20th century

To say that Albert Simons was Charleston's most influential early 20th century architect might seem like damning with faint praise, given how little ...

“The history of architecture is like a great flotilla consisting of far-ranging frigates, speedy corvettes, great ships of the line and slow but steady merchantmen,” writes architectural historian and author Witold Rybczynski in the book’s foreword. Stoney create the nation’s first historic district in 1931, but Simons also served as the sole architect on the newly created Board of Architectural Review for decades, gently reviewing and revising hundreds of designs to make them a better fit in Charleston. “Our language of today is not a synthetic Esperanto, nor is it the archaic speech of the Tudors,” he wrote in a 1937 letter to the dean of MIT’s architecture school. he played a significant role in raising the consciousness of his fellow citizens about the built environment, not only in Charleston but ultimately across the nation.” Simons’ contribution to this debate might be a rejection of the oft-expressed notion that classical design is not “of our time.” Mostly working with his partner Samuel Lapham, Simons designed several significant civic landmarks, the best perhaps being Memminger Auditorium at Beaufain and Coming streets, the city’s first major 20th century gathering space.