Meeting Street Memories: One Meeting St., Part II

By Peg Eastman

The January issue of the Mercury published an article about the two houses that have been located at One Meeting St. As a reminder, with its unobstructed view of marshland, the Ashley River and beyond, the corner of South Bay (now South Battery) and Meeting streets was one of the most prestigious locations in early Charles Town. Unsurprisingly, the site was connected to Revolutionary War notables, including the ill-fated martyr Isaac Hayne, Major DeBrahm, whose estate was confiscated after the Revolution and Col. William Washington, who bought both of their lots and sold them to U.S. Senator Ralph Izard.

Izard, a prominent planter/politician, was able to restore his estate after the Revolution and by 1790 was the second largest landowner in the state. Great wealth and social connections caused him to build a townhouse suitable to his position. It is speculated that Izard’s residence may have been designed by James Hoban, architect of the White House. Izard’s handsome home burned on a Sunday morning in 1828 while the family was at church.

In 1846, George Robertson, a successful cotton factor, purchased the still-vacant lot and built one of Charleston’s largest downtown homes (11,820 square feet). It is thought to have been designed by one of the city’s most talented antebellum architects, Edward C. Jones. Constructed of Charleston grey brick, the façade is laid in elegant Flemish bond while the remainder was laid in the less expensive American bond. The three-and-a-half-story Italian Villa-style mansion was built above a high basement. Noteworthy features include a projecting two-story bay and side piazzas masked in brick to create a balanced Meeting Street front. The primary entrance was embellished by double doors with glazed panels.

On the South Battery side were arched, Roman Doric columned piazzas screened from Meeting Street by masking windows. The interior had ornamental moldings, high ceilings, marble fireplaces and a sweeping main stair with a lyre-shaped newel.

On June 18, 1855, Robertson sold One Meeting Street to Williams Middleton for $25,000. After the invading army destroyed most of the main house at Middleton Place, the Middletons lived at One Meeting Street full-time until it was sold in 1870 to Ann Ross, widow of James Ross. The Ross family, merchants and ship owners of Charleston and Philadelphia, owned the house for more than 50 years. Mary Jane Ross, the last family member, passed away in 1922. During her lifetime, she amassed a collection of Victorian-era art, antiques and exotic artifacts from India, Kashmir, China and Japan. Her will stipulated that the house was to become a museum in memory of her brothers Dr. Robert Fleming Ross and Confederate Pvt. James Alexander Ross, both killed at the Siege of Petersburg in 1864.

The will initiated one of the longest court cases in the nation. In 22 years, it went before the South Carolina Supreme Court three times before it was decided that the house and its collections were to be auctioned off, with proceeds benefitting both Charleston and Philadelphia organizations.

In 1945, One Meeting Street was purchased by Minnie S. Carr, who converted the house into six apartments for U.S. Navy officers. In 1961, local surgeon John Hawk and his wife Nancy purchased the house from the Carrs.

Nancy Hawk was a woman of “purpose and drive,” according to her 2008 obituary. In addition to political and preservation efforts, she converted the ground floor of One Meeting Street into the temporary home of “Miss Mason’s School,” an elementary day school that later became Mason Preparatory School on Halsey Boulevard.

What is unknown to most people is that the mansion’s two-story brick bay was failing. After her death, Nancy Hawk’s son Jimmy had it demolished and rebuilt exactly as it was originally constructed.

When the property was put up for sale it was on the market for seven years before it was sold to William and Frederike Hecht on September 2, 2015. It had an apartment on the ground floor, and the Hecht’s requested a third unit but did not convert the property into multiple privately owned condominiums.

Bill Hecht is retired from commercial real estate, including the World Trade Center and now spends his time doing community volunteer work. Freddie is a successful interior designer whose clientele extends from coast to coast. The Mercury is privileged to have had an exclusive interview to showcase how she has achieved 21st-century charm in a 19th-century mansion without destroying its architectural integrity.

Freddie Hecht has owned her own design firm for more than 37 years. It specializes in helping clients bring their unique design desires to fruition, whether it be historical renovations or modern architecture, and spans everything from ground-up additions to interior design. Among her recent clients is a home for a friend who lost everything in the recent California fires.

Quite naturally, Freddie applied her expertise when restoring One Meeting St. On the first floor, she capitalized on the light from the front bay and the piazza side windows that emphasized the interior architecture. The ornately carved, mirrored mantles were used as a focal point for cabinet additions that did not interfere with the original moldings or woodwork. One wall was added to create a powder room, and another wall was added to make way for a large modern elevator in the rear of the building. She was also able to get the Board of Architectural Review’s permission to replace the electrical ceiling outlets with gas for lanterns on all three piazzas.

The beautifully appointed living room with attached sunroom at One Meeting. IMAGE PROVIDED

Nothing was put to waste. Beams that were taken out of the space for the elevator were used for a gate to the parking area. Pieces of a dining room medallion that fell during a pre-construction New Year’s Eve rustic party in the ballroom were attractively framed and hung on the stair wall. To conserve energy and reduce noise, geothermal heating was installed on the ground and first floors. The ground floor area once had a potting shed, which was removed to make way for a completely renovated living space that again capitalized on the infusion of light. Unfortunately, the upstairs ballroom has become part of the apartment conversion and was not available for admiration.

In summary, the tasteful combination of old and new has turned One Meeting St. back into the showcase it was intended to be, but this time with a 21st-century flair. The Mercury would like to thank the Hechts for opening their home to our readers.

A Charlestonian by birth, Margaret (Peg) Middleton Rivers Eastman is actively involved in the preservation of Charleston’s rich cultural heritage. In addition to being a regular columnist for the Charleston Mercury, she has published through McGraw Hill, The History Press, Evening Post Books, as well as in Carologue, a publication of the South Carolina Historical Society.

My appreciation to Phil Bryant for introducing the Mercury to Freddie Hecht, and to Robert Stockton, Lish Thompson, and Peter Williams for contributing to this article. An interesting aside is that Margaret Simons Middleton, the columnist’s grandmother, purchased two handsome oil paintings and the marble bust of Nero’s mother from the long-ago Ross estate sale