Charleston County Courthouse

Charleston County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Charleston County Courthouse, south façade facing Broad Street.
Location:	NW corner Broad & Meeting Streets, Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates:	32°46′35.814″N 79°55′52.752″W / 32.776615°N 79.93132°W / 32.776615; -79.93132Coordinates: 32°46′35.814″N 79°55′52.752″W / 32.776615°N 79.93132°W / 32.776615; -79.93132
Built:	1790-92
Architect:	James Hoban
Architectural style:	Neoclassical
Governing body:	National Park Service
NRHP Reference#:	66000964 [1]
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966

Charleston County Courthouse (1790–92) is a Neoclassical building in Charleston, South Carolina designed by Irish-born American architect James Hoban. It was a likely model for Hoban's most famous building, The White House and both buildings are modelled after Leinster House, the current seat of the Irish Parliament in Dublin.

President George Washington visited Charleston on his Southern Tour in May 1791, may have met with Hoban, and summoned the architect to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the temporary national capital) in June 1792. The following month, Hoban was named the winner of the design competition for the presidential mansion in Washington, DC. He later altered his design under Washington's influence.^[2]

The Courthouse itself is still in use, located in the historic district near the park at Washington Square. It was built on the site of and incorporated the ruins of the South Carolina Statehouse (1753, burned 1788), the capitol building for the Colony of South Carolina under British Rule.^[3]

See also

• Court House Square (Charleston)
• Charleston Historic District
• South Carolina Provincial Congress

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 1966-10-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ William Seale, "James Hoban: Builder of the White House" in White House History no. 22 (Spring 2008), pp. 8-12.
3. ^ History of the Charleston County Courthouse from HMdb.org.

External links

• Charleston County Courthouse from National Park Service.