Rosie Craig Awarded Preservation Leadership Award

Historic Columbia’s 2015 Preservation Awards Luncheon Honors Local Projects for Design and Preservation Accomplishments

 

COLUMBIA, SC —To celebrate the accomplishments of local architectural, construction and rehabilitation projects, Historic Columbia held its annual Preservation Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 8 at Agapé Senior, presented by Mashburn Construction. Local preservation activist and developer Rosemarie McFarlane Craig was surprised with the Preservation Leadership Award, given to someone who contributes to the advancement of historic preservation in the region.

 

Preservation Leadership Award: Rosemarie McFarlane Craig

A founding member of the Congaree Vista Guild, Rosie was an active participant in the revitalization of Columbia’s historic warehouse district with the purchase and rehabilitation of the DuPre Building. The successful restoration and adaptive reuse of the building led to Historic Columbia awarding the DuPre building an Adaptive Reuse Preservation Award in 2002.

Continuing her preservation advocacy, since 2012 Rosie has been instrumental in advocating for the preservation of the Palmetto Compress Warehouse. Built in 1917 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, the Palmetto Compress Warehouse is one of Columbia’s last surviving remnants of the city’s cotton industry.

“As a forward and preservation-minded thinker, Rosie was the first person to publicly offer to purchase the warehouse and propose an adaptive reuse project converting the warehouse into a mixed-use space,” said preservation activist and developer Richard Burts, winner of the 2013 Preservation Leadership Award. “With strong leadership and dedication to preserving Columbia’s history, Rosie has been instrumental in the preservation of Columbia’s built environment.”

 

2015 Preservation Award Winners:

For decades Historic Columbia has recognized local projects that have maintained or added to the historical, architectural and cultural heritage throughout Columbia and Richland County by presenting recent preservation projects with awards in Preservation Leadership, Preservation/Restoration, Adaptive Use and New Construction in a Historic Context.

“Preservation is the pillar upon which Historic Columbia was founded,” said Robin Waites, executive director of Historic Columbia. “The projects we honor this year reveal a real interest in sustainability, creative design and sensitivity to the small and large features that make our community unique.”

 

Adaptive Use Award: Former Adluh Flour Warehouse

802/804 Gervais Street

Owner: Allen Brothers Milling Company, Inc.

Architect: Studio 2LR, Inc.

Contractor: Hood Construction Company

A two-story brick building constructed ca. 1910, Allen Brothers Milling Co. purchased the mill and surrounding buildings in 1926. While the mill remains in use, 802/804 Gervais has been vacant for many years, and the Allen family decided to revitalize this unused space. The recent renovations have rehabilitated the vacant building, which now features a restaurant and is available for future retail and office tenants. The adaptive use of the historic building required removal of previous brick infill of several doors and windows, as well as installing two new stairs and an elevator to access the second-story. A new patio and canopy were constructed to serve the first floor restaurant tenant. On the interior, the wood roof trusses, floor joists and wood flooring serve as reminders of the original aesthetics of the building.

 

Adaptive Use Award: Agapé Complex

1614, 1620 and 1626 Main Street

Owner: Agapé Senior

Architect: Lambert Architecture + Construction Services

Contractor: Mashburn Construction

Originally, 1614 and 1620 Main Street housed the W.T. Grant and Schulte-United companies, two “five-cent to one-dollar” chain stores that sold general merchandise during the 1920s through the 1950s. The 1626 Main Street building operated as the Lutheran Publishing House, established by African American R.J. Palmer in 1907, and became Haverty’s Furniture store in the 1940s. Mashburn Construction and Lambert Architecture + Construction Services collaborated to develop a creative approach to adapting these three adjacent, vacant historic buildings. The two 1920s companies re-built and restored the historic facades of the three buildings, which included Art Deco details, marble panels, decorative stonework and historic windows that had been bricked over. One eye-catching detail incorporated by the construction team is the neon sign recalling Haverty’s original storefront sign. The rehabilitated Main Street buildings provide a vibrant mixed-use array of services, including restaurants, fitness center, pharmacy, landscaped courtyard, office space and a conference center.

 

Adaptive Use Award: DuPre Building

807 Gervais Street

Owner: NAI Avant

Architect: Studio 2LR, Inc.

Interior Designer: Nan Sammataro

Contractor: Weathers Contracting

Designed by architect James B. Urquhart, this circa-1919 building was originally designed as a showroom for the DuPre Auto Company, which served as a Ford dealership and part of Columbia’s “Automobile Row.” As one of the catalysts to the successful redevelopment of the Congaree Vista, the DuPre building was rehabilitated in 1998 by local preservationists Rosie and Michael Craig. NAI Avant purchased the DuPre building in 2013 with the desire to convert the building into their corporate headquarters. Restoring the original wood floors and heart pine beams was a priority in the rehabilitation and required the removal of carpeting and paint. Workers also reconstructed an original steel sash window to help increase the space’s natural light. The result is an excellent adaptive use with a great attention to restoring the historic elements of the building.

 

Adaptive Use Award: Wavering Place Plantation Kitchen House

427 Adams Hayne Road, Eastover

Owner: Weston and Lisa Adams & Robert and Shana Adams

Contractor: Lee McCaskill

Owned by the Adams family since 1768, Wavering Place Plantation was acquired by Weston Adams III and Robert Adams VI in 2013 from their uncle, Dr. Julian C. Adams. In the effort to preserve the property, the current owners have opened the site as an event venue and rehabilitated the circa-1790 kitchen house into a bed and breakfast. The owners also have plans to adaptively use the four other outbuildings on the property. Most of the rehabilitation work utilized local and historical materials to preserve the historic character of the kitchen house. Added details were constructed of reclaimed wood from the property, while a door was reused from a plantation in Boykin, SC. The interior retains the exposed timbers and the early-twentieth-century concrete flooring in contrast to the modern utilities incorporated for building’s use as a bed and breakfast.

 

New Construction in an Historic Context Award: South Carolina State Museum

301 Gervais Street

Owner: South Carolina State Museum

Architect: Clark Patterson Lee and Watson Tate Savory

Contractor: Gilbane Construction

The South Carolina State Museum operates out of the Columbia Mills Building, a leading cotton manufacturer from 1894 to 1981 and the first fully electric-powered mill in the United States. When the State Museum decided in 2012 to incorporate a new planetarium, observatory, 4-D theater and telescope gallery, its staff prioritized the retention of the historic and architectural integrity of its building. The State Museum brought in a team of professional designers, architects and contractors to accomplish an historically-sensitive renovation. The contractors and architects worked closely with exhibit designers Jack Rouse Associates to develop a thematic design reflective of the historic characteristics of the mill. Contractors also removed carpeting and drywall to expose original brick walls, arches, windows and original hardwood floors. A 36,000-pound steel tripod supports the observatory and recalls the building’s industrial history. New construction includes the glass dome planetarium and an observatory dome installed on the roof of the museum, making its mark on the Columbia skyline.

 

Preservation/Restoration Award: 110 Wayne Street

Owner: Skip Sawin and Jessica Sage

Contractor: Paul Haynes, Haynes Construction

Purchased in the fall of 2013 by Skip Sawin and Jessica Sage, 110 Wayne Street was found untouched from the previous 50-plus years. From period lighting running on knob and tube electrical wire to original working radiators, much of the building’s historic fabric remained in place. Working with Haynes Construction, Sawin and Sage began necessary maintenance and restoration of the historic house in the Olympia Mills district, addressing the leaking roof and failing paint to prevent further water damage to the building’s structure. Workers installed modern electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC system. Many of the original double-hung-sash windows were painstakingly reworked, and the heart pine floors were refinished. The result of the hard work is an excellent preservation/restoration project that highlights the home’s original historic fabric.

 

Preservation/Restoration Award: Eastminster Presbyterian Church

3200 Trenholm Road

Owner: Eastminster Presbyterian Church

Architect: Quackenbush Architects + Planners

Contractor: Mashburn Construction

Quackenbush Architects and Mashburn Construction worked together to restore this circa-1956 era, Colonial Revival-style historic church with updated mechanical and electric systems, new floor tile and ceiling plaster, refinished pews and restored stained glass windows. Quackenbush and Mashburn sensitively reconstructed the historic vaulted ceiling over the church nave, exactly replicating its original appearance. A new porte-cochere and covered walkway consisting of brick archways and classical columns provides an elegant and seamless entrance into the renovated narthex and parlor. Reconfigured interior seating, upgraded restrooms, renovated basement space and the addition of elevators all serve to improve the functionality and accessibility of the building. The church’s vivid stained glass windows and handsome wooden pews were restored and reinstalled, keeping the distinctive ecclesiastical aesthetic. The restored building now presents a gleaming, modernized, but traditionally-styled and historically intact church sanctuary.

Historic Columbia’s 2015 Preservation Awards were presented by Mashburn Construction and sponsored by Lambert Architecture + Construction Services, GlobalX, Studio 2LR Architecture + Interiors, Garvin Design Group, 1×1 Design, Architrave, Hood Construction, Quackenbush Architects + Planners, and Columbia Development Corporation. To see a list of previous Preservation Award Winners, visit historiccolumbia.org.

 

 

About Historic Columbia

In November 1961, a small group of individuals intent on saving the Ainsley Hall House from demolition officially incorporated as the Historic Columbia Foundation. Over the next five decades the organization, which was founded on the premise of preservation and education, would take on the stewardship of seven historic properties in Richland County. Today, the organization serves as a model for local preservation efforts and interpretation of local history. Visit historiccolumbia.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for more details.