Charleston County Courthouse (1790–92) is a Neoclassical building in
Charleston, South Carolina, designed by
Irish architect
James Hoban. It was a likely model for Hoban's most famous building, the U.S.
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
, and both buildings are modeled after
Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
, the current seat of the Irish Parliament in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
.
President
George Washington visited Charleston on his Southern Tour in May 1791, may have met with Hoban, and summoned the architect to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, (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, D.C. He later altered his design under Washington's influence.
In 1883–1884, the courthouse underwent a large renovation performed by Kerrigan & Grant.
The Courthouse itself is still in use, located in the
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...
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.
History of the Charleston County Courthouse
from HMdb.org. Hoban also designed a new statehouse building nearby, which was burned down during the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
.
See also
* Court House Square (Charleston)
Court House Square is the location of Charleston County Courthouse in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, at the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets. It is historically known as "the Four Corners of Law" because the intersection hosted build ...
* Charleston Historic District
* South Carolina Provincial Congress
References
External links
Charleston County Courthouse
from National Park Service.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston County Courthouse
Government buildings completed in 1792
White House
Neoclassical architecture in South Carolina
Buildings and structures in Charleston, South Carolina
County courthouses in South Carolina
Historic district contributing properties in South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina
Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
James Hoban buildings