2024 Preservation Awards | Morgan Hall
Thursday, May 16th 2024
WINNER | Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration (commercial, institutional, rental, or municipal)
Morgan Hall | 1600 Harden Street
Benedict College — Property Owner
BOUDREAUX — Architect
Hood Construction — Contractor
LCK — Project Manager
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as a contributing building within the Benedict College Historic District, Morgan Hall bears the distinction of being the HBCU campus’s first separate facility intended as the president’s residence. Erected in 1895, the Queen Anne style, three-story building marked a notable achievement in the development of Benedict 25 years after the institution’s founding as one of the earliest Black colleges in the South during Reconstruction.
Nearly 130 years after its completion, the 8,000-square-foot former residence received much-needed exterior rehabilitation made possible through a $750,000 award from the National Park Service’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities grant program. Rehabilitation work, performed by Hood Construction with architectural oversight by Tiara Williams of BOUDREAUX, involved restoration of historic windows, repair of existing porches and railings and the installation of missing elements, repair of a non-historic secondary staircase, and exterior painting.
As part of a larger campus-wide, federal-grant-funded historic preservation program at Benedict College, Morgan Hall exemplifies the institution’s veneration of its past achievements and dedication to preserving its built legacy while positioning itself for greater future accomplishments in educational instruction.
Before & After
Explore the
Economic Impact Study
This study's findings reinforce our long-held position on the importance of historic preservation for the city's economy and support our work advocating for policies that encourage preservation and the reuse of historic buildings. Columbia’s architectural heritage is not simply an exercise in nostalgia; it is an informed, strategic investment in the future.
