Designers of Charles Town's Grand Model in 1680 followed a tradition in city planning that owes its origin to Roman custom and Renaissance vision: a common public space where civic institutions would establish buildings whose proximity to one another created the critical gravity that defined a community. Civic activities in Charleston have been centered along Broad Street, particularly at the Four Corners of Law intersection at Meeting Street, for almost 300 years, establishing this street as the city's heart of commerce and banking. Thus Charleston maintained its civic vitality within the heart of the city, a record of continuous use unsurpassed by any other American community.
Preservationists who sought to restore the Charleston County Courthouse in its historic location after it was heavily damaged in Hurricane Hugo (1989) noted that more than 200 buildings along Broad Street depended on the judiciary function remaining at the city's center. If the courts moved away, as some city leaders argued, so would dependent professional offices. Vacated buildings would have to find alternative uses, the most likely being the southward expansion of the tourist-oriented commercial district around Market Street. Maintaining an office-oriented corridor along Broad Street serves as a critical buffer between the commercial Market district and the historic residential community south of Broad. Many of the buildings along Broad Street are excellent examples of adaptive reuse, changing and evolving over the years, yet retaining their historic integrity
1 Broad Street
State Bank of South Carolina Building
Constructed 1853: restored 1978 Edward C. Jones and Francis Lee. architects This Italian Renaissance Revival style building faced with Connecticut brownstone was designed by the Charleston architectural firm, Jones & Lee Edward C. Jones and Francis D. Lee). Jones had his office in this building in January 1857 Notable architectural features of the exterior include the lion head keystones on the first floor. Each lion's head is distinctive
The building was constructed for the State Bank of South Carolina and cost an estimated $100.000 to build. During the Federal bombardment of the city (1863-65). the State Bank moved up the peninsula to Cannon Street. The building at 1 Broad Street was wrecked by the shelling, and the State Bank collapsed along with the Confederacy
The building was rehabilitated and enlarged in 1868. For a time it was owned by George A. Trenholm. a cotton broker. former Treasurer of the Confederacv. and blockade runner. When the Federal government sued Trenholm and his associates after the war for import duties on the illegal blockade goods, his company went bankrupt. However, he reorganized his cotton brokerage business and remade another fortune.
In 1875, the building was purchased by another local merchant and blockade runner, George Walton Williams. who founded the Carolina Savings Bank here. During the 1ate 19th century, the bank was located on the first floor. the office and exchange of Southern Bell on the second floor. and the local office of the U.S. Weather Bureau on the third floor
The building continued to be used as a bank throughout the 20" century. In 1978-80. Bankers Trust completed a renovation of the building. During the renovation, a cannonball hole was found in one of the pine ceiling beams Cannonballs have also been found in the basement.
