The house at 4 Gadsden Street. Robert Behre/Staff
One of Charleston's most historic homes will be torn down soon before it falls down.
On Thursday, city officials closed off sections of Beaufain and Gadsden streets after hearing reports of serious structural problems with the 3 1/2-story home at the intersection there.
On Friday, they deemed the house at 4 Gadsden St. too dangerous to save and also moved to evacuate residents of two neighboring homes that could be affected by a sudden collapse. The city also encouraged other neighbors to consider relocating temporarily.
Chris Cody of the Historic Charleston Foundation attended a Friday morning briefing on what's going on and said the foundation agrees with the city's decision, despite the historic loss.
"The problem is the first floor. It appears to be twisting,” Cody said. "(Structural engineer) Craig (Bennett) identified five separate fatal flaws. Any one of the five could cause the building to collapse immediately, and they involved every part of the first floor."
This home at 4 Gadsden St. was built around 1852 but suffered from a 2014 fire and from last fall's hurricane. File/Robert Behre/Staff
The pink Greek Revival home dates to 1852 and currently is rated as a Category 2 on the city's architectural inventory, where 1 is the most significant ranking. Its finer details include a Temple of the Winds portico on Gadsden Street and a dentiled cornice. It also has been owned by George Egan, who built Charleston's jetties in the late 19th century.
The house was undergoing a significant renovation necessitated by a May 2014 fire that involved all three floors and injured one. Its structural problems also might have been worsened by Hurricane Matthew's winds and flooding last fall.
City Planning Director Jacob Lindsey said the city hates to lose any historic structure, "especially one with as much significance as this residence on Gadsden Street. ... Unfortunately, it was determined that there is no safe way to save the building.”
The home, most recently used as rental apartments, is owned by Ian Walker, who was vacationing out of the country but talked with the city by phone on Friday. He had hired NBM Construction, which noticed worsening problems with the brick and stucco home that raised questions about whether it was safe to continue work on it.
The precise timing of the demolition will depend on the weather because rain could endanger demolition crews. The demolition could begin next week and take more than a week, so it could be a few weeks before those evacuated may return.
Mayor John Tecklenburg said in a statement that the city doesn't like to inconvenience anyone, but public safety is job No. 1. "In this case, the inconvenience is necessary to keep our citizens out of harm’s way while we secure the area and make it safe going forward.”
The home marks the second historic home lost downtown this year. A fire during Hurricane Matthew also claimed a vacant single home at Sires and Spring streets.
But Cody said 4 Gadsden, unlike that home, is not a classic case of demolition by neglect.
"This is a project where the homeowner was spending significant amounts of money to repair and restore aspects of the building," Cody said. "This happened during a carefully planned and diligently executed restoration. It's just a very sad situation."
The dangerous condition of the large home at 4 Gadsden St. is noted by this red warning sign on its fence along the sidewalk. Robert Behre/Staff
Cody said the owner, Ian Walker, has agreed to photograph the building before it comes down.
A main problem with the house's structure is that it's an un-reinforced masonry home, meaning that its structure is a series of carefully laid, interlocking bricks that have no further support, such as steel rods. Such brick structures were commonly built during the city's colonial and antebellum years but are not allowed under modern building codes.
Susan Lyons, a neighbor who lives a few houses away on Gadsden Street, said not only have the streets been closed off, city police have tightened security during the day to keep people a safe distance away.
"I'm far enough that it won't fall on me," she said, "but close enough to be sad.”
A large portion of the northern exterior wall at 4 Gadsden St. already has been dismantled. Robert Behre/Staff