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Albert Simons (1890 – 1980), had a sixty-year career as an architect and preservationist in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is known for his preservation work and architectural design. He played a key role in the
Charleston Renaissance The Charleston Renaissance is a period between World Wars I and II in which the city of Charleston, South Carolina, experienced a boom in the arts as artists, writers, architects, and historical preservationists came together to improve and repre ...
. Simons helped to create many nationally prominent preservation functions such as the zoning ordinance for the historic district, the first such ordinance in America, with municipal austerity, and the first
Board of Architectural Review
As a professor at the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...
for over 20 years, he started th
School of the Arts
whose building is named after him and is honored yearly through th
Simons Medal of Excellence


Early life and family

Born in 1890, Albert Simons descended from a long line of influential Charlestonians. His father, Dr. Thomas Grange Simons, was a physician and who encouraged public health through the advocacy of proper sewers and infrastructure. Simons' uncle,
William Martin Aiken William Martin Aiken (April 1, 1855 – December 7, 1908) was an American architect who served as Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury and oversaw and participated in the design and construction of numerous federal buildings durin ...
, was an architect who designed many large classical buildings such as "The Old Post Office Pavilion" in Washington,D.C., and in his capacity as architect to the United States Treasury, the Federal Mint in Philadelphia. Albert Simons enrolled at the College of Charleston for his first year and completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in architecture at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
. After graduation he traveled through Europe and Northern Africa studying architecture, and finished his trip studying at the Atelier Hébrard in Paris. During his travels, Simons created hundreds of wonderful travel sketches and watercolors, fulfilling the Beaux-Arts-instilled desire to learn through sketching great examples of architecture. Upon returning to Charleston in 1915, he became one of the first instructors of architecture at the Clemson School of Architecture. During this time, Simons worked briefly as a partner in the firm of Todd, Simons and Todd, until he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Simons also volunteered to serve in France in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.


Simons & Lapham

In 1920, Simons joined forces with Samuel Lapham VI to create the firm “Simons & Lapham.” Their practice focused primarily on traditional homes, however, they also did industrial, religious, educational, public, transportation projects and building restoration. Through the Great Depression, the firm remained successful. Their main commissions came through the federally funded
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...
work, such as the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...
gymnasium or large plantation projects funded by wealthy northerners. Throughout the years though, Simons received local and national acclaim for work in the areas of architectural design, preservation, and city planning. Samuel & Lapham worked actively with the City of Charleston government to protect and restore historic homes and was extensively involved with the
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
. Some of the firm's most famous work included assistance with restoration of the famous “ Rainbow Row”, the renovation of the Planter’s Hotel on Church St., into the Dock Street Theatre, and the design of the new Memminger Auditorium. In addition to their practice, both partners co-edited books of detailed historical research on the architecture of Charleston including, ''The Octagon Library of Early American Architecture'', Vol 1: Charleston, SC (1927) and ''Plantations of the Carolina Low Country'' (1939).


Other Achievements

In Simons' years of work in Charleston, he helped create the first historic district in America, the firs
Board of Architectural Review
(BAR), and worked actively as a Fellows of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to ...
(AIA). He was a founding member and played a key role in the Society for Preservation of Old Dwellings, known today as the
Preservation Society of Charleston Founded in 1920, the Preservation Society of Charleston is the oldest community-based historic preservation organization in the United States. Susan Pringle Frost founded the organization, first known as the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwel ...
, and as a leading member on the team that produced
This is Charleston: A Survey of the Architectural Heritage of a Unique American City
', a building-by-building study of the historic Charleston peninsula. Simons would also serve on the boards of many of Charleston’s civic and cultural institutions, including the boards of the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...
, the
Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest museums in the United States. Its highly regarded collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decor ...
, the
Charleston Library Society The Library Society's first permanent address, which it occupied from 1792 to 1835, was within what is now the Charleston County Courthouse at 82 Broad St. The Library Society was located at 50 Broad St. from 1835 to 1914. The Library Society h ...
, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, and th
Poetry Society of Charleston
Albert Simons also worked closely with the City to decide the placement and design of the public housing projects in Charleston. These low rise (none over two stories) brick apartments were connected in the town house style with generous open space in both the front and the back. They were dispersed throughout several neighborhoods on the Charleston peninsula in a way that integrated them into the fabric of the city.


Simons Medal of Excellence
/h1>

Albert Simons began teaching at the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...
in 1924, and created the first
Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...
course at the College later that year. He continued to teach at the college until 1948. He helped this single course evolve into the School of the Arts. The College named the Albert Simons Center for the Arts for him at the cornerstone-laying ceremony in 1977. After the 20th anniversary of the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...

School of the Arts
th
Simons Medal of Excellence
was established to honor individuals who have excelled in one or more of the areas in which Albert Simons excelled, including civic design, architectural design, historic preservation and urban planning. Past recipients have included: The Hon. Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. (2010)
John D. Milner
FAIA (2011),
Andres Duany Andres or Andrés may refer to: * Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US * Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France * Andres (name) * Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See ...
, FAIA, and
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (born December 20, 1950) is a professor at the University of Miami's School of Architecture and an architect and urban planner in Miami, Florida. Plater-Zyberk is considered to be a representative of the New Urbanism scho ...
(2012),
Allan Greenberg Allan Greenberg (born September 1938) is an American architect and one of the leading classical architects of the twenty-first century, also known as New Classical Architecture. He was the originator and leading practitioner of "canonical cl ...
and
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
(2013),
Richard Jenrette Richard Hampton Jenrette (April 5, 1929 – April 22, 2018) was an American businessman who co-founded the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ). Early life Jenrette was born on April 5, 1929, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the son of ...
an
Thomas Gordon Smith
(2014), Antoinette J. Lee (2015), Robert A. M. Stern (2016),
Peter Pennoyer Peter Morgan Pennoyer FAIA (born on February 19, 1957) is an architect and the principal of Peter Pennoyer Architects, an architecture firm based in New York City. Pennoyer, his four partners and his fifty associates have an international practice ...
(2017), and Martha A. Zierden (2018). Awardees are announced during January for th
spring ceremony


References


Further reading

* Hosmer, Charles Bridgham, Preservation Comes of Age: From Williamsburg to the National Trust, 1926-1949, : Univ of Virginia Press;, 1981 * Hutchisson,J., Building on the Past. Charleston Magazine. March 2007;21(3):92. * Severens,Kenneth, “Toward Preservation Before 1931: The Early Career of Albert Simons,” Preservation Progress, Spring 1993, 10, South Carolina Room, Vertical Files, Charleston County Public Library. * Simons, Albert; Lapham, Samuel Jr., The Early Architecture of Charleston.(Columbia, SC:
University of South Carolina Press The University of South Carolina Press is an academic publisher associated with the University of South Carolina. It was founded in 1944. By the early 1990s, the press had published several surveys of women's writing in the southern United State ...
), 1928. * Simons, Albert and W. H. Johnson Thomas, An Architectural Guide to Charleston, South Carolina, 1700-1900 (in manuscript form) * Lapham,Samuel; Simons,Albert; Samuel G. Stoney, Samuel G., Plantations of the Carolina Lowcountry, New York : Dover Publications in association with the Carolina Art Association, Charleston, S.C., 1989 * Smith, Alice R. Huger; Smith, Huger, D. E.; Simons, Albert, The Dwelling Houses of Charleston, Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1917. * Weyeneth, Robert R., Historic Preservation for a Living City: Historic Charleston Foundation, 1947-1997 (
Columbia, SC Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...
:
University of South Carolina Press The University of South Carolina Press is an academic publisher associated with the University of South Carolina. It was founded in 1944. By the early 1990s, the press had published several surveys of women's writing in the southern United State ...
, 2000), 17. * Yuhl,Stephanie, A Golden Haze of Memory, 43; “Charleston and Preservation,” Government Agency,
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
, (1998), http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/preservation.htm. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Albert 1890 births 1980 deaths American architects