; and his vision for the future of historic preservation. Interviewed by Jonathan Poston at the Missroon House on November 8, 2005.
Interview with Bill and Suzanne McIntosh, long-time owners of 66 Anson Street (Chazal House), who reminisce about their home and the changes in the Ansonborough neighborhood that they have witnessed over the past 50+ plus years. Mr. McIntosh was a long-time Charlestonian who descended from Mary Fisher Bailey Cross, a Quaker, who came to Charleston in 1680. He grew up on Greenhill Street and later lived on New and Broad Streets. He went to the Craft School and High School of Charleston. He owned a successful travel agency on Broad Street and was the president of the Preservation Society during the "Omni [now Charleston Place] controversies." Mrs. McIntosh is from New Orleans where they met when both were in college. Mrs. McIntosh worked for the Evening Post. They purchased 66 Anson Street from Historic Charleston Foundation in 1961 through its Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project. They bought the house because as preservationists they wanted to restore a house. Also the house was inexpensive and they wanted a house with a yard. They had followed the lead of Peter Manigualt (Evening Post Industries) who had previously purchased a house in Ansonborough. Within eight years after they bought the house, at least 8 other Evening Post/News & Courier staff bought homes in Ansonborough, and as word spread, many others got excited and moved there. Repairing, restoring, and renovating the house has been an ongoing process, starting when the McIntoshes cleared out sand on the ground that had reached the front steps, added a new roof, and installed electricity and plumbing. Herbert DeCosta did the work and also advised on the interiors. Through the Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project under Frances Edmunds's leadership, Ansonborough became one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Charleston. Regarding neighborhood conditions and changes, like other homes in Ansonborough, 66 Anson Street was in deteriorated and neglected condition when the McIntoshes bought it. Many people thought the area was a dangerous slum but "many didn't see the neighborhood for how good it was … It was a poor community, not a slum … After World War II there wasn't any money" so the homes slowly became run down and weren't repaired. There had been corner grocery stores which were essential as most residents didn't have cars. (The corner stores were converted to residential during the Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project.) Many new Ansonborough homeowners were young couples before they had children. They socialized and shared information, eventually forming the Ansonborough Neighborhood Association. Ansonborough was a close community but has changed significantly over the years. Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh are the only original ARP homeowners living in the borough and they don't know many of their neighbors. Tourism has had an impact on Ansonborough, largely that of the carriage tours which Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh have not liked since the earliest tours. The rising value of homes has made it more expensive to live and maintain a house; almost all of the McIntosh's former neighbors have moved. There are also many part-time residents, which has changed the character of the neighborhood. Interviewed by Katherine Pemberton on April 21, 2016 at the McIntosh's home at 66 Anson Street.
Interview with Yvonne Tucker, who purchased the house at 258 Ashley Avenue through Historic Charleston Foundation's Neighborhood Impact Initiative. Ms. Tucker recalls growing up on the East Side, later moving away, then returning to Elliottborough. After an unsuccessful attempt to purchase a home on Bogard Street through the Charleston Bank Consortium Program, Ms. Tucker believed that she'd never be able to buy a home until sometime later, Historic Charleston Foundation contacted her about its Neighborhood Impact Initiative and offered 258 Ashley Avenue to her. Skeptical at first due to the condition of the house and neighborhood at the time, she purchased the house with assistance from HCF, which also undertook the restoration of the house. Ms. Tucker recalls participating with HCF during the restoration and she learned to appreciate preservation. Asked about how the neighborhood has changed since she bought the house, Ms. Tucker states that there is much less crime and that she and her two daughters who grew up in the house feel safe. There are also more local businesses and her job is within walking distance. The downside is that the neighborhood has priced out some homeowners and that a historic house is expensive to maintain. Despite all the odds stacked against her, Ms. Tucker states that she wouldn't have been able to purchase a home without HCF and that both she and her daughters are proud of their home. "I didn't go looking for a home; a home came looking for me." Interviewed by Katherine Pemberton on March 3, 2016, at Ms. Tucker's home at 258 Ashley Avenue. Richard Almes, videographer. Recorded as part of HCF's "Changing Neighborhoods" series, made possible by a grant from the SC Humanities Commission.
Interview with Thomas Pinckney Rutledge Rivers, long time Charleston resident living on the lower peninsula in the South of Broad neighborhood. Rivers recalls they joy of growing up South of Broad at 28 Gibbes St and 7 Orange Street and the change that took place over the past 80 years. His parents were both from established, long time Charleston families. Rivers grew up hunting in McClellanville and was an avid hunter his whole life. He went away to boarding school, attended Davidson College, went to medical school, joined the army, then came back to Charleston and started practicing as an OBGYN at Roper Hospital. Rivers has a lot of commentary on what the hospital was like years ago and how it has evolved since the 1960s. A particularly funny story he tells is that he delivered a baby with a dying quail in his back pocket after being called in to the hospital while hunting. He believes he has delivered 7,000 babies in Charleston over his lifetime. Rivers has fond memories of the Charleston he knew as a boy and fears what has become of the city today with new development and an influx of tourists and new residents. Interviewed by Anne Blessing in Mrs. Blessing's home on August 9, 2017. Recorded as part of HCF's "Changing Neighborhoods" series, made possible by a grant from the SC Humanities Commission.
Interview by April Wood of Gladys G. Harvey, a woman who grew up in the North Central neighborhood. Her father was carpenter and also a pastor of Gethsemane Church and her son is the current pastor of the church. Ms. Harvey describes her experience growing up as a pastor's daughter and how her father was very protective of her and her siblings. She recalls shopping for clothes and also the neighborhood grocery stores. She also discusses the Charleston Hospital Workers strike and how she felt when Martin Luther King was killed, and about her having gotten pregnant at 16 and had to leave Burke High School for a private school in Denmark, SC. She reminisces about lunches after church on Sundays and how this was the biggest event of the week. There was a lot of cross over between Gethsemane Baptist Church and New Israel Reformed Episcopal Church as neighbors, especially after Sunday services. Ms. Harvey has had the opportunity to travel a lot in more recent years and has enjoyed this opportunity. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Interview by Katherine Pemberton with Martha Sass, a woman who was raised in the East Side of Charleston. When she was a child, the family moved to Charleston from Cross, SC after the family house burned down there. They first lived on Line Street, then moved to the projects. While living on Line Street, she started attending Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church where she remains very active and involved. Mrs. Sass discusses living in the East Side; her sometimes difficult family life and her social life; going to school (Sanders Clyde, then C.A. Brown) and college (South Carolina State University); various grocery and department stores in the neighborhood and downtown; recreational activities including ice skating at County Hall, going to The Battery, and going to Folly and Mosquito Beach; moving to New York after high school then moving back to Charleston; meeting her husband; her involvement with the Church; Hurricane Hugo; etc. She reminisces about Cross, SC, where she visited throughout her early childhood. She also discusses the changes she has seen in the neighborhood both positive and negative, and her concerns about the future of the East Side. While she feels that she didn't experience racism directly, she was aware of racism and other racial divides in Charleston, and shares a story about her brother's marriage to a Vietnamese woman. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Interview of Joe Louis Jefferson by April Wood, a man who grew up in the North Central neighborhood and long-time attendee of New Israel Reformed Episcopal Church. Mr. Jefferson recounts his experiences growing up in the neighborhood and describes businesses that he would frequent as a young man. He used to walk through Hampton Park on the way to school and walked by the former zoo in the park. He recalls that the lions could be heard roaring at night from his house. He also describes his experiences working at local drug store and race relations through the Civil Rights era. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
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![Interview with Thomas Pinckney Rutledge Rivers [Tommy Rivers]](https://rspace.library.cofc.edu/filestore/9/9/7/0/2/2_95b79094de0524c/220799_alt_32898_44746902137e16d.jpg)
