Fireproof Building
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Fireproof Building
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = South Carolina Historical Society.JPG
| caption = Fireproof Building
| location = 100 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina
| coordinates = {{coord|32.7772|-79.9309|source:Doncram|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = South Carolina#USA
| area =
| built = 1822–1827
| architect = Robert Mills
| architecture = Greek Revival
| added = July 29, 1969{{NRISref|2007a}}
| refnum = 69000161
| nrhp_type2 = nhldcp
| nocat = yes
| designated_nrhp_type2 = October 9, 1960
| partof = Charleston Historic District
| partof_refnum = 66000964
}}
The Fireproof Building, also known as the County Records Building, is located at 100 Meeting Street, at the northwest corner of Washington Square, in Charleston, South Carolina. Completed in 1827, it was the most fire-resistant building in America at the time, and is believed to be the oldest fire-resistant building in America today.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/charleston/S10817710009/index.htm|title=Fireproof Building, Charleston County (100 Meeting St., Charleston) |accessdate=2008-03-21|work=National Register Properties in South Carolina listing|publisher=South Carolina Department of Archives and History}}
After an extensive renovation, the building reopened in 2018 as the South Carolina Historical Society Museum.
Description and history
The Fireproof Building is a two-story masonry structure, set on a tall stone basement with an arcade of round-arch openings and built out brick that has been stuccoed to resemble stone. The building is in the Greek Revival style, with Doric porticoes north and south, and achieves a sophisticated appearance with clean and crisp lines, and relatively little ornamentation. Inside, the building has an oval stair hall lit by a cupola. The stone stairs are cantilevered through three stories.
The building was built to house the office and records of Charleston County. The contractor, John G. Spidle, built it in 1827 to the design of Robert Mills, the nation's first domestically-trained architect and an early advocate of fire-resistant buildings.Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, p. 325, {{ISBN|1-57003-598-9}} The Fireproof Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.{{Cite journal|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Fireproof Building|url={{NHLS url|id=69000161}} |format=pdf|date=April 20, 1973 |author=Tray Stephenson and Bernard Kearse |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=69000161|title=Accompanying one photo, exterior, from 1971|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}}
The building is currently the home of the South Carolina Historical Society. In 2016-17 the society completed a major renovation intended to modernize all systems, to provide a secure, climate controlled environment for the storage of historic documents, and to provide both an events venue and modern museum space. In the summer of 2018 the society reopened the building as a museum dedicated to the history of South Carolina and to the history of the Fireproof Building itself.{{cite news|last1=Behre|first1=Robert|title=Charleston's famous Fireproof Building building will tell state's history — and its own — through new eyes|url=http://www.postandcourier.com/news/charleston-s-famous-fireproof-building-building-will-tell-state-s/article_d85f042c-b36e-11e7-9dbd-d317b5d56e1f.html|accessdate=21 November 2017|newspaper=The Post and Courier|date=11 November 2017}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Fireproof Building}}
- [http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/charleston/S10817710009/index.htm Fireproof Building, Charleston County (100 Meeting St., Charleston)], including 7 photos, at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- {{HABS |survey=SC-13-2 |id=sc0359 |title=County Records Building, 100 Meeting Street (at Chalmers Street), Charleston, Charleston County, SC |photos=27 |color=1 |dwgs=8 |data=5 |cap=3 |supp=yes}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070625085924/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/Charleston/ Historic Charleston's Religious and Community Buildings, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary]
- Robert P. Stockton, Information for Guides of Historic Charleston, South Carolina 350 (1985).
- [http://www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org/ South Carolina Historical Society]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070815234843/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/charleston/fir.htm U.S. National Park Service]
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Charleston, South Carolina
Category:County government buildings in South Carolina
Category:National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina
Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina
Category:Government buildings completed in 1827
Category:Robert Mills buildings
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina
Category:Passive fire protection
Category:Historic district contributing properties in South Carolina
Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina