Historic Charleston Foundation

Public programs - as part of hcf's mission to educate the public about the benefits of historic preservation, the foundation holds its annual charleston festival (formerly the festival of houses and gardens). Each march and april the monthlong festival allows visitors to learn about and visit the city's finest historic private houses and gardens, as well as attend workshops, lectures, educational concerts, and other cultural and social events, morning history walks, as well as specialty tours educating guests about the history, preservation, and advocacy issues around the city. For 2024, the foundation was able to host over 5,000 guests at one hundred individual events and enabled access to seventy-five private historic homes and gardens to better highlight the benefits of preserved spaces. The foundation continued its adult education in the art & architecture study series for 2023-2024, the thirteenth year of providing participants with in-depth studies of charleston's cultural heritage. This year's series of programs included a discussion on designing new buildings in the city's urban core that are beautiful, humane, and generous in detailing as well as an expert lecture about collecting trends that are relevant to the culture and history of charleston today.the foundation continued to emphasize its curriculum-based field trip opportunities. With continued logistical and budgetary issues, student visitation from local and regional schools was severely obstructed, but hcf continues to host an increasing number of both elementary and high school field trips, with an additional emphasis on hosting undergraduate and graduate level students in the field of history and architectural preservation, highlighting both museum houses as living laboratories. We are focusing on reimagining our educational curriculum and conducting enhanced field trips in 2025 with plans for continued growth.hcf also hosted public programs in 2024, specifically an excellence in waterfront redevelopment forum which explored the development of the union pier site. The discussion encompassed visionary and aspirational needs of waterfront access with memorable parks, generous civic spaces, properly scaled blocks, and buildings that reflect charleston's historic neighborhoods, integrated resiliency measures, and an authentic mix of uses that will make it a vibrant district for all residents. This is a further example of the foundations role as a prominent convener of voices and efforts in the preservation of the charleston region.

Museums - hcf fulfills its educational mission through the interpretation of its collections and two outstanding museum houses: the nathaniel russell house, c. 1808, at 51 meeting street, one of america's most significant neoclassical federal townhouses; and the aiken-rhett house, c. 1820, at 48 elizabeth street, where visitors can step back in time to better understand life in antebellum charleston. Historic charleston foundation purchased the nathaniel russell house, c. 1808, a national historic landmark, in 1955. Visitors continue to admire the grand federal-style townhouse of prominent merchant, nathaniel russell. Completed in 1808 when russell was 70 years old, the lavishly ornamented house serves as a testament to the great wealth he accumulated over his distinguished lifetime. Then, as now, the nathaniel russell house is among the finest dwellings in charleston. The house also stands in contrast to other contemporary charleston residences with a unique geometric floor plan and fine architectural detailing. The interior boasts a spacious reception room with intricate glazed doors, an elegant free-flying staircase, and elaborate trompe-l'oeil decoration from the first to the third floors. Painstakingly restored to its original 1808 appearance, the russell house also serves as the ideal exhibition space for hcf's outstanding collection of fine and decorative arts. In a commitment to tell the stories of everyone who lived and labored on the properties of the foundation's two house museums, the app-based audio guides interpret the histories of the houses, architecture and museum objects and discuss the lives of the white families who owned the properties as well as the enslaved people who lived there. Commentary from local experts supplement the audio guide, ranging from a discussion of the harsh realities of enslaved life to entertaining in the antebellum period to colonial painting techniques. The app also features a walking guide to charleston's well-known historic sites with over three hundred points of interest and thirty audio stops. Underrepresented narratives include the significant role the grimke sisters played in the abolitionist movement, or the role of the freedman's cottage in post-civil war charleston.the aiken-rhett house, c. 1820, was built by john robinson and expanded by governor and mrs. William aiken jr. In the 1830s. The property, which remained in the family until 1975, has survived as a unique time capsule, nearly unaltered since 1858. The museum house's original dependencies include the kitchen, slaves' quarters, stable, coach house, and privies. Together with the main house, these structures combine to form a rare and unique 19th century urban complex. The buildings and the artifacts within them poignantly illustrate the connections among all members of the household, those who lived in the main house as well as those who lived and worked as enslaved african americans on the property. The historic charleston foundation has adopted a unique approach to stewardship of the house. Thanks in great part to a prestigious save america's treasures grant, hcf has restored and thus protected the building's exterior to its 1858-1860 appearance. The preservation plan for the original historic interior is stabilization and conservation. This rare approach enables the interpretation of the house's continued habitation and its changes over time as modern technologies, such as gas lighting and electricity, were adopted. The period finishes, such as original 19th century wallpapers, make the aiken-rhett site one of the nation's most important house museums, and the intact decorative layers help us better understand nineteenth-century conceptions of refinement, patterns of consumption, and decorative preferences in the carolina lowcountry.unlike other historic house museums, all objects on display are original to the house, purchased by gov. Aiken and his wife, harriet lowndes aiken. During their residency, the house went through several decorative periods as the couple kept current with the latest fashions. While most of the furnishings in the house were in the plain grecian style, gothic-inspired and rococo revival objects were acquired for their collection over time. Linking the interior and exterior, it is no coincidence that these items closely relate to the gothic elements found in the outbuildings.2024 highlights from the museums include recovering more than 5,000 artifacts from archeology at the nathaniel russell kitchen house cellar, including a rare carnelian bead brought to charleston by enslaved people from africa. The aiken-rhett house hosted over four hundred guests on family day, broadening our educational impact among preservation enthusiasts, families, and visitors. During the charleston festival, contemporary art installations at the aiken-rhett house with renowned charleston-based artists, jill hooper, and david boatwright, engaged hundreds of new visitors at the house museum.

Licensed products - historic charleston foundation began its licensed products program in 1972 as an innovative way to extend the foundation's preservation efforts beyond historic architecture and interiors to charleston's material culture as well. Items selected for inclusion are those whose origins reflect charleston's history, culture, decorative arts, and architecture.the licensed products of the historic charleston foundation previously ranged from furniture, mirrors, jewelry, porcelain, decorative accessories, and historic paint colors. Many of the original objects, either reproduced or used as inspiration, can be seen in the historic house museum collections and other museum collections in charleston. While currently a much smaller program than in years past, the program is enjoying renewed focus and strives to keep charleston historic designs alive and make those products available to a broad audience while generating revenue to support our mission.