SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A Sullivan’s Island stable that has been abandoned for decades may soon get a new lease on life if a new plan is approved.
The Sullivan’s Island Design Review Board will consider the final designs for the project involving the nearly century-old Fort Moultrie Post Theater on Wednesday.
The landmark has a long history, starting as a military theater. It hosted movie showings, war bond drives and various ceremonies. After the fort was decommissioned in 1947, it became an island asset and later became a private theater that could seat 406 people.
Later, it became a warehouse and has sat vacant for decades.
Cissell Design Studio principal and architect Anthony Cissell hopes to change that by making it into a single-family home while preserving its rich history.
“Our goal with this project is really that when we’re done, this should still look like the landmark building that Sullivan’s Island has known for nearly 100 years,” Cissell said.
However, Cissell said the old building faces modern problems.
“If we were to have a flood right now that were to enter this building, it would damage a lot of the historic woodwork would damage a lot of the spaces,” Cissell said.
That’s why they plan to raise the interior three feet above the surrounding grade.
“There’s a lot of historic wood trim around door openings, and things of that nature that we’re going to be carefully cataloging, moving, and then we’re using in the new design in the same locations wherever possible,” Cissell said.
The current plans have the section closest to the former stage remaining open and as the main centerpiece to the living area.
The entrance to the grand space would also be kept intact, with the original theater doors from the 1930s staying in place, just raised up to protect from flooding.
Cissel said they’re considering applying for the historic tax credit program, which would provide an additional layer of feedback from the state Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service.
BVL Historic Preservation Research specializes in helping its clients take part in that tax program.
“They not only have to sensitively restore the exterior, but they also have to do the interior as well in order to be eligible for the tax credits when all is said and done,” BVL Historic Preservation Research owner and architectural historian Brittany Lavelle Tulla said.
Lavelle Tulla said she’s hoping the project undergoes that intensive process, because buildings like this one are important to the community.
“Sometimes we do see buildings get demolished, and often times it’s not until the building is gone that we understand the power that it has on the street in the situation. The exterior character of that building does have a lot of weight. It’s almost like this anchor on Sullivan’s Island, yes, it pays testimony and it survives as evidence of Sullivan’s Island’s military background, but it also, again, is that unique piece of architecture that keeps Sullivans island, Sullivans Island,” Lavelle Tulla said.
Cissel said he believes that before his team took over the project, the designs were headed in a direction that may have taken away from its unique character and he wanted to reset the goal for the project.
“Let’s stop for a minute, let’s listen to the building and listen to what the building is telling us it wants to be for the next hundred years of its life, and I think that’s what we’ve done,” Cissell said.
A historic marker stands outside the building, indicating that it was completed in May of 1928 at a cost of $19,500.
Cissell said he and the family plan to work with Sullivan’s Island staff to figure out what works best to continue to have some form of historical marker on the property after the project is complete.
Click here to see the design plans in the Sullivan’s Island Design Review Board agenda.
The board will consider final approval for the project on Wednesday.