Old Greenville City Hall is a former building in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, originally built as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office in 1889 on the corner of Main and Broad Streets. Transferred to the city of Greenville in 1938, it served as the Greenville

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. It was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 19, 1971, and was removed in 1973 after its demolition.

History

The courthouse and post office was designed by

James H. Windrim James Hamilton Windrim (January 4, 1840 – April 26, 1919) was a Philadelphia architect who specialized in public buildings, including the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia and the U.S. Treasury. A number the buildings he designed are on the ...

, who was Supervisory Architect for the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. and built on the site of the home of Colonel David Hoke. The resident architect for the construction was James R. Lawrence, who moved from

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

, to complete the project. In 1909, James Knox Taylor was the Supervisory Architect for an addition to its north side. More alterations or minor additions were made in 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, and 1931. The

U.S. Circuit Court The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdic ...

for the Western District of South Carolina met here until 1898. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of South Carolina met here until 1937. The city of Greenville traded the federal government a parcel of land on East Washington Street for the courthouse. After construction of a new post office on that parcel, the building became the Greenville City Hall in 1938. A new city hall was built on an adjoining lot formerly occupied by a Masonic Temple, the Old City Hall was demolished in 1973, and a

parking garage A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

was built on its site across Broad Street from the

Peace Center The Peace Center is a performing arts center located in Greenville, South Carolina. It is composed of a concert hall, theater, and amphitheatre. Located adjacent to Falls Park, the center hosts over 300 events each year, including classical music ...

Architecture

The two-story building was designed in

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style with a red tiled roof, castellated towers, and precast terracotta insets. The foyer had pink marble floors and the staircase that led to the tower was designed with half-turns on its landings. The building has been compared to the

Smithsonian Castle The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. The ...

History

Architecture

References

See also