Currell College
Encyclopedia
Currell College, completed in 1919, is an historic two-story redbrick university building on the campus of the University of South Carolina
(USC) in Columbia
, South Carolina
in the United States
. It was designed by Darlington
native William Augustus Edwards
who designed academic buildings at 12 institutions of higher learning as well as 13 courthouses and numerous other buildings in Florida
, Georgia
and South Carolina
. Currell, which is pronounced as if it were spelled Curl, is the only building that Edwards built for USC. The Cain House at 1619 Pendleton Street which he designed in 1912 for a private owner, though, is now part of the expanded USC campus and is used as The Inn at USC.
It was originally named Petigru College and was built to serve as the USC law school
, which had outgrown its quarters in Legare College. When a new law school building was built in 1952, the name Petigru College was given to it and the 1919 building was renamed Currell College to honor William S. Currell, USC's president when it was built, and it was then used by the history department.
The building's redbrick exterior was a departure from USC's standard of gray-painted stucco over brick on all of its previous buildings, except the South Caroliniana Library and Lieber College, and according to USC historian Daniel Walker Hollis: " ... it has been something of an architectural misfit on the inner campus ever since."
In the mid 1950s the two-story Currell College Annex was built to the south of the 1919 building and joined to it by a two-story glass and metal stairwell-hallway structure. The annex, while built of redbrick, is utilitarian and does not continue the collegiate Gothic features of the original building.
Currell College today is the home of the USC Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The Currell College Annex houses the USC Office of Special Events/
The 1919 building excluding the annex is a contributing property
in the Old Campus District, University of South Carolina
, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on June 5, 1970.
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
(USC) in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was designed by Darlington
Darlington, South Carolina
Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...
native William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards, also known as William A. Edwards, was an Atlanta-based American architect renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and his native South Carolina.- Early life and education :William...
who designed academic buildings at 12 institutions of higher learning as well as 13 courthouses and numerous other buildings in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Currell, which is pronounced as if it were spelled Curl, is the only building that Edwards built for USC. The Cain House at 1619 Pendleton Street which he designed in 1912 for a private owner, though, is now part of the expanded USC campus and is used as The Inn at USC.
It was originally named Petigru College and was built to serve as the USC law school
University of South Carolina School of Law
The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law or SC Law, is one of the professional schools of the University of South Carolina. South Carolina Law was founded in 1867 in Columbia, South Carolina and is the only public and non-profit law school in the state of...
, which had outgrown its quarters in Legare College. When a new law school building was built in 1952, the name Petigru College was given to it and the 1919 building was renamed Currell College to honor William S. Currell, USC's president when it was built, and it was then used by the history department.
The building's redbrick exterior was a departure from USC's standard of gray-painted stucco over brick on all of its previous buildings, except the South Caroliniana Library and Lieber College, and according to USC historian Daniel Walker Hollis: " ... it has been something of an architectural misfit on the inner campus ever since."
In the mid 1950s the two-story Currell College Annex was built to the south of the 1919 building and joined to it by a two-story glass and metal stairwell-hallway structure. The annex, while built of redbrick, is utilitarian and does not continue the collegiate Gothic features of the original building.
Currell College today is the home of the USC Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The Currell College Annex houses the USC Office of Special Events/
The 1919 building excluding the annex is a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
in the Old Campus District, University of South Carolina
Old Campus District, University of South Carolina
The Old Campus District, University of South Carolina, is an historic district centered around The Horseshoe on the main campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, in the United States...
, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on June 5, 1970.
External links
- Currell College
- South Carolina Department of Archives and History listing for Old Campus District
- University of Florida biography of William Augustus Edwards
- Multiple Resource Area for 4 of the 9 courthouses designed by William Augustus Edwards - 12 pages
- USC Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice: contains image of Currell College west side showing new glass stairwell and part of Annex on the south