City Directories and History: Enjoy added history of this National Register property.
The building was designed by Edward C. Jones and Francis D. Lee in 1853 and was completed in 1854. Both of these architects were Charlestonians. The Farmers’ and Exchange Bank is perhaps the only example of the Moorish
picturesque style that evolved from one aspect of English Regency architecture. The building is stucco on brick and brownstone, with a flat roof, a two-story Moorish arcaded façade, and a high skylighted banking room with elaborate plaster decoration employing Spanish and Moorish motifs. The building has rounded horseshoe arches, reminiscent of Spanish architecture, on a façade made of pale Jersey and somber Connecticut brownstone, producing the striped effect which is typical of many Moorish structures. The rear wing has the conventional Classical Revival style. This building has long been recognized to be of utmost importance to American architecture and its design is though to have been influenced by illustrations in Washington Irving’s The Alhambra, a volume which was published about the same time that the building was constructed. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1973; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 7, 1973. [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History]
Other sources of interest: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61 and the Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917 The HCF may also have additional data at: Past Perfect and further research can be uncovered at: Charleston 1861 Census Schedule or The Charleston City Guide of 1872
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