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.
Check out some of the other 2024 Preservation Award recipients:
2024 Preservation Awards | 1214-1216/1218-1220 Taylor Street
Historically known as the Hillman’s Sporting Goods and Community Finance Company buildings, respectively, these ca.-1915 commercial destinations experienced more than a century of use by various owners that modified elements of their original appearance. Current sibling owners Greg Middleton and Sara Middleton Styles teamed up with Rogers Lewis, LTC Architects, and Pyramid Construction to design and implement a rehabilitation that would benefit from Bailey Bill tax abatement and historic tax credits by following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. In doing so, the historic character of these mixed-use buildings was retained and restored, while stimulating further economic vitality within the National Register of Historic Places-listed commercial district.
2024 Preservation Awards | Campus Village
As part of its master plan, the University of South Carolina embraces design guidelines in its ongoing efforts to meet the housing needs of an ever-increasing student body while replacing obselete facilities within its urban campus. Opened in August 2023 as the initial step in a multi-phased initiative to transform an area of South Campus into a vibrant, community-oriented housing complex, Campus Village ranks as the largest state capital project completed to date.
2024 Preservation Awards | 1407 Gladden Street
Virginia native and long-time Melrose Heights resident Kandie Wright is no stranger to sensitive rehabilitations of historic properties. Previous efforts at two other neighborhood properties, including a rare Airplane Bungalow and the Prairie Style residence originally owned by the Powell family, have garnered accolades and been a source of community pride.
2024 Preservation Awards | 203 Wateree Avenue
Good preservation projects often belie the truly outstanding care and attention an owner may put into a project. This certainly holds true for this Wales Garden property, where Bailey Bill-quality investment included restoration