The College of Charleston is one of the prettiest campuses around. It compares favorably with the Virginia schools, and gives the Ivy League’s best a run for their money. The central feature of the campus is Randolph Hall and its lovely yard. A wonderful tradition is the graduation ceremonies held in front of the hall, on a stage erected atop the equally historic cistern. The walk across the cistern to receive one’s degree is a revered memory of every graduate.
Randolph Hall
But on this bucolic campus, historic and yet committed to the future, a controversy is brewing.
It seems that the historic Randolph Hall needs renovation (as most very old buildings do), partly due to moisture damage that is wreaking havoc with the masonry and stucco. Part of the proposed solution is to remove 10 trees that have grown up hard by the outside walls of the building and whose presence has contributed significantly to the moisture problem.
Predictably, some folks think that the removal of the offending trees is a terrible idea. Already there are tweets flying, petitions being passed about, and interest groups being alerted/activated to stop the process.
The local newspaper provides some detail:
Among those opposed to the tree-cutting are College of Charleston Professor Phil Dustan, an ecologist in the biology department, and Jean Everett, a senior instructor in the same department.
“To have this set of trees at the building end of the Cistern really adds a lot of character and diversity to the Cistern yard,” Everett said. “I’m kind of a tree person, and I really don’t want these particular trees to be taken down.”
At least one student was out Friday collecting petition signatures to oppose the tree-cutting, and Everett and Dustan said they hope student opposition could change the administration’s mind or at least open the issue for discussion.
The trees at the center of this debate include 4 magnolias and 2 palmettos. All were planted after Hurricane Hugo swept through town in 1989….20 years ago.
Wikipedia reminds us of the historic nature of the original campus…..
The College of Charleston Complex: Main Building, Library, and Gate Lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.[6][5] According to a description by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, “The historic campus of the College of Charleston contains three structures, the Main Building, the Library, and Gate Lodge, situated in an attractive setting of evergreen oaks, that achieve a certain degree of unity by means of the prevailing Pompeian red coloring of their stuccoed walls.”[10] The main building, as designed by William Strickland, was built in 1828-29, and was revised in 1850 by the work of Edward Brickell White which added “six giant Roman Ionic pillars” and otherwise developed a more “grandiose” vision. The Gates Lodge, designed by White, was built in 1852 in a matching Roman Revival style. The College Library was designed by George E. Walker and was built in 1854-56.[5]
And here is a photo of the site taken in 1940: Note the absence of any magnolias, palmettos, oaks, shrubs, hedges or any other kind of growth adjacent to the building. One could argue that the building and its environs are even more magnificent when visible in all of their grandeur.
Randolph Hall c.1940
One of the great things about Hurricane Hugo, if such a phrase can be used in the same breath with that monster, was the revelation of once hidden vistas around the city. Non-native trees, or weakened members of native speciess, were blown down. Bushes and shrubs of suspicious provenance or weakened state were cast into the streets and gutters by the violent winds. Lattices and runners were stripped of their supported growths. The glory of the architecture of Charleston was revealed anew for its citizens and visitors to enjoy. Structures intended as the best work of architects, builders, and owners were visible after years of hiding behind man-planted obstacles. Ask natives if they remember the unexpected surprises of new views in the years immediately following the great hurricane.
Should a great building be put at risk by 20 year old trees? Should the architectural treasure that is Randolph Hall be hidden behind the ubiquitous magnolia or our great state symbol, the palmetto tree?
I think not.
