"An Interesting But Blighted Area": The Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project in the Postwar Preservation Movement

Hollinshead, Ashley

"An Interesting But Blighted Area": The Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project in the Postwar Preservation Movement

Authors

Hollinshead, Ashley

Abstract

Historic preservation is synonymous with Charleston’s twentieth century history. Yet, most scholars focus on the preservation efforts from the interwar preservation movement, completely ignoring the postwar preservation movement. This thesis moves Charleston’s preservation history from the confines of the interwar period, arguing that the post-war movement was even more impactful on the national preservation movement. The Historic Charleston Foundation spearheaded this post-war movement with their Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project, and a closer examination of the project provides preservation scholars with the missing link between urban renewal programs, passage of the National Historic Preservation Act, and current preservation practices and issues, such as gentrification.