Robert Behre
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Articles by Robert Behre
Behre: Affordable housing too often more expensive to build than market rate
It shouldn't cost more to build affordable housing than market rate housing, but it too often does. And the brand new apartments at 573 Meeting St. would serve as a nice case study as to why. It's a handsome new complex, designed by the late architect Richard Gowe of LS3P, a remarkable achievement considering it's very likely the first complex of its kind in the state, dozens of modest apartments built specifically for tenants who previously had no home.
Behre: And America's most historic city is ...
Google "America's most historic city," and Philadelphia pops up first. That shouldn't surprise anyone, especially those who have paid a little attention to what we've just celebrated the 250th anniversary of. After all, Philadelphia's Independence Hall is the birthplace of America, the place where both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were debated and signed.
Behre: What's going on with Union Pier? More than you might think.
It's been almost two years since Charleston-based businessman and philanthropist Ben Navarro struck a deal with the State Ports Authority to buy Union Pier for $250 million. Last fall, Mr. Navarro gave us an update, saying he had assembled a world-class team to look at the overarching issues involved with remaking a largely abandoned, industrialized waterfront. That team's goal: Once Union Pier is built out, no one should be able to tell where it was.
Behre: Hiding in plain sight, Charleston's grandest building is its most mysterious.
What if a city's grandest public building was also its most secretive? Wouldn't that be a bit weird? It's no hypothetical: It's the status quo of the U.S. Customhouse at 200 East Bay St., one of Charleston's grandest pieces of architecture, with its monumental scale, Classical Revival styling and quality materials, including limestone, granite and marble.
Confederate Home gets needed repair for its unique mission
Some of Charleston's greatest works of architecture sprang from philanthropy. Centuries ago, city fathers built a grand orphan house and chapel on Calhoun Street that sadly no longer exist, but the impressive William Enston Home still stands off upper King Street. Its vast campus was made possible by the bequest of a wealthy 19th century merchant interested in making old age comfortable for future generations.
Behre: Even if no one complains about the loss, it's still a loss — and regrettable
It's no surprise that no one in the local, state or preservation community spoke up when North Charleston's early City Hall came down, but that doesn't mean it wasn't regrettable or that there aren't lessons to learn. The silence simply acknowledges that the 5-story brick box off LaCross Road and Mall Drive was no architectural or historical gem: "Budget Institutional" might best describe its style.
Behre: At the Bennett Rice Mill ruin, a feeling that 'we've turned the corner'
If and when Union Pier is redeveloped as an extension of historic Charleston, one of its most loved and photographed features almost certainly will be the historic piece already standing there: a brick ruin that is all that remains of an 1830s rice mill. The ruin dates back to the waterfront era well before Union Pier got its current name, back when the site was actually an extension of historic Charleston, not a vast, industrial expanse built to cater to 20th-century shipping needs.
Behre: Ominous sign? One of Charleston's oldest museums is cutting hours.
The owners of Charleston's Powder Magazine Museum may disagree with the characterization that they're closing its doors Feb. 28, but while it's a bit more complicated, that's essentially what is happening. It's a loss not only for visitors hoping to glimpse inside the oldest surviving public building between Florida and Virginia but for all of us who want to learn more about our city's rich and varied history.
Behre: A student of Charleston who became one of its teachers
The making of modern Charleston is largely the story of Joe Riley's remarkable 40-year mayoral run, but many played key roles as well, including the soft-spoken Midwesterner who got a city job after talking to the mayor from a phone booth in Bregenz, Austria.
Behre: A rehabilitation that took a lot of reimagining (and fighting)
One of Charleston's last unrestored landmarks — the Old City Jail at 21 Magazine St. — has emerged after a 7-year-long saga to reimagine, rehabilitate and repurpose one of the city's most fraught places into one of its most engaging.
Behre: Charleston's first Dutch-inspired parks rise out of Church Creek's drainage basin
The newest public spaces in Charleston's Shadowmoss neighborhood aren't your typical city parks: They feature waist-high native plants rather than manicured lawns, and their gravel trails wind past ditches and sunken ponds accented with gray, dead tree trunks. There's also no playground equipment, though some is on the way. But the main reason these places look so different is that their primary job isn't to serve as a public gathering spot or recreational area.
Behre: Reimagined Simons Center helps C of C extend the arts to all of us
This month's debut of the College of Charleston's newly remade Simons Center for the Arts is well-timed, as its School of the Arts is welcoming its largest first-year class, but the building's dramatically improved spaces are a gift to the wider community, too. Perhaps the only other college building that invites in more members of the community is TD Arena, where the Cougars play basketball.
Behre: Historic Charleston finally draws a bead on Nathaniel Russell House's future
The reddish hue of the object in the mesh grate outside the rear of the Nathaniel Russell House's laundry was different and caught the eye of archaeology tech Nancy Alvarez, who quickly pointed it out to her boss. Andrew Agha held it in his hand and walked away from the dig site momentarily, overcome with emotion. "I knew exactly what it was ...
Behre: A tribute to an architect who helped keep Charleston Charleston
The city of Charleston has almost 4,000 entries in its inventory of historic downtown buildings, and architect Glenn Keyes figures he has worked on more than 400 of them at some point during his long career. But it's the quality, not the quantity, that makes his career stand out.
Behre: The story of those who make Charleston's walls talk (again)
The allure of Charleston stems in part from buildings that look like nature; they're similar to trees in that the more you study them, the more intricacies you see — the more you understand how they've evolved over time. It's not just the architectural details. Even the walls talk. Few appreciate this more than Joe Faust, a plaster and stucco contractor who makes a living installing new plaster walls inside and repairing stucco walls outside.
Behre: The story of those who make Charleston's walls talk (again)
The allure of Charleston stems in part from buildings that look like nature; they're similar to trees in that the more you study them, the more intricacies you see — the more you understand how they've evolved over time. It's not just the architectural details. Even the walls talk. Few appreciate this more than Joe Faust, a plaster and stucco contractor who makes a living installing new plaster walls inside and repairing stucco walls outside.
Behre: What Venice, Amsterdam and Milan can teach Charleston about managing mass tourism
Charleston may be unique in this part of the world as far as concerns about overtourism and its threat to the city's character. But it's far from unique in the world, and we should be mindful of some innovative new steps Venice, Amsterdam and Milan are taking to fight back.
Behre: They can't tear down that century-old Charleston house, can they? (Yes, they can.)
Charleston's Board of Architectural Review wouldn't allow the demolition of a home that was almost 100 years old, would it? Especially not one south of Broad Street, one that is well-maintained, structurally sound and appealing enough to have a Zillow estimate north of $3.1 million? Not one that has such an interesting story, beginning as a garage with an apartment above, built on land that once was part of the Ashley River marsh?
Behre: In rural Berkeley County, a historic church is getting new life
Easter seems an appropriate time to share this inspirational story of salvation that has been playing out in the backwoods of Berkeley County. Taveau Chapel, a historic but vacant wood-frame church off Dr. Evans Road near Mepkin Abbey, had been the focus of a statewide preservation group for several years; its leaders were well-aware of its dilapidated condition and wanted to work on preserving it. But the group struggled repeatedly to reach the right people with an offer of help.
Behre: A small-town mayor is spreading Joe Riley's lessons of good city design across SC
What does the striking mural on the side of a commercial building in Cayce's historic core have in common with Charleston? A lot more than anyone might think. Cayce Mayor Elise Partin first took office in 2008 and thought a lot about what she could do to help revive the oldest part of her Lexington County city, where only one building was occupied in several blocks around State and Frink streets.
Behre: How do you make money fixing up a Charleston home? Start with even more money.
Two years ago, I wrote about Kevin Eberle, a Charleston law professor, historian and active voice on the city's preservation scene, who bought a decrepit home on Charleston's East Side with the intention of not only saving it but also renovating it in a way that meets or exceeds the highest preservation standards. That, and not going broke. Long story short, things didn't go exactly as expected.
Behre: One of Charleston's grandest house museums, Nathaniel Russell House, to be sold
The Nathaniel Russell House is among the grandest historic house museums in downtown Charleston, particularly from an architectural sense: a true neoclassical gem from the Federal period, with differently shaped, imposing rooms, excellent craftsmanship and exquisite detailing. The mansion shows the vast wealth created in this city following the Revolutionary War, when the cultivation of rice and trade, which included enslaved Africans, had reached a peak. Will people miss it if its doors close?
Charleston's de facto archaeologist Martha Zierden retiring
Those who know Charleston realize the city pays much more attention to its surviving history above ground — in terms of preserving buildings and landscapes — than it does to the history that lies just beneath it. Yes, city ordinances and zoning boards carefully consider requests to demolish or alter buildings or construct new ones in any of several historic zones that cover the peninsula.
Behre: Leaning into Charleston's old history outside the Custom House
Most people probably never noticed how a monumental light post outside the U.S. Custom House leans a bit to the north, but new research has found the probable cause — and tells us something exciting about Charleston’s earliest history. The discovery was made by Alexis Allen, who grew up in Kansas but moved to Charleston to enroll in Clemson’s Historic Preservation master’s program. For her senior thesis she mixed preservation with another academic interest: archaeology.
Behre: A return to tradition in a different part of Charleston
Those approaching Daniel Island, particularly from the Wando Bridge, are now greeted with the sight of a signature church steeple towering over everything else, a defining feature of old Charleston now in Charleston’s newest borough. St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church is the island’s landmark, and its neo-Gothic architecture marks a welcome return to tradition on an island whose original development plan signaled a new respect for the city’s building traditions.
Behre: In Colleton County, preservationists work to make a ruin less ruinous
When the upper part of the main façade of the Pon Pon Chapel of Ease broke off and crashed to the ground three years ago, no one was less shocked than structural engineer Craig Bennett. That’s because he had studied the Colleton County landmark and begun devising a plan to stabilize it. Even a ruin needs regular maintenance and preservation in order to remain a ruin and avoid eventually being swallowed up by the earth.
Behre: Beaufort legal battle illustrates preservation's complex balancing act
Historic preservation nonprofits must always be ready to fight, whether it's battling neglectful property owners, greedy developers or uncooperative, uninspired city officials. But fighting each other? That's exactly what's playing out in Beaufort, where legal wrangling over the future of one of its most historic homes pits the Historic Beaufort Foundation against the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The home in question is the house once owned by Robert Smalls.
Behre: What a stylish Charleston mansion has in common with a Myrtle Beach condo
One of the most photographed mansions in Charleston actually has something in common with a 26-story condominium in Horry County.
Behre: An accidental politician marks a major milestone
MCCLELLANVILLE — Anyone cynical or jaded about elected officials these days should visit here and chat with Rutledge B. Leland. He has served as mayor of this small town since 1976, several years longer than Joe Riley did in Charleston or Berlin Myers did in Summerville. Leland has held town office since 1973; that’s more years than Strom Thurmond served in the U.S. Senate, and Leland’s not done.
Behre: Preserving historic Charleston with a (small, pointed) paintbrush
When most people think of historic preservation, they think of saving buildings. But when that's not possible, the next best thing is preserving a record of them. And that's exactly what artist Andrea Hazel has been up to in recent years, with a few interesting twists. She has worked to preserve a record of the Charleston neighborhood where she spent part of her childhood as her family lived above a store at the corner of Ashley Avenue and Nunan Street.
Behre: Charleston's newest pump station also will be a civic landmark
Almost 200 years ago, the arrival of this nation's first locomotive built for public service, the Best Friend of Charleston, inadvertently created a flooding problem that has haunted the city ever since. Anyone who has tried to drive through King and Huger streets after a heavy rain has seen it close up.
Behre: We don't really need stand-alone West Ashley bike-ped bridge; this will do instead
Nothing has been announced or finalized, but the early word is that one of Charleston's most high-profile projects might not get built because the bids are in and are (not shockingly) much higher than expected. So the long-planned stand-alone bike and pedestrian bridge linking the West Ashley Greenway with peninsular Charleston is now very much in doubt.
Behre: The hidden story behind the Charleston Museum's architecture
One of Charleston's oldest civic institutions has a home many still find jarringly new. Actually, for most of its 250-year history, the Charleston Museum had no home of its own, but many alive today still remember when the museum had its first home of its own, operating out of the old Thompson Auditorium at 121 Rutledge Ave.
Behre: Charleston's devil is in the details, but only for those who notice
What if a column simply fell off of one of Charleston's most prominent landmarks, a building some consider the most historic in South Carolina? One that dominates the eastern views along the city's broadest street? That surely would be noticed, right? Don't be so sure. Because that's exactly what happened last fall, when one of the eight columns flanking the Old Exchange Building's cupola sloughed off onto the roof. Fortunately, it became lodged in a safe place, and no one got hurt.
Behre: Charleston’s distinctiveness may hinge on winning this lawsuit
The legal wrangling over the controversial apartments planned at 295 Calhoun St. has metastasized from a battle over one building's architecture to a full-blown war over how the city's Board of Architectural Review does its job. Many rightly feel the city's future — including its soul as expressed in its motto: "She guards her customs, buildings and laws" — is at stake.
Behre: The intractable blight along Charleston's historic streets
One of the biggest litter problems in historic Charleston — and many other neighborhoods, for that matter — happens to be one that few discuss, probably because we know little can be done. It's the blight of so many parked cars. Most of our historic streets are full of them, some on both sides. These vehicles, which seem to get bigger and taller, block views of fences, wrought iron gates, gardens and ground floors.
Behre: Federal recognition of Phillips Community shows history lives on still
In one sense, the imminent addition of the Phillips Community to the National Register of Historic Places simply means this East Cooper community is worthy of the same federal recognition given to more than 1,400 other special places across the state. But in another, far more exciting sense, Phillips is being uniquely held up as more than a place where something significant happened or where the remains of something significant still exist.
Behre: Sales tax revenue means Charleston officials can be LOST at budget time
Few outside the media probably took note, but the city of Charleston sent out one of its stranger news releases earlier this month, one that essentially said: “Remember that property tax increase City Council passed last year?
Behre: Remembering the Mosquito Fleet at its final home, Union Pier
The new vision for redeveloping Union Pier emphasizes two significant, historical aspects of the 70-acre waterfront property: one still visible, the other long ago erased by time and tide. The visible one, the Bennett Rice Mill's surviving brick façade, will be the subject of another column soon, I hope, but today's focus is on the small, unremarkable northeastern corner of the waterfront site.
Behre: New book traces arguably Charleston's most influential 20th century architect
To say that Albert Simons was Charleston’s most influential early 20th century architect might seem like damning with faint praise, given how little competition there was in a sleepy Southern city still licking its wounds from the turmoil of the Civil War, a major earthquake and a protracted economic malaise.
Behre: Is Charleston losing its last chance for a central park downtown?
No one had any way of knowing this five years ago, but the collapse of the V.C. Summer nuclear project in Fairfield County might end up costing Charleston its last chance at a major new urban park south of Calhoun Street. There’s still a chance of making something special happen, but it increasingly looks like an uphill fight.
Behre: I urged a bike lane on the Wappoo Creek bridge, then a truck hit my bike
I knew that crossing the Wappoo Creek bridge by bike or on foot was dangerous years before a vehicle struck my bike atop the bridge last week. That's probably why my story doesn't have a grimmer ending. With the arrival of cooler fall weather, it seemed like a perfect time to take my bike that day to get from my home on James Island to the Savannah Highway shop that had just finished working on my SUV. The 8-mile trip would make for a nice workout: not too short, not too long.
Behre: The name Lincolnville is the first and surest sign this SC town is different
LINCOLNVILLE — This small town may be South Carolina's least understood, most unique historical place. Its relative anonymity stems partly from its tucked-away site along railroad lines where Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties meet up, partly from its small size, and partly from its origins during one of the most tumultuous chapters of the state's history, Reconstruction.
Behre: In North Charleston, a dramatic bridge to the future
The notion of a particular location being a “postcard place” or providing a “postcard moment” might one day outlive the actual use of postcards themselves: The phrases convey a sense that somewhere is so beautiful or special or interesting that people will want to take note. To be frank, there aren’t many such places in North Charleston, but the city just added a very nice one.
Behre: Rebellion linked early SC with tensions in Florida and larger world
When Peter Wood decided to get his Ph.D. in early American history more than a half century ago, he learned most of the scholarship to date had a heavy, northeastern focus, from the Pilgrims and Puritans to the Boston Massacre. When the St. Louis native first visited South Carolina in 1970 to do some research, a graduate student asked him if slavery existed here during Colonial times.
Behre: A very unusual project - and a very unusual deal
The evolution of Union Pier will be worth watching closely in the coming years, most obviously because of the implications for Charleston: The redevelopment will make the city either a better or worse place to live, work and play. But it’s also worth closely watching because of the unique deal the State Ports Authority struck with Lowe, a 50-year-old national developer with a growing presence in Charleston.
Behre: Are West Ashley homes important enough to preserve? Owners must ultimately decide.
The two-story brick home at 8 Stocker Drive in Charleston’s Old Windermere neighborhood seems to have changed little since it was built shortly after World War II, as the suburban growth expanded across the Ashley River. By the time some of you read this, the house may be gone. Not because it cannot be renovated, but because Charleston has no rules on the books to slow its demolition, much less stop it. The home is no longer owned by the same family that had owned it since 1946.
Behre: Charleston preservation expanding beyond painting, reroofing, fixing rot
The Carolopolis Awards — Charleston's longest-running awards that recognize owners who have furthered the city's preservation cause through their work on a particular building — have evolved significantly since they first were handed out more than two generations ago.
Behre: Drawing the fine line on Charleston's abandoned buildings
While downtown Charleston has fewer dilapidated old buildings than any time in recent generations, those that still exist stand out more than ever. So it's probably not surprising that several Charleston City Council members seem to have an appetite to do something about them. It’s going to be the hot topic at council’s next Community Development Committee meeting.
Behre: These SC 'election integrity' folks may be more anti-election in the end
Loosely organized groups of several dozen activists, most of whom apparently have bought into the “big lie” that Donald Trump didn’t lose his 2020 reelection bid, descended on several polling sites across South Carolina during the June 14 primary, supposedly in the name of promoting “election integrity.” In fact, their actions could bring about the opposite effect.
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