page_title: United States Post Office and Courthouse (Charleston, South Carolina)
section_title: Building history
hierarchical_section_title: United States Post Office and Courthouse (Charleston, South Carolina) / Building history
caption_attribution_description: English: Inside the post office.
context_page_description: The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is a historic post office and courthouse located at Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina. The building and its annexes serve the federal court for the Charleston Division of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
  The building, completed in 1896 in the Renaissance Revival style, was designed by Charleston architect John Henry Devereux using gray granite from Winnsboro, South Carolina. The design includes a square tower, balustraded balconies, rusticated base and quoins, great double doors, and high and broad steps, meant to resemble an Italian Renaissance palace.
context_section_description: The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, is located on the southwest corner of Meeting and Broad streets at the intersection known as the "Four Corners of Law." On the northwest corner, a 1792 courthouse represents the role of county government in Charleston. City Hall, built in 1802 on the northeast corner, symbolizes the presence of municipal government. Finally, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, built between 1752 and 1761, signifies divine law as a component in community life when the Anglican Church was the established church of the community.
  The Charleston Post Office is one of the oldest in the United States, having been established by George III in 1740, during the provisional colonial governorship of William Bull. The site of today's U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was originally called Trott's wharf. A guardhouse and armory was built there in the 1830s. Colonel Isaac Hayne was incarcerated in the basement and executed by the British in this complex in 1781. The guardhouse was destroyed during the devastating 1886 Charleston earthquake. A decade later, the site was redeveloped.
  In 1887, Congress authorized funds for construction. South Carolina architect John Henry Devereux designed the building. He had immigrated as a young child with his family from Ireland. He started work as a plasterer, and later studied with a leading architect. He became an architect and builder of churches and public buildings in South Carolina's Lowcountry. In 1885, Devereux was appointed as Superintendent of Construction and Repairs of the U.S. Treasury Department, which then managed public buildings. It was in this capacity that he designed the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse. He selected the Second Renaissance Revival style to convey the grandeur associated with public architecture at that time.
  Construction of the building was not finished until 1896; a gala viewing complete with a German band took place. Completed for a cost of $500,000, the building is credited with playing an important role in the downtown revitalization of Charleston at the end of the 19th century.
  The building was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is also within the boundaries of the National Historic Landmark Charleston Historic District.
caption: Inside the post office.
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