Architecture Commons^™

Annexation For Good: An Equity Approach For Social And Environmental Justice With Municipal Annexation, Russell H. Stall

All Theses

Municipal annexation is a powerful tool for improving communities. United States cities historically use municipal annexation to increase tax revenues, grow populations, and increase land areas. However, attitudes about annexation are changing, and there is emerging interest in broadening annexation practices to advance a broader range of social and environmental benefits. For example, annexation can be used to improve blighted areas, control overdevelopment, protect environmentally sensitive areas and open spaces, and improve the lives of residents. It is not clear if cities support using annexation in this way, and if so, when those uses are possible.

Despite restrictive laws and …

A Comparison Of Preferences: Testing The Correlation Between The National Register Of Historic Places And The South Carolina Picture Project, Vito Scocozzo

All Theses

Current affairs relating to the architectural stylings of federal buildings have sparked discussions regarding the preferences of the American people for different styles of architecture. Studies have identified a disconnect between the preferences of the general public and professionals who work with the built environment. This thesis seeks to continue these discussions and better understand how they relate to historic preservation by answering the following question: Do the historic resources and buildings nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by historic preservation professionals directly compare to the historic resources identified by a wider public base as represented by …

The Forgotten Stone: A History And Analysis Of Bermuda Stone In Charleston, South Carolina, Justin M. Schwebler

All Theses

Throughout the historic streets of Charleston, South Carolina there is a forgotten and overlooked stone. It is in the narrow gaps between houses, along carriageway walls, underfoot on garden paths, and in foundations of many historic buildings. The forgotten stone of Charleston is Bermuda stone. This thesis provides the history of Bermuda stone in Charleston, South Carolina. This history was written answering the following research questions. How and why was Bermuda stone imported to Charleston? Who were the people bringing Bermuda stone to Charleston and who were the people using it as a building material? When was the period of …

Noiseless, Automatic Service: The History Of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems In Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900, Wendy Danielle Madill

All Theses

Shortly before Europe's industrial revolution, tradesmen discovered an ingenious way to rig bells in houses to mechanize communication between homeowners and their servants. Mechanical bell systems, now known as house bells or servant call bells, were prevalent in Britain and America from the late 1700s to the early twentieth century. These technological ancestors of today's telephone were operated by the simple pull of a knob or a tug of a tassel mounted on an interior wall. Bell-pulls increased privacy for both servants and their employers by separating both parties by the length of a bell wire, but they also increased …

Adaptive Use Potential Of Kitchen And Carriage Houses Toward Smart Growth Goals In Charleston, South Carolina, Elizabeth A. Shaw

All Theses

Growth and historic preservation are typically framed as being mutually exclusive. Since growth is inevitable, it behooves cities and towns to focus on growth that collaborates with preservation. This can successfully be achieved by creating plans that use existing infrastructure, promote mixed-use neighborhoods, and encourage sustainable building efforts. In Charleston, the main dwelling of an individual lot was often accompanied by separate outbuildings such as carriage houses, kitchen houses, privies, and laundry buildings. Many of these out buildings remain, and provide an opportunity to create sustainable smart growth and sensitive density.
This thesis analyzes the way property owners in two …

The Best Brick House In All The Country: Documenting The Structural Evolution Of Medway, Mount Holly, South Carolina, Neale Canter Nickels

All Theses

This thesis represents the assembly of physical architectural analysis, archival investigation, and the study of the work of previous historians on the subject of the main house at Medway Plantation. Medway is a property whose origins can be traced back to the seventeenth century. Since then, it has changed form many times. A great amount of research has been conducted on Medway by historians, both amateur and professional. Few, however, if any have ever been able to study Medway with the stucco removed from the exterior and walls and floors exposed on the inside.
This was the impetus for researching …

Remembering The Legacy Of Coastal Defense: How An Understanding Of The Development Of Fort Moultrie Military Reservation, Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, Can Facilitate Its Future Preservation, Karl Philip Sondermann

All Theses

This thesis examines the landscape evolution of the one hundred and twenty year history of Fort Moultrie Military Reservation (FMMR), Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, one of the United States' Twentieth Century coastal defense installations. During the first half of the century, these technologically advanced fortifications protected the country's coasts as the nation emerged as a world power. When World War II's technological advances made these installations' obsolete, most were quickly converted into new military or government operated public uses. The remainder, including FMMR, was sold after the war to the public, before the limited protections of the National Historic Preservation …

A Forgotten Typology: The Rediscovery Of The Train Stations On The Oldest Railroad In The Country, Lora Ann Cunningham

All Theses

The Charleston and Hamburg Railroad in South Carolina, when completed in 1833, was the first steam powered railroad in America. It was also the longest in the world at 136 miles. The railroad was initially referred to as the 'Best Friend of Charleston.' On December 25, 1830, the 'Best Friend' engine made its first public run on the freshly laid railroad tracks. This milestone trip shifted the country toward an era of transportation development. With this new form of transportation came a new building type, the train station. The train station was the first building to greet people when they …

In The Fork Of The Road: A Study Of The Burt-Stark House, Abbeville, South Carolina, Grace Naomi Washam

All Theses

The Burt-Stark house, one of the last surviving antebellum townhouses in Abbeville, South Carolina, is a significant residence which, despite its designation as a National Historic Landmark, remains largely unstudied. This thesis examines the design, construction, use, and evolution of the house within the contexts of its setting and past occupants. Measured architectural drawings and exterior and interior paint analyses, along with historical analysis, provides an inclusive documentation of the Burt-Stark house.

The Movement Of Architectural Elements Within Charleston, South Carolina, Laura Burghardt

All Theses

The movement of architectural elements from one building to another within Charleston, South Carolina, is an integral part of historic preservation in the city. From the earliest days of the city's historic preservation movement in the 1920s, preservationists have understood the importance of preserving elements of historic structures. In the early twentieth century, architectural elements were threatened by antique dealers and collectors of architecture who sought to purchase decorative elements, even out of standing houses. Buildings were also threatened with demolition as gas stations and other modern structures were constructed. Rather than seeing pieces of history lost, preservationists salvaged materials …

One-Way To Two-Way Street Conversions As A Preservation And Downtown Revitalization Tool: The Case Study Of Upper King Street, Charleston, South Carolina, Meagan Baco

All Theses

In the first half of the twentieth century, historic urban areas in America were retrofitted to accommodate a mass amount of automobile traffic. These retrofits came in the form of highways, thruways, and one-way streets. Many historic commercial streets in American downtowns were converted to one-way streets, because of traffic engineers' narrow perspectives. After decades of decline, largely linked to automobile dominance, downtown economic revitalization emerged in the 1990s. One technique that appears to be remarkably successful is the re-conversion of one-way streets to two-way streets.
One-way streets allow for greater traffic capacity and higher automobile speeds, while two-way streets …