Charleston, South Carolina – The owner of a historic building has asked the City of Charleston to review it for complete demolition.
The mansion was owned by Philip Simmons, an ironworker renowned as “The Keeper of the Gates” for his outstanding work on gates and window grills throughout the peninsula. Philip lived and worked on his ironwork at the cottage behind 30 1/2 Blake Street.
The house was erected in the 1890s and has been owned by the Simmons family since 1959.
“An acknowledgement of what Philip Simmons meant to Charleston, our architecture, and our community at large,” said Robert Summerfield, the City of Charleston’s director of planning and preservation.
Simmons died in 2009, and the home has subsequently fallen into disrepair. The city considered it unsafe to enter. His grandson, who now owns the home, is seeking permission to demolish it.
“I’d like to develop or put something there that will enhance the museum and the shop because right now the structure is dilapidated,” Elmer Gilliam, Jr., said. “It’s just not appropriate to my grandfather’s legacy.”
Preservationists, including the Philip Simmons Foundation, are striving to rescue the structure, intending to preserve its heritage while revitalizing the interior.
“People like calling in, to come and help in whatever way they can,” said Rossie Colter, the foundation’s project administrator. “Hopefully we will have some fundraising exercises where we can raise the money to purchase the house and to operate it.”
Though the final decision is up to the board, municipal staff told News 2 that they suggest denying the request during the meeting.
“The property can in fact be rehabbed, that there is the potential to restore this property and continue to have this historic resource in the community,” Summerfield said the audience.
The Board of Architectural Review will pay a site visit to the structure Thursday morning. The request is likely to be considered at a meeting at 2 George St. beginning at 4:30 p.m.
